A Catholic in Pagan Lands: Another CK Dynasty

[Abe Sargent]

Feb 6 - We now have a Small Castle in Aukshayts

I order an extensive road network built in Lubeck

Feb 22 - Novgorod-Seversky has won its independence from Byzantium.

April 15 - After declaring independence, I offer vassalization to the Bishop of Altmark, but he declines.

June 12 - Sambia has sworn allegiance to the Uber-powerful Tribe of Cuman.

Welcome to 1101

My loyalist vassals are the Count of Osel and the Bishopric of Rostock

Okay, I need to make a decision.

Do I, or do I not, assassinate my son, the Count of Braunschweig

He is 15 and will soon marry and have a family.

Now, assuming that I live to an age much older than my 33, my son will have made a lot of choices about his life, without my guidance and input. When I die, my son inherit’s the whole Duchy, and he may have made too many mistakes between now and then.

What I can do is Assassinate him, and gain the County as an inheritance. However, if I am discovered, I will probably get the Kinslayer tag. If not, I can try to marry my second son into a nice family, or get us a nice wife. Either way, I don’t hurt the dynasty, whereas I have no idea what my son will want.

This has happened before - my son inherit’s a duchy somewhere, and I am still young. I live to 70 or 80, and my son is dead and his son’s son is in his 30s and made a lot of mistakes when I died, setting back the dynasty two generations.

An alternative plan is to commit suicide. However, I have too much piety and prestige compared to him that I think it’s a bad play.

His weakness is intrigue (6/10/4/11) so its doable.

Plus, if I inherit it, I can give it away and drop my BB, and that’s tempting too.

I don’t have to do it just yet, so I’ll hold off. You never know, he may marry well. Let’s wait and see what his wife looks like.

[Abe Sargent]

Mar 17 - I put down some rebels in Slupsk

May 7 - I have gained the Bishop of Hamburg as a friend.

May 21 - Byzantium recaptures their provinces in revolt next to me

May 23 - The County of West Dvina DOWs Lettigallians.

I need to take this before they do.

I DOW Lettigallians. Then I order my Aukshayts army into their province.

July 7 - We arrive and begin the siege. The Lettigalians went to West Dvina to attack them.

August 2 - We capture Lettigalians. I take them in peace.

I have to get them before Byzantine took them. They are our land connection to Livonia if I can get it later.

I order Forestry here.

[Abe Sargent]

January 17, 1102 - I grant Zhmud to one of my courtiers who will become the Count of Zhmud.

I need to keep Lettigalians in order to have a northern outpost, and a territory to upgrade over time. I already ordered a Forestry here, and I’ll keep building it up over time.

Feb 6 - I put down some rebel chaff in Werle

March 18 - This time its rebels in Memel

April 10 - Time for an Extensive Road Network in Danzig

Aug 3 - A Tile Factory in Lettigalians

Our son was asked to return his title, and HE SAID YES. Idiot. He is now back in court with his decent wife and bastard son. Is his wife an heir to anything? Nope. He married a woman five years older than him who is stressed and ill. Maybe she’ll die and I can remarry him?

For some reason, his wife ended up in Rugen. Not only is she virtually infertile, she isn’t even around.

I wonder if I get Kinslayer for kill his wife?

I am successful and discovered. I can now marry off my son. Again. I did not get Kinslayer.

Possible mates:

The Daughter of the Duke of Brandenburg, but they are down to one province and I need to kill a son.

Duke of Slesvig. I have to kill two sons,but she is 17 and ready to marry. Two provinces. He’s a friend though.

County of Lubusz if I wait three years and kill a son



The Count of Gnieznienskie, the heir of Poland, has two wives at the same time, each popping out kids. As a result, he has had 11 kids and he’s just 33.

And they are friends too!

There are no nearby inheritances. Allow me to find a breeder then.

A few choices - Siwart from Armenia Minor has a 12/8/18/7 set of ratings. She’s 17

Marguerite from Venaissin has 8/14/16/5 stats and is 16.

Nevermind, I found her:

Helena Hvide currently in Sjaelland. 14/10/12/3

She is my son’s new bride.

[Abe Sargent]

Welcome to 1103

Jan 14 - My eldest is wrestling with Vengeance and Mercy, and I choose Mercy. He lost the Vengeful trait.

Feb 13 - The Count of Stettin has become my friend

June 13 - the day I have dreaded is here.

Yatviags have DOWd one of the counties of Poland. Poland responded. We have to take them before they do.

I Declare war.

Livonia has not joined her ally.

I order the Danzig forces into Chelminskie

Marienburg is dispatched to Galindia

June 20 - The Count of Werle has died, leaving us without an alliance. I take the first offer than comes along - I accept an alliance offer from the King of England.

Jul 8 - Our troops from Marienburg, Scalovia and Yatvyagi arrive in Galindia and attack the defenders here

Jul 18 - Our forces arrive in Chelminskie and begin a siege

I turn down a peace offer for 450 gold from them

Aug 2 - We win in Galindia

Aug 17 - We capture Chelminskie and Galindia

I get peace

Luckily I had some gold before this war began. I’m still alright. Add the gold I am about to get and its all good.


Oct 20 - I get the Teutonic Knights event again, which is very unrealistic. In real life, the Teutonic Knights were invited north by Poland, they didn’t demand land every two years and rive down my piety.

I order a church built in both of our new provinces just for me.

I give Danzig away to a courtier. I needed it for this war, and now that it is over, I can hand it off. I give it to my son.

He has a nice wife, a son with her already and another on the way.

[Abe Sargent]

The newest map.




I have my land bridge. I also have accumulated a lot of BB, because I didn't wind it all down due to civic strife, taking Lettigalians, and dropping an assassin. Still, this was a capture that was vital to our land. Eventually we'll take that Sambia that's sitting there.

Our next target is likely Livonia if they are still around when our BB clears up.

[Abe Sargent]

I need 66% of the lands in a traditional kingdom to create the tile of King. I am close to declaring myself King of Lithuania. There are 19 Lithuanian provinces, and I have 11 of them. That means I need 13 to become King, just two more. Sambia will be one. The problem is that Livonian and Estonian provinces could towards the Finnish kingship, not the Lithuanian one. After Sambia, no remaining Lithuanian province is in the hands of pagans, and so, if I want to be king, after I take Sambia and Estonia and Livonia (hopefully) I need to poach one of the Polish or Byzantine provinces that will suffice.

[Abe Sargent]

Prestige gain monthly:

6 Duke Titles at 0.3 per title after the first - 1.5
16 counts as vassals - 1.3
Traits - -0.3

Total Change Per Month - +2.6

Therefore, I gain prestige at a rate of around 31 a year.


Piety gain monthly:

Crusader Expectations - -0.5
Church Donations - 0.5
Traits - 0.3

Total gain 0.2 per month, at a rate of 2.4 per year



Nov 1 - I get an event:

With my Reputation Horrible, Shouldn’t I relinquish my claim?

Lose claim on Duke of Saxony - lose a BB
Do Nothing

I choose to do nothing. Never let go of Duke titles.

Nov 14 - I get an event which is amazingly perfect for me:

Mass-Scale Conversions

Chelminskie converts to Catholic and loses heretic

My piety increases 100

I’m alright with that!

Dec 5 - I get You Have Lost a Friend. The Count of Stettin is no longer my friend.

Welcome to1104

[Abe Sargent]

Jan 11 - Library ordered for Lettigalians

Jan 23 - Religion tension in Galindia. I Crush Them! It is now Catholic, looted and rebelling

May 22 - England attacks Jerusalem. I join our allies.

Jun 25 - I drive out rebels in Werle

July 27 - The Pagan peasants in Lettigalians see me as the cause of their troubles and are now rebelling.

Aug 12 - Galindia recovers from looting

Welcome to 1105

We have a white peace with Jerusalem

Feb 11 - I got an event - Disloyal Vassal Outmaneuvered. I gained a claim on the County of Stettin

Feb 23 - I give in to demands in Lettigalians. The Revolt is over, and I lost some prestige.

Feb 28 - I have fallen in love with my wife. She is now my friend. I gained the chaste skill

May 18 - The two churches are complete in Galindia and Chelminskie I get the piety bonuses for building them. Now that they are Catholic and are built up, time to foist them off.

I create the Countess of Galindia, Count of Chelmiskie to my second son, Bartosz, who is 11 and looking good.

Aug 20 - The now Archbishopric of Novgorod DOWs Byzantine and declares independence

Oct 3 - I order a sawmill in Lettigalians

Oct 22 - That quickly Novgorod is back under the Byzantine fold

Nov 1 - West Dvina has won indepedance without going to war. They are a Lithuanian province needed to make myself a King. They are also the poorest province I’ve seen and I have a bad BB. I’d risk it over a major province, but not over them.

Nov - I get Religion Tension in Lettigalians. They are now Catholic, looted and revolting.

Livonia has DOWs West Dvina, and frankly, they’ll get it.

Nov 24 - West Dvina has pledged alliegance to Byzantium again as a desperate move.

Dec 4 - Livonia defeated the West Dvinian army and has begun a siege.

Dec 21 - 5000 Livonian troops have captured West Dvina They take it, and it is now theirs.

Good news for us because when we do take Livonians, we’ll now get a Lithuanian province for our kingship.

Welcome to 1106

[Abe Sargent]

Mar 3 - Lettigalians is no longer looted

The Duke of Saxony has gone rogue again

Sweden and Scotland are about to gobble up Saxony.

Dec 21 - I order a Fishing Wharf in Lettigalians

Welcome to 1107

Sweden gobbled up Saxony

May 27 - My daughter is old enough to marry, and she’s pretty good at stats - 10/15/10/11. Someone will want her.

Forget it, I appoint her my Chancellor. I take a prestige hit for each unmarried daughter, but I can handle it (-0.2 per month)

Sept 23 - Roads ordered in Lettigalians

I hand the County of Lettigalians to the new Countess, my old Chancellor. Now that it is Catholic and I’ve built it up, it’s ready for a handoff.

I got dragged into another Jerusalem war by England.

Oct 4 - My friend, the Duke of Slesvig is now the Papal Controller at 39.

Livonia, in another smart move, it attacking the free County of Velikiye Luki, a former Byzantine province that got peace.

My daughter became a Charismatic Negotiator, with a diplomacy of 18 now.

I wish my eldest son (2,11,2,9) were like her.

Nov 6 - I got an event - Being Married to Someone You Love is Great. I could choose to have our strees removed, illness removed or fertility increased by one each. I chose the latter, since we aren’t stressed or ill.

Welcome to 1108

Jan 17 - I get a nice war veteran join my court for a little gold. I offer him my daughter’s hand in marriage. Kids! Courtiers!

I get 300 gold too.

I hope they have great kids!

Livonia is now at peace for gold. I would have taken the land if I were them.

Apr 24 - I’ve been happy to follow England into these Middle East wars, but they have attacked, on offense, Aragon. That I can’t have. I decline.

May 1 - My Marshal died. I appoint my son-in-law.

June 8 - Another war vet joins my court.

Welcome to 1109

[Abe Sargent]

Jan 27 - I accept White Peace with Jerusalem

May 17 - The Count of Kleve is now my friend

July 6 - The Pope has died and the Duke of Slesvig is still the Papal Controller

Nov 19 - I order a Medium Castle built in Lubeck

Dec 24 - I am staying clear of a France/England grudge match

Welcome to 1110

Feb 6 - I have gained a new friend - the Count of Holstein

My reputation is now about where it was before I started my civil war/Lettigalians/assassin/Yatviag assault. I still need a few years for it to cool off more.

June 23 - Livonia DOWd Lettigalians. I go to war to protect them. And I go to take land, much land.

I order my Lubeck forces dispatched to Livs across the waves. It will take a while for them to arrive, but when they do, they will add a powerful punch.

I order my Aukshayts troops to :Lettigalians.

I organize my troops in five other provinces and order them to Lettigalians as well.

I have a lot of gold, so I should be fine on that front

Livs orders their troops to West Dvina instead of into Lettigalians, which is where I expected them to go. I have to turn around and face them dead on.

Aug 16 - 9792 Livonians - their whole army, is in West Dvina upon or arrival. We have 6507 men with another 2000 on the way. They moved all of their troops here and caught me by surprise. If I lose this, I am at fault for directing my troops here.

Sep 1 - We lose.

I order the Danzing army to Reval.

Sept 15 - The Livonians arrive in Aukshayts

Oct 16 - Aukshayts falls

Oct 23 - My army of 8734 men arrives in Aukshayts to protest their presence.

Nov 5 - Our Lubeck forces arrive in Livs

Nov 10 - We lose in Aukshayts

Dec 9 - I lose 1000 troops I had snuck behind in West Dvina. My main forces has been directed to Aukshayts again.

Dec 10 - I have embraced a celibate lifestyle

Dec 16 - Our Lubeck forces have captured Livs. I order them to Dorpat

Dec 21 - Our main army arrives back in Aukshayts and begins a siege

Dec 28 - The Danzig army arrives in Reval and begins a siege

Jan 11, 1111 - The Livonian forces arrive in Aukshayts and try to drive us back out

The Lubeck army has arrived in Dorpat and begun the siege

Jan 30 - We lose in Aukshayts again

Feb 20 - We have captured Dorpat

I order the Lubeck army to West Dvina

They are besieging Sudovia

Feb 22 500 Troops from Yatvyagi arrive in Sudovia to slow them down

March 3 - We hit Sudovia hard, our major army arrives

March 10 - This time, we win.

March 30 - Aukshayts falls. The Livonian army runs back to West Dvina

Livonia has cleverly given away West Dvina as a vassal. I DOW them. Nice try.

April 6 - We capture Reval. I order the Danzig forces south

April 15 - They arrive back in West Dvina where my Lubeck forces await

April 18 - We lose in West Dvina

April 24 - Forces from Aukshayts arrive in West Dvina

April 30 - We win in West Dvina

June 7 - We capture West Dvina

I take all four provinces plus several hundred gold.

[Abe Sargent]

I order churches built in Livs and Reval.

I give Dorpat away to a courter, and the new Count of Dorpat is a strong guy

As soon as I get a worthy courtier, I’ll hand off West Dvina too. I don’t care about them that much.

July 30 - I get a Religion Uprising in Livs. I choose to crush it. Livs is now Catholic, Looted and Rebelling.

Aug 3 - My wife is now ill

Sept 20 - Livs is no longer looted

Sept 25 - I give in to demands and just like that, Livs is fine.

Oct 9 - The Crusades have ended. Whew,

Oct 18 - the Tribe of Ingers has just taken Pskov in war

Dec 19 - I give away West Dvina to the new Count.

Welcome to 1112

July 8 - My wifes sickness worsens into pneumonia

I appoint a Muslim claim jumper who appeared in my court as the new Steward

Aug 12 - My daughter is now stressed

Nov 12 - Religious Tension in Reval. I choose to crush them. Looted, Catholic, Rebelling.

Welcome to 1113

Jan 19 - I order a Civilian Harbor in Reval

Feb 15 - I give in to demands in Reval

Aug 13 - The Pope has passed on and the King of Hungary is now the Papal Controller

Aug 14 - Reval recovers and is no longer looted

Dec 12 - My daughter lose stressed and became depressed. Not a good time to be a woman related to me with my wife getting pneumonia and my daughter getting depressed

Dec 15 - My wife dies just three days later. I need a new wife - any courtier will do since I am celibate

Deck 17 - I am married to the 16 year old daughter of the Counter of Beresty, Elena of Uglich. 9/10/14/19. Too bad I am celibate. I appoint her Steward

Welcome to 1114

[Abe Sargent]

Jan 20 - The Medium Castle in Lubeck is complete. I now order a War Academy from here.

May 5 - Byzantium recaptures Pskov

July 4 - I order up a Naval Harbor in Livs

August 4 - The Countess of Memel died and we inherited it. I’ll take this opportunity to build it up some more before giving it away again. I order a Sawmill.

My brother and his only son have arrived back in our court. I accept him because he is our brother. I will not grant him another title, but his son I might do.

I offer a courtier in Lancaster my nephew’s hand in marriage.

They accept

Nov 23 - I gain the Count of Dorpat as a rival.

Dec 12 - My spy master dies of old age

I appoint my brother, the one who seceded from us and caused a war, my new Spy Master.

December 17 - The Theives Guild in Reval is disbanded. I get an offer from the Duke of Brunswick to take one of his daughters as a Fosterling. I agree.

Welcome to 1115

Mar 9 - I have again fallen in love with my wife, this time my new one. She is now my friend.

Mar 19 - I have gained the Count of Lettigalians as a new rival

Nov 6 - I order a Civilian Harbor in Memel

Welcome to 1116 - The 50 Year Perspective

[Abe Sargent]

The 50 Year Map



Note that one province Estonia, adjacent to us, has our color on the map but is not us.

Denmark has captured a sizable chunk of Finland, and i expect I'll leave it to them.

The Soup is what I am going to call that mixture in the Germanic/Burgundian/French states. All of those provinces are owned by a major power - France, Scotland, England, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Sweden, Burgundy or Austria, with only a few provinces occasionally free.

This is the consequence of the Holy Roman Empire's collapse. Initially, this was a rainbow of colors, but slowly, major powers moved in, picking off the duchies, and counties, until all we have left is The Soup.

Where next for us? Sambia or Estonia. Once those two are done, I'll probably go where the wind wills.

[Abe Sargent]

I am:

The Duke of Mecklemburg

Duke of Courland, Lithuania, Pomerania, Samogitia, and Pomeralia

The Count of Lubeck

Count of Memel, Livs, Reval, and Aukshayts


I can claim:

Duke of Prussia
Duke of Livonia

I am choosing not to, and leave it to my successor who might need the prestige.


I have 19 vassals

Every vassal has one province except for the Count of Stettin, who also has Slupsk and the Count of Zhmud, who inherited Werle

I have a total of 26 provinces.

I began with one province.

Therefore I have gained one province every two years.

[Abe Sargent]

Feb 21 - I decide to disturb my faith and build moneylenders in Lubeck

July 5- The crusades begin again. Target Jerusalem. I hate this thing.

I move my brother off as Spy Master. I don’t want an excommunicated man as my spy master during a Crusade, I’m liable to get called out on it.

Aug 1 - I jump in front on everyone and DOW Jerusalem

For fun, I order the Lubeck troops to sea.

Some of the Muslim countries I was at war with are buying my peace, probably because they see that I am serious about Jerusalem.

June 8 - 1117 - I give my nephew Memel after the harbor is done.

Nov 19 - I lose a friend in Duke of Slesvig because he is a Heretic

April 3, 1118 - 6992 troops land in Ascalon after a long voyage.

I order them strait to Jerusalem. I DOW Jaffa so I can miss the Jerusalem army in Beersheb

April 26 - We arrive in Jerusalem and begin the siege

May 10 - 2000 troops arrive in Jerusalem to protest our presence





June 10 - After their army got a lot of support, we win. We lost 3383 men, they lose 2563.

July 6- They throw everything they have into the battle. 3829 men 0 all of their remaining armies.

July 23 - We win in Jerusalem again

I get an event and add Iterant Crusaders to my army to bring it up another 2000 men I had to pay them some dough though.

Aug 9 - I got what I wanted from Jaffa and accept a White Peace offer from them

Aug 14 - We have captured Jerusalem

Aug 20 - They decline my peace offer for Jerusalem.

Aug 26 - My men have arrived in Hebron

Aug 30 - We easily defeat the remnants of the Jerusalem army and begin besieging Hebron

Oct 12 - We capture Hebron

Oct 19 - They decline my peace proposal.

Oct 23 - We arrive in Beersheb

Nov 16 - Beersheb falls to us. I move to Ascalon

Nov 20 - Their 2500 remaining troops are in Jerusalem besieging us, so I pull my troops back out.

Dec 21 - We defeat their troops in Jerusalem

Feb 20, 1119 - We arrive back in Ascalon. They have rejected several peace proposals. Their army is here, at 2151 men. Our entire army is here at 2546

March 10 - We win but lost 1000 men

May 7 - Ascalon falls to us. I take Jerusalem and 60 gold.

I disband my troops

We gained a ton of Piety (1842) and prestige (3405) for capturing Jerusalem. We finish the war at -13 gold. At first, gold was a problem, but then as we lost troops, we came back.

[Abe Sargent]

Nov 21 - I accept a Luneburg child as a Fosterling

Dec 7 - I order a Civilian Harbor in Lubeck

Welcome to 1120

Why hasn’t this Crusade ended yet?

Feb 1 - I order Glass-Works in Reval

I then hand it to a nice Count.

March 15 - I order a Monastery in Jerusalem

Nov 2 - I give in to demands and Jerusalem is no longer rebelling against us

Welcome to 1121

Our BB is shrinking well

Feb 22 - I agree to crush the Religios Tension in Jerusalem. It is now looted, rebelling and Catholic

I organize my army in Jerusalem before the upkeep happens at the end of the month. I don’t want a local power to see my 500 army Jerusalem as a ripe plum with the Looted and Rebelling double take. So I activate the decent sized army.

April 19 - The Bishop of Orbetello is now our friend

June 6 - Jerusalem recovers and is no longer looted

I disband my army now

Aug 2 - Hungary and Norway go to war

Aug 8 - Naval Harbor in Lubeck is ordered

Oct 17 - I order moneylenders in Aukshayts

Welcome to 1122

I can wait on attacking Sambia because even with it, I can’t be King now. Kurs was inherited by a Castillean Duke. Annoying.

I grab the title of Count of Kurs. It raises my BB a little, but I want it for later.

A monastery is built in Jerusalem. I order a Templar House built here.

Mar 21 - The King of England has died. I turn down the alliance offer from the new king. I prefer a better ally this time.

Apr 4 - Hungary just took five provinces from Poland in war

There is now a big giant grey spot in the middle of where Poland used to be

May 24 - I gain coward after choosing not to pursue a major illicit operation

Sept 29 - Norway paid money to Hungary and the war in over

Nov 29 - I have gained the Count of Reval as a rival


Welcome to 1123

March 29 - Sweden just took a giant chunk out of Norway in war - They literally no longer exist.

June 17 - 1123 - The Second Crusade ends

July 10 - My chancellor is ill

Dec 15 - I get an event:

Should We Not Create a Crusader State?

I choose not to. I lose some piety and prestige, but not much. Jerusalem is now heretical

Welcome to 1124

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Good stuff, though I'd like to know how you can manage to stay up so late at night.

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Good stuff, though I'd like to know how you can manage to stay up so late at night.

Thanks!

Because I am currently writing, so I can do that at 8 am, 10 am or noon just as easily.

[aran]

This has been very interesting. At first I thought your style would put me off: you move quickly and give very basic details, but you play the game well and you tell me just enough to keep me interested.

[gi]

I'm really enjoying the style. I like the min detail, and I am really soaking up the thoughts and long term strategies told.

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by aran

This has been very interesting. At first I thought your style would put me off: you move quickly and give very basic details, but you play the game well and you tell me just enough to keep me interested.

Excellent!

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by gi

I'm really enjoying the style. I like the min detail, and I am really soaking up the thoughts and long term strategies told.

Glad ta hear it!

[Abe Sargent]

Since I don’t have to worry about grabbing Sambia right now, due to the lose of Kurs, I might as well grab Estonia.

Jan 11, 1124 - I DOW Estonia. I order my troops in Livs to Narva, their only province. Neither of our allies join

Jan 13 - Estonia DOWs our vassal, Dorpat. Their ally, Kexholm, joins them this time. I DOW Kexholm because they DOWd my vassal. We are now at war with both.

Kexholm is relatively poor financially, and it’s a ways over from my own holdings, so I have no current desire for it

Jan 17 - My brother has died

Feb 20 - Our army arrives in Narva and assaults the meager defenders

Feb 25 - We win

Mar 8 - Kexholm troops arrive to drive us out

Marc 24 - The 2000 pagan troops have been crushed

Apr 11 - Narva falls. I take it in peace negotiations with Estonia. I get a little gold too.

I disband my troops

I’ll keep the war with Kexholm going, in case one of my vassals manages to capture it. That way I won’t have to spend money on it.

June 6 - A sawmill was completed in Narva. I order up a church

Aug 2 - Troops from the Count of Reval have begun a siege in Kexholm.

Aug 23 - My Marshal recovers from an illness.

Aug 30 - The Count of Reval accepted peace for 70 ducats from Kexholm. I would have kept going.

Sept 5 - The Templar House is complete in Jerusalem. I order up a Church.

Kexholm DOWs Osel, and that seems like a bad idea, since Osel had some troops of actual size

Oct 23 - My Chancellor and Daughter has died.

I want to appoint my Diocese Bishop to be my new Chancellor, but I can’t figure out how.

So instead I give it to my wife.

Nov 12 - I get an alliance offer from Hungary. This is accepted. They are becoming a major power, and perhaps Hungary will be the country that stops in Mongols in 120 years or so.

Dec 29 - I blast some rebels in Scalovia

Welcome to 1125

[Abe Sargent]

Jan 15 - I give a little gold to the Count of Osel to keep him in the green and encourage him to continue his war against Kexholm

March 29 - 1800 Osel troops arrive in Kexholm and begin a siege. Please take it, take it!

May 18 - I had to appoint a Muslim as a Steward in order to free up my wife as a new Chancellor. The Pope comes calling. In order to dodge his fury, I choose to execute the Courtier. I gain cruel and arbitrary, but at least I didn’t gain Excommunicated (which was a chance if I had chosen else wise).

July 29 - Kexholm has fallen to Osel!

Aug 8 - The County of Osel has taken Kexholm in peace negotiations. Excellent! Increase my domain by a province and I didn’t have to do anything. Good job Osel. I was hoping one of my vassals might come through for me. From my financial gift to denying a White Peace offer occasionally, I feel that I helped behind the scenes.

Sept 1 - After Charcoal spreads to Livs, I order a mine built here.

The Count of Osel has given Kexholm away to his firstborn. He’s a good courtier too, so that’s alright for me. The Count of Osel is one of my few loyalists, so I’m happy to have his son as my newest vassal.

Sept 10 - I hold a Great Royal Fest when I get that event. I lose a bit of gold, gain a bit of prestige, and my vassals are happy

Oct 2 - I get a Vassal Loyal Event and regain just, and lose arbitrary as a trait.

My great grand son, Jacenty Nakonid, is born

I am 59. My eldest boy is 40. His oldest, still alive, is 22, who just had a son.

Welcome to 1126

Jan 18 - I order up a mine in Narva

If I had a better Chancellor, I would take Sambia now. My new Chancellor isn’t nearly as good as my old one. Why does that matter?

The loyalty of my vassals depends on the diplomacy value of the liege, prestige of the liege, character traits, liege badboy, laws and scutage. My BB isn’s that bad right now, so it would be time to take my reign out for a spin, but I need a good chancellor first.

Ah what the hell, let’s get crazy.


A look at the Tribe of Cuman.

In a surprisingly smart move, the remaining pagans in the area have all allied under one banner. Aland, Sambia, three provinces in the north of Sweden, have all allied with an inland pagan, the King of Cuman. He has seven province sin his desmense plus around 18 vassals, some duke level, some count level. The Tribe of Cuman is a giant green blob in the east of the map, covering land from Mid Russia all the way down to the Black Sea, and covering it thickly. They also have northern provinces like the five I mentions, and some in east Finland.
I want Sambia. The rest can remain Cumani. They are adjacent to Hungary in several regions by the Black Sea, so if my ally joined, they’d be too busy to mess with me, plus I’m a distance away and I have a nice sized army.

I order my troops in Aukshayts to Scalovia

Mar 1 - I DOW Sambia.

Cuman DOWs us
Hungary DOWs Cuman

I order my troops in

March 21 - My troops arrive in Sambia

April 11 - We barely lose. I order several surrounding provinces troops in action and send them in

May 1 - Fresh troops arrive in Sambia

We are losing so I take a look - the Chief of Sambia, on the battlefield has a Marshal skill of 20. No wonder I’ve been doing poorly against the genius military guy.

May 18 - We lose again

May 24 - I have gained the Shiek of Acre as a new rival

May 29 - I again get the Married to a Woman You Love it Great event. I choose to de stress and lose stressed.

June 1 - The first troops to lose are having another go

June 6 - A church is completed in Jerusalem

June 19 - We again lose in Sambia.

These guys are good

June 30 - The second army rearrives

July 8 - They lose again

July 30 - We arrive in Sambia again

Aug 4 - We finally defeat the Sambian army

Sept 14 - Sambia falls. I get 500 gold plus Sambia

If I wanted Aland, I could DOW it and cross the sea to the island, but its poor, and I don’t care that much.

With my blood money, I order a Medium castle built in Jerusalem. I want to do everything I can to turn this into a one province country of significant power.

Oct 19 - I decide to build moneylenders in Narva. The negative Piety doesn’t mean anything to me.

Oct 24 - I give in to demands in Jerusalem, which is now out of revolt

Dec 20 - Aland DOWs Hungary, so I join back. We are now at war with Aland

Welcome to1127

[Abe Sargent]

March 21 - The Pope is now my friend

Hungary is eating Cuman provinces left and right. They have a 20000 army led by their king just tearing through them. Glad to have helped to create a mega-Christian state that can stand against the Mongols.

Apr 17 - The loyal Count of Osel is now a rival. That sucks.

Jul 4 - The Count of Reval is becoming a real problem. He’s rebellious and my rival and he’s losing too much loyalty to me monthly. I’m having to give him a gift of 100 gold every three months or so to keep him happy. Time to pull out the big gun.

I send an assassin. It works, but I am discovered. My BB raises, and his son is pissed until I send 300 gold to cheer him up. Hopefully that’s the last investment I make in Reval for a while. The piety and prestige loss isn’t much these days.

July 7 - Reval sends an assassin to kill me and fails and was discovered. That lowers our BB back down.

Aug 12 - I hand Narva to a new Count.

Nov 1 - Time to build a Naval Harbor in Sambia

Nov 16 - Prosperity in Livs is reduced to merely prosperous from rich.

Welcome to1128

Jan 1 - The son of the Count of Osel has taken over after his father’s death, and he doesn’t like me as much as his father did, although we are not rivals.

Feb 18 - Aland forces arrive in Livs - all 500 of them. I organize my troops

I then accept a white peace offer from then. Again, if I had wanted Aland, I would have grabbed it just then.

[Abe Sargent]

April 15, 1128 - The County of Vitebsk has declared war. On us. Byzantium joins them. Hungary does not join them.

Time for real war now.



I organize my Aukshayts army and order them to the adjacent Byzantine province of Polotsk.

I grab a claim on the Polotsk County.

I have been gaining 90 gold a month with my provinces, so I’m fine that way.

I summon the Livs army - 6000 strong, and order them to the province of Novgorod, a nearby Byzantine province.

See, one of the ways you win in CK is always keeping a plan in your back pocket. If I can take Polotsk, then I can grab a King title. If I can take Novgorod, then I get the best province in the entire region, financially.

I organize a few smaller provincial armies to deal with Vitebsk;s mighty 300 army.

May 5 - We arrive in Polotsk. Siege begins.

4436 Byzantine troops from Novgorod arrive in Pskov where my 5932 troops are.

May 19 - I accept peace with Vitebsk for 312 gold.

May 22 - We lose in Pskov when the Emperor himself arrives leading reinforcements.

May 24 - The Pope, our friend, has died. We are now the new Papal Controller

May 30 - Polotsk falls. I order my troops deeper into Byzantine territory.

June 20 - Our retreating forces win in Livs. I order them back to Novgorod.

Troops have arrived in Velikiye Luki, and are met by the Emperor

June 27 - We lose on Orsa, win in West Dvina, and lose in V. Luki

I’ll rally these forces in West Dvina

June 30 - In an annoying display of efficieny , Cuman, whom we are still technically at war with, landed 3633 troops in Sambia, forcing me to mobilize nearby forces.

July 1 - Troops arrive in Pskov and begin another tussle

July 7 - We lose in Pskov

July 21 - My troops arrive in Sambia

2500 troops arrive in Livs and begin a siege

July 24 - We win in sambia, and our forces that lost in Pskov drive the attackers in Livs

Aug 7 - The Byzantine War Machine in cranking it up. I keep the 5000 troops in Sambia and order them over to help out. I also order my Lubeck forces to Pskov

That’s my reserve. If I order it in, you know its serious

I have 8000 troops in Livs with 1500 more under way from Reval.

I have 5304 in West Dvina

5316 in Sambia

And now 9000 in Lubeck traveling the scenic route through the Baltic

They have -

About 3000 in Jacweiz marching

1500 in Polotsk trying to retake it.

8400 in Orsha

787 in V Luki

3500 in Pskov


This is a real campaign in a real war

I order the 8000 Livs troops to Polotsk. West Dvina to Livs and the 1500 from Reval to join them there.

[Abe Sargent]

Sept 13 - Polotsk has fallen back into their hands

Sept 24 - We lose in Polotsk and are forced back to West Dvina

Oct 14 - Forces from Sambia arrive in Polotsk and begin an assault on the troops there.

Oct 21 - After ordering the northern army in Pskov, we drive back the Emperor. We also win in Polotsk and rebegin the siege there.

I order the forces in Pskov to continue to Novgorod

Nov 1 - We arrive in Novgorod and begin the siege

Nov 5 - 2745 troops arrive in Aukshayts and begin a siege of us.

Nov 15 - Byzantine troops arrive in West Dvina, cutting off my reinforcements going to Aukshayts

Nov 23- We lose in West Dvina

Nov 24 - We capture Polotsk and I order my forces to Aukshayts

Nov 28 - Novgorod falls

Dec 14 - Just a few days before Aukshayts is set to fall, our troops arrive from Polotsk to protest their presence.

Dec 18 - 2000 Byzantine troops arrive again in Livs and begin a siege

I order my 6000 damaged troops to Smolensk.

Dec 24 - We win in Aukshayts and break the siege. We also win in Livs - The Lubeck troops landed.

I claim the Count of Novgorod title.

Welcome to 1129

Jan 26 - We capture Smolensk. I offer peace for Polotsk and Novgorod

Feb 15 - They decline

Mar 5 - We capture Moskva

Apr 20 - We capture Rostov

June 12 - I have captured two more Byzantine provinces but they still won’t budge on the war front.

We keep killing their remnants in the north, while we take their provinces in the south, but no dice.

I’m almost out of gold, so I need to wrap this up or disband some armies. I choose to punish Byzantium for their stubborness. I pillage every province I have captured except the two I want, a get a little gold.

July 14 - Yet another province of theirs falls.

July 27 - I accept a White Peace offer from Cuman

Aug 18 - A Thieves Guild has formed in Sambia

Sept 1 - We are now in the hole

[Abe Sargent]

Oct 15 - We are starting to lose ground. My besieging armies were losing, so I disbanded them, and now Byzantium is taking back the Russian provinces. I make an offer for just Polotsk

They decline. This war is never going to end.

Fine then. Two can play this game. If this war is going on forever, I’m going to win.

I DOW Orsha after claiming its title.

Nov 11 - I begin the siege of Orsha

Dec 5 - Orsha falls to us

I get 454 gold and Orsha in a peace deal. That money will help us keep going. It’s a lot of BB, but it was worth it to actually get land.

Welcome to 1130

[Abe Sargent]

I am moving so many armies around, because they just keep coming. I thought this would be a quick strike war, and its not. We are not winning this war. They just keep coming and coming and coming. I am the only person Byzantium is at war with, and they can turn their full attention to me. Unless…

I order my Jerusalem troops mobilized and head to Byzantium’s capital but it doesn’t work. I can’t go through the surrounding Muslem people.

I disband them. It was a good idea but poor execution.

March 26 - It’s a constant game of move and hit.

Apr 1 - After all of these military losses, I’m not losing money anymore

May 7 - They recapture Novgorod. I only have Polotsk left. They just keep coming. They have turned down two White Peace proposals from me.

May 18 - I give Orsha to a courtier as a Count because we lost a battle here today,a nd the siege would start tomorrow otherwise.

June 2 - Sambia is now Catholic, Looted and Rebelling

July 26 -After much maneuvering, 12000 men with the Emperor at the head take Livs.

Sept 25 - We drive out the Byzantines in Livs and begin a siege to take it back

Sept 30 - We again win in Livs, but sits hanging on by a thread

Oct 20 -

Byzantium finally accepts our white peace offer

Well, we didn’t get Novgorod and we didn’t even get Polotsk, but we did poach Orsha, so it’s not a total loss.

[Abe Sargent]

Dec 16 - I accept the King of Denmark’s fosterling

Welcome to 1131

Jan 11 - I order Glass Works in Lubeck

Feb 25 - The Medium Castle is complete in Jerusalem

June 5 - I gain the Count of Tavasts as a friend.

Aug 8 - I get the event: The Peasants Are Starving and Leave Their Revolt. I choose to open our coffers to help them. Their prosperity improved to rich, they are no longer rebellion or looted.

Dec 10 - My Marshal dies and I have no male courtiers

Welcome to 1132

[Abe Sargent]

Well, I am free now. I can go anywhere or do anything, militarily. I have no idea where I will expand next. Some ideas and directions:

Jerusalem - Build upon my Fiefdom here in Jerusalem until I have forged a major Crusader State.

Finland - I could hop the Gulf of Finland and begin expanding in the far north of Finland, by our province in Kexholm. There are a handful of provinces back here that are still pagan. Three to be exact, and none are that valuable. Had I taken Novgorod in the war, I would push to take Vodi, which would connect Kexholm and Novgorod.

Russia - I can continue to expand landward and eastward, but Byzantium is a formidable opponent, as I’ve come to realize. Also in the way is Hungary and as you go inward, Cuman. All are very powerful.

Poland - I could try to slide south east and gobble up the rest of Poland. They have 11 provinces left in their main area, divided by Hungary. All four the provinces that border us are decently valuable. However, I don’t have many claims down here, so that’d increase the badboy issues. In fact, I just checked - I have no claim on any Polish territory.

Scandinavia - I could hop the Baltic and start gobblin up Scandinavia. We could start with Denmark. Well, actually, if I really want to take on Scandinavia, I should grab the three Cuman provinces at the north end of Sweden first. Then I have a launching point.

The Soup - Or, I could head south or west of Lubeck, and start grabbing Soup provinces. I have a claim on the Duke of Brandenburg, for example. It’s not much of a ducal title these days - just two provinces. Or I could fight the Duke of Slesvig, who is currently independent.

I suspect I’ll go where the opportunity lies. If I crusade is called next week, then I have a reason to start grabbing land in the Levant. If Altmark goes independent, then I have a target right by home. For now, I just wait.

And watch.

[Abe Sargent]

Feb 6 - And opportunity strikes. The Duke of Asturias has given Kurs to his son. As soon as my troops are revived, barring any other changes, I may take back my province.

A quiet year. No events, no major wars, no major peace treaties, nothing.

Welcome to 1133

Jan 11 - a few provinces (Minsk, Starya Ryssa) are joining Novgorod as a free state, (Not in Novgorod province, but based out of Torzhok.)

Let’s take a look at my Duke:

Wladyslaw Nakonid, 65 years old

Western Slavic Catholic

9/9/10/9

Crusader, Celibate

Intricate Webweaver

Chaste, Lazy, Deceitful, Just, Cruel, Modest, Zealous, Trusting, Coward

This guy is an institution

With my BB beginning to ebb, but my country needing to still spend time recovering, I dice to make a few moves. You never know when my Duke will die, so let’s use up some of that prestige.



Duke of Slesvig



As a lark, I offer the newly independent Count of Jacwiez, at war with Byzantium, vassalization. He accepts.

That does increase my BB.

Now I need for Byzantium to not kill him.

I order him to revoke his title. For his people. He accepts. Also jumps my BB, but it works.

I then give it away to the new countess of Jacweiz.

And just like that, we have a new province.

Jacweiz and Orsha isolate the Byzantine province of Polotsk, which is now completely surrounded by us.

[Abe Sargent]

June 2 - The King of Hungary died. I choose not to renew my alliance with them. They left us alone against the Byzantines when they declared war against us. I won’t forget that.

July 1 - I get an alliance offer from the King of Burgundy. Let me check.

Nah, I decline

The province of Mecklemburg has been inherited by a vassal under the court of Hungary, so we have lost it, like we lost Kurs. This is getting irritating

How do we not even have a claim on Mecklemburg, when we used to when we started the game?

Well, I grab County of Mecklemburg as a title.

Aug 11 - The Archbishop of Sweden is offering me an alliance proposal. This I take.

Sept 10 - Sambia is revolting because be tolerate heretics in our desmesne (Jerusalem).

Fine then. I give away Sambia to the new Countess of Sambia

We are down to Lubeck, Livs, Aukshayts and Jerusalem in our desmesne.

Dec 8 - My great grandson, and ultimate heir, is third in line for the Duchy of Bohemia. Interesting.

Welcome to 1134

Jan 11 - I send an assassin to take out one of the people between my great grandson and Bohemia. He is the Marshal of Bohemia, and just newly married, so I want to take him out now prior to any brides. He has a low intrigue (3) so this may be very doable.

If failed, but we were not discovered

Hold on, let me check something.

Yep, I can excommunicate him. Let me try.

Hmm, for some reason, the game won’t let me. The Pope’s piety and prestige are both higher than this guy’s. The game says I can, and yet, when I click on Otakar, the game does nothing. Hmpf, Useless pope.

I try another assassin. We succeed but are discovered. My great grand son is now second in line.

Here’s why that was important. The succession Line for the Duke of Bohemia - One of his Counts, My Heir. Sucession line for that Count - Duke of Bohemia, My Heir. Either way, they are going through him.

Jan 28 - The Duke of Bohemia has died of natural causes! Wow, what a lucky break! Of course the guy was like 66, but still, for him to die the month we assassinate one of his heirs, that’s great!

Jan 30 - We get the obligatory counterstrike, which fails.

June 17 - I get the Duke of Brunswick as a friend

Aug 12 - I gain my son, the Count of Danzig as my friend

Welcome to 1135

[Abe Sargent]

May 20 - The Count of Wolgast has inherited the province of Esztergom, in the heart of Hungary. It’s a really solid province in value, but way out there for us.

My great grandson has also inherited the Count of Yatvyagi

Anyway, I mention this because the Duchy of Bohemia is now at war with Hungary, and I fear they will gobble up my heritage.

Oh well, good luck to Bohemia

Byzantium is experiencing Realm Duress. The Leader has a -717 piety and a -5823 prestige. Not sure how you get htat bad, but he did.

Sept 22 - The Duke of Bohemia is now at peace with Hungary after paying some money.

Oct 8 - After rebelling against Byzantium, Velikiye Lukii agrees to vassalization with us.

Now, they are at war with Byzantium, but I don’t fear Byzantium as much now as I did a few years ago. They appear to be safe for now, but if troops in purple arrive, I won’t be afraid to DOW them and keep V. Luki.

Nov 4 - I drive out some rebels in Kexholm.


Nov 21 - Today was the day I am going to take out Byzantium in the north. Before that, a map to demonstrate what is going on.

[Abe Sargent]

The Eastern Portion of Our Realm:



Okay, a quick catchup. Many provinces are splitting off Byzantium with their issues. Among them are the large grey Principality, to which also the province directly below V Luki belongs. A small red province the same color as Denmark (sorry) is the Principality of Novgorod and several reds belong to them southward.

Polotsk is the Byzantine province directly surrounded by us. I want that.

Novgorod province is the long province near the top, in a darker shade of purple. I want that. I have claims on both it and Polotsk.

A couple of provinces are currently solo. The white tip of one is that the bottom of the screen and adjacent to us. There is also a blue solo province and a light green solo one and alight brown one.

The provinces that Byzantium holds that I have arrows in are pointing to who currently controls the province. All five arrows demonstrate that someone else has besieged and taken those provinces in war and currently hold them.

So, what do I know?

From the last time we fought, Byzantine has currently lost 14 provinces on the map, and we have three of them in our fold now. That could be 10000 or 15000 less troops to draw upon total - good for us.

Secondly, I know that Byzantine is currently in a lot of battles and wars, unlike before. They are distracted, and thus a Blitzkreig attack is likely to knock them flat.

Thirdly, I have the experience from the first war to guide me.

Time to tame the bear.

[Abe Sargent]

Operation: Blitzkreig


Target A: Polotsk

The Polotsk province will be assaulted by the combined forces of the reserve. Itis not a front in the war, so long as we take it before the war is over, we are successful. It does not have to be first, second or third.

Target B: Novgorod

The combined forces of the Latvian/Estonian provinces will send an army against Novgorod. This includes Livs, which will be the backbone of this army. For purposes of discussion, this will be referred to as the Dart Army. Their purpose is to dart in, snatch a province, then dart out, hitting where needed.


Target C: Havoc

A smash army consisting of the combined forces of Aukshayts, and various surrounding provinces will quickly enter Byzantine provinces in the east and south east, actively seeking out engagement with their forces. The goal of this army is to actively defeat the Byzantium forces in open battle, keeping them on the run. This is our Hammer Army.

Target D: Russia

A final army will consist of the various Lithuanian provinces, and its goal will be to take one or more provinces in mainland Russia, in and around Moscow. The goal of this is to drive up our warscore and hurt our opponent's chances of continuing war. This is our Anvil army.

Target E: Backup

The Lubeck army will be assigned to backup the first assault, and will be dispatched to Livs, and from there, into Byzantium as needed.

The names of my five armies are Reserve, Dart, Anvil, Hammer, and Lubeck. I will refer to them as such during the war to expedite things

[Abe Sargent]

Nov 21, 1135 - I declare war against Byzantium

Sweden does not join us, not that there’s much they could do anyway

Dec 13 - The Dart army arrives in Novgorod to fight troops there

Dec 22 - We win and begin the Siege of Novgorod

Jan 10, 1136 - We capture Novgorod. Good Dart Army, very good.

I order the Dart Army into more Byzantine territory. Time to harass.

Jan 21 - At 12000 men strong, the Hammer army has gathered in Orsha. I order them in.

Jan 30 - Two more provinces split off of Byzantium - Moscow and some Turkish province.

Feb 1 - The Dart Army has arrived in Trans=portage to fight the 2500 Byzantine forces here.

Feb 9 - The Dart Army is victorious

Feb 21 - I switch gears. I order my Anvil army into Polotsk. I will capture it early. Considering how bad Byzantine is getting beat, they may let the two provinces go.

Mar 1 - My Hammer Army blasted the Byzantines

Mar 11 - The Hammer Army grabbed a provinces for us

Mar 18 - Polotsk fell. I send a peace offer

Mar 30 - They accept our peace proposal - we also got 500 gold from them too.

I order a sawmill in Polotsk

Since my BB was almost all gone, we are still fine after grabbing those two provinces.

[Abe Sargent]

May 1 - Poland just lost four provinces to the Duchy of Lesser Poland who won their war of secession

June 11 - I give Polotsk to the new Count. I will be keeping Novgorod

June 24 - I get n event - Ruler commit’s a dastardly act of cruelty in Jerusalem. My piety takes a hit, as does the loyalty of two classes in Jerusalem

June 25 - A Croatian county attacks Sweden, I declare war back with my allies. Croatia joins.

June 28 - Novgorod is no longer looted

July 28 - Another heritage scheme broken up. The Duke of Bohemia ceded his duchy to Hungary in another war.

Aug 17 - I order a Grand Shipyard in Lubeck

Oct 13 - I dial up Training Grounds in Novgorod

Welcome to 1137

Aug 14 - Poland keeps falling apart, since the King was Excommunicated apparently, although I didn’t do it. I order a Small Castle in Novgorod

Sept 17 - I blast some rebels in Polotsk

Nov 8 -I get an event about my Marshal having long term service, so I reward him.

Welcome to 1138

[Abe Sargent]

January 26 - While under siege from the Emperor of Byzantium, I offer Pskov a vassalization. They accept. Of course, the Emperor is only 250 men strong I think we can wait it out.

Pskov was important to get because it’s the land connection to Novgorod.

Feb 1 - I order a Glass Blower in Aukshayts

Feb 14 - I DOW the Tribe of Ingers and move my Livs forces into Vodi

March 5 - Our troops arrive in Vodi and assault their troops

Mar 28 - We defeated the pagans and being our siege

I get an offer for peace for 1692 gold, That’s a lot of gold. I already have over 2000 though, so I’m good. I want the land.

May 1 - We capture Vodi. I grab it and 500 gold from them. I now have a land connection all the way up to Kexholm.

June 1 - My Marshal has died.

[Abe Sargent]

Sept 1 - There is no more Byzantium, in the same place. Bulgaria has taken their King title. They have grabbed the Principality of Novgorod, which is bad for us. They can now launch an attack on Pskov, and there is nothing I can do, unless I go to war.

Just in case, I mobilize my forces in Livs and Aukshayts and move them to places I can handle.

Sept 8 - It looks like Bulgaria has mobilized their forces. This is going to hurt, but I have to protect my own.

I usurp the Duke of Novgorod title. Over the years, this guy has collected vassals from the Old Byzantium. There are six provinces in the Duchy of Novgorod, we have four, so I can claim the title by right, without any BB, but I lose some prestige.

This will take some prestige, however. I grab the title Count of Torshok.

Sept 14 - My Livs forces have arrived in Pskov. Time for war.

I DOW the Principality of Novgorod

Bulgaria DOWs us back. No Sweden to be seen - nice ally that Sweden

Sept 19 - I win a skirmish in Pskov - they were marching here.

Oct 5 - My troops arrive in Torshok and begin the siege.

I order my force in Orsha, from Aukshayts, into Bulgarian territory

Oct 25 - I defeat a small number of troops in Novgorod and a major army in Torshok. The siege continue.

Nov 22 - I capture Torshok

I take the Duke title, Torshok, and about 50 gold.

I gained a bunch of Russian provinces from taking the Duke title, many of which I don’t want. Let’s finish up the wars with the leaders of the two people I just took (Torshok and Vodi) and then call it a night.

Dec 15 - Bulgaria accepts my White Peace proposal, which puts Pskov out of the way of danger.

May 15, 1139 - The Clergy of Novgorod Request Alms. I give as much as I can spare for the poor of Novgorod and increase the loyalty there a bit of two classes.

Nov 14 - I get Increased Land Productivity in Novgorod and it moves from poor to normal.

Welcome to 1140

[Abe Sargent]

Okay, Let's Look at Russia:



As you can see, when we took the Principality of Novgorod's title, we grabbed their vassals as well. There are several provinces with stars on them. The one by Novgorod was Torshok, the actual province we captured in war. All of the others were vassals that have moved their allegiance to us. Now some fit our profile quite nicely, while some others are just other there.

You can also see that province in the middle of Hungary that one of my Counts inherited.

The Tribe of Cumans is quite large, as I mentioned.

After further review, here is what I think happened with Bulgaria and Byzantium.

At some pint in time, Bulgaria gained a claim on the King of Rus, but I'm not sure how. Maybe they grabbed it, maybe they had an event, or maybe they inherited a claim.

Then they waged war with Byzantium while they were down. Grabbed several of their province s and took the King of Rus. Now all vassals loyal to the Rus title go with Bulgaria, much like we got the Novgorod vassals. They also grabbed a few provinces from Byzantium, including their former capital.

[Abe Sargent]

What I need to decide now is The Russia Question.

Simply put, do I continue into Russia or go elsewhere?

Its important to know that a lot of the Russian provinces are very poor. Poorer than the poor Scandinavian provinces, like Aland.

For example, Ugra, which is in the far NE corner that we got, the base income is 0.24. In Trans-portage, which is now ours, it’s 0.42. Here are some provinces SE of Transportage: 0.67, 0.29, 0.67, 0.65, 0.61, 0.28, 0.41, 0.65, 0.12, 0.70. Those are all of the provinces in the NE corner of the map. That’s poor.

And that’s the problem with Russia. It’s a very poor state. Now, there are some provinces with value:

Tver, adjacent to three of our provinces is rocking a 3.64 - very wealthy. (Lubeck is 3.73 by comparison, and it is one of the best provinces we have).

Smolensk is at a powerful 4.21. It’s next to two of our provinces.

Msitisavl is at 1.98 which isn’t that bad at all - Adjacent to Minsk, our province captured by Novogorod Duchy and Orsha as well.

Lyubech is at 3.64 - and although it is adjacent to Minsk, it is deep into enemy territory - a poor strategic choice for expansion.

Moskva is at 2.98 and is adjacent to us in Vyazama.

Pereyaslavl Zalesky, next to Vyazama as well has a powerful 4.27.

Rostov, next door, has 3.64


This then, is the seduction of Russia. There are these great provinces that lead you into her, only to find crap at the end. If we expand gently, and then let the eastern provinces rot in whoever’s hands, that might be ideal.

For the record, here are the provinces we grabbed from Novgorod, but not Tolshok:

Minsk - Below Orsha and east of Jacwiez.

Vyazma - East of V. Luki, it’s the perpendicular province at the end of our land in the east (still connected to us).

Starya Russa - Nestled between Novgoroed, Pskov and V. Luki. A perfect fit to our profile

Trans-portage - Adjacent to Novgorod, in the NE.

Ugra - Far NE of the map, crap province.

Galich Mersky - Near where Mongols often appear. Ick. Far east of Russia.

Hlynov - NE of G. Mersky. Also near Mongols.

So we gained seven provinces off the Duke title. Plus we got Torshok, which closed a hole in our profile.

[Abe Sargent]

Feb 5 - After seeing how valuable Tver was, I decided to send a random offer of vassalization, since they are at war with Byzantium, they might flock to us as so many others have done. They have accepted, and Tver is now a part of the Duchy of Mecklemburg.

The Emperor of Byzantium is 48 year old Yevstafii of Tver, so he may not give up without a fight. Still, I am unconvinced that they have the ability to take Tver right now, especially through the 1600 Tverese military.

Feb 15 0 I order a Library in Novgorod

Our BB is not super high, but it is rising. We need to slow down a bit.

Unless an amazing opportunity falls into our laps, we should steer clear of swallowing more land right now.

March 11 - Poland’s King has died, and his son is a much better ruler without the crisis.

April 1= The Duchy of Trondelag just won its independence from Sweden

April 23 - A nice courtier has arrived in my court and I make him my new Marshall

My second born son, Bartosz has died. He was 47

Aug 15 - We blast some rebels in Polotsk

Nov 2, 1140 - At the age of 73, Wladyslaw Nakonid died of old age.

He has been Beatified

[Abe Sargent]

Our new ruler:

Zbigniew, Count of Danzig, Eldest Son of Wladyslaw

5/13/4/6

55 Years Old

Traits: Chaste, Lazy, Generous, Arbitrary, Cruel, Modest, Sceptical, Trusting, Coward

Loyalist, Crusader, Romantic

Prestige: 422
Piety: 351


Rivals: Count of Memel, Zemigalians, Stettin and Slupsk, and Opole

Friends: Duke of Slesvig, Count of Zhmud and Werle, and Marshal of Denmark.


Ally -Count of Rugen.

I send some gifts out to particularly disloyal subjects. Vassals are always a bit queasy at changes, and naturally have to grow into their new liege. Thus all vassals take a massive loyalty hit.

I claim the title - King of Lithuania

Our new capital is Aukshayts

My fifth born child has a Diplomacy of 23, and that will help stabilize the realm, as my Chancellor. I have a combined Diplomacy skill of 36.

I offer myself to a Courtier in the County of Opole to be my new bride.

With the prestige bump from becoming King of Lithuania, I am now at 672, a healthy number. I will not create the Duke titles I can, saving them for a future King to use to pump up their prestige.

One of the things I can immediately do is offer vassalization to Dukes. I could not do that before, because I was at the same level as them, but now when a wayward Duchy becomes available, I can try to bring it home.


I give away Torshok to the new Count, and Vodi to another new Count.

That drops our BB even more.

I need a year or so to stabilize my people, and then I can go to war, if needed.

[Abe Sargent]

Nov 16 - Luca, age 17, is now my new wife, with her 6/8/3/17 skills

Welcome to 1141

Jan 11 - I order a Civilian Harbor in Danzig

Apr 21 - I lost the Loyalist trait due to an event designed to do so. “What Am I Being Loyal To, Anyway?” was the name of the event.

May 25 - My new wife and I are expecting.

July 17 - Tver and Byzantium are now at peace, guaranteeing our newest province’s continuing presence.

Sept 1 - I grant a Title:

The Count of Wolgast and Esztergom is now the Duke of Pommerania. He has great stats, is still young, and has an established family, while also being a loyalist. A perfect choice for my first Duke. The Counts of Rugen and Stettin and Slupsk are now under his control.

I have practically no BB (just 3 or so). Time to take it out for a spin.

I DOW the Duchy of Asturias, and then the Kingdom of Castille declared war back. We fight to regain Kurs.

I order my Aukshayts troops to Kurs

Castille is currently involved in a few battles with Muslems to their south, so I hope they won’t sail up some troops, but even if they do, I think I can handle some sick troops after being in a boat for a half of a year.

Oct 13 - Our troops arrive in Kurs. I get white peace offers from the Duke of Asturias. Heh. Nope.

Nov 6 - Kurs falls. I offer peace.

Nov 10 - The Duke of Asturias accepts our peace proposal.

We are still at war technically with Castille, but I doubt we’ll come to blows.

It was quick. Kurs needs some investment. I order a Sawmill built here. I would grant Kurs to my fourth born son, but he is my Marshal. My fifth born is my Chancellor. First and third are dead. My second born son and heir is my Diocese Bishop. I’m stuck without a son to give to Kurs.

So I grant Kurs to the new Countess.

[Abe Sargent]

Nov 17 - A week later I get a major event:

A Vassal of Mine had broken free and is trying to spark civil war. I gain Realm Duress. While I have Realm Duress, I get -3 diplomacy, -2 intrigue, -1 stewardship and -5 prestige per month. That’s nasty. Our stability drops by tow, but I;m not sure how to raise is back up - it’s never been above 0.

The Count of Memel has rebelled and we are now at war.

I order the Aukshayts forces to Memel.

Dec 27 - Our forces arrive in Memel.

Jan 16 - I get an event. The Count of Hlynov has declared independence. I decide to let him go. I cannot concentrate on a vassal so far away.

Jan 24 - We win in Memel and begin the siege.

Feb 18 - I have a son, and we name him Havel. I also gain a new rival, the Count of Pskov

Feb 20 - Memel fell. We take it in peace.

I decide to give Memel to my daughter, the new Countess of Memel. The family tie should make her a more loyal vassal.

Because we took it in self defense and then gave it away, our BB did not take a major hit. I need to steer clear of any war other than our own for the next while, in order to weather out the storm.

Money will be spent on appeasing vassals, not on buildings.

[Abe Sargent]

Mar 17 - I get another event. The Count of Trans-portage has declared independence. No war. I let them go peacefully. I could move the Novgorod army over and blast them, but I don’t care about the cheap province.

Mar 22 - I get an event, and one of my courtiers flees to another court.

May 5 - We are expecting another child

May 7 - Castille declined my White Peace proposal

Aug 28 - I get an event to invest some money in my realm. I do, putting over 2000 gold into my stability, but I only had a 50/50 chance of success and it didn’t work.

Welcome to 1143

I made it through the Civil War Crisis, Year One.

Jan 29 - We had a son and will name him Kazimierz

April 15 - I will be sending the first son with my new wife to the nannies to raise.

May 23 - Theives Guild forms in Aukshayts

[Abe Sargent]

Aug 8 - We are now at war. It’s a long chain, so get ready:

The County of Opole, which if you remember is a rival, DOWd us.
Their liege, the Duchy of Greater Poland follows and DOWs us.
The Duchy is a part of Sweden, so Sweden DOWs us
The County of Rugen retalites, as our ally, and DOWs Sweden
Their liege, the Duke of Pomerania DOWs Sweden
Rugen DOWs the Duchy of Greater Poland.
Pomerania DOWs them as well.
Rugen DOWs Opole
Pomerania does as well.
Then the ally of Opole, which did not join them in their initial attack, the County of Poznanskie, DOWs back against the people who DOWs Opole.

Okay, following all of that? Basically, I am at war with Sweden. Let me look through my claims, see if I have anything that can help us.

I have no claims to dial up against Sweden.

I order Lubeck forces to the Swedish capital

Danzig forces to the Duchy capital (adjacent to Danzig)

I spend a lot of prestige to grab the Duke of Greater Poland title. I then Create the titles of Duke of Livonia, Prussia and Esthonia, in order to jack my prestige back up.

If I go to war, I intend to win

[Abe Sargent]

Aug 20 - Our Danzig forces arrive in the Duchy’s capital.

Sept 12 - 3500 men arrive to protest our siege of Gnieznienskie

I accept peace with Opole for 900 gold and Pozan. For 300 gold.

Oct 2 - We win in Gniez. I get news that my wife is pregnant agin. And I get the “You have Fallen in Love with you Wife” event again.

Oct 14 - Gniez falls.

I take the Duke of Greater Poland. Gniez is back to the now Count. We gain vassals in Lubusz, Poznanskie and Opole.

Oct 23 - My troops arrive in the Swedish captial and begin a siege

Nov 7 - We capture Vastergotland

Nov 22 - Sweden has rejected my gracious proposal.

Dec 27 - I captured Smaland

Jan 12, 1144 - We capture Ostergotland

If they reject this, then I go to war for real.

Jan 20 - They decline my peace offer, I just wanted a White Peace. I send troops to more Swedish provinces.

[Abe Sargent]

I grab a claim on Hamburg.

Feb 10 - 8000 men arrive in Lubeck. They will march for Hamburg.

Feb 22 - We win in Hamburg and begin the siege.

Mar 10 - Hamburg falls. I order my troops onward to Bremen.

Mar 17 - Sweden decliners a peace offer for Hamburg. They need humiliated.

April 3 - We capture Bremen.

April 24 - I capture Halsingland.

April 29 - They decline another peace offer. I pillage their lands.

May 7 - I capture another province, Osnabruck

May 30 - Munster falls.

June 29 - We have a daughter and name her Grazyna

July 3 - Another peace proposal declind.

Aug 7 - Sweden is pushing us back in Munster and defeats our army.

Sept 6 - We drive 1500 Swedish back out of Bremen

Sept 23 - They have retaken Osnabruck, but I have defeated a besieging army in their captial.

Oct 15 - I win about three quick battles in Germany where I ordered a few troops to march.

Nov 3 - We lose in Hamburg

Nov 15 - We win in Hamburg after sending in a second army.

Jan 13 - I drive away the Swedish from Holstein.

Feb 15 - I stop the 1200 Swedish from taking Ostergotland

March 20 - I’ve been winning a few skirmishes, no more major battles.

Mar 26 - I recapture Osnabruck

April 4 - My youngest son dies