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Did the queen inherit a good claim to Morea (or was it Athens?) from her mother? Since it seems like war with Nicaea is inevitable, it would be helpful to have a staging ground in Greece.
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Sep 16, 2013 11:41
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I think it might be best to keep to Sicily for the moment to strengthen our rule and have all our forces in that one area to mass and deal with any coming attack from Naples first, then go for Nicaea. Not like it'd be hard to just sail right up.
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Sep 18, 2013 07:27
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But if we attack we can decide the time and place, hire loads of mercenaries to overwhelm them with and position our non-levy forces. How do our dynastic brethren feel about Naples? Readingaccount fucked around with this message at 10:05 on Sep 18, 2013 |
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Sep 18, 2013 10:03
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State of the World (1300) In the British Isles, a new struggle for supremacy between Scotland and England is beginning. While the conquest of Ireland has been completed, Scotland is threatened by continued encroachment by England.  England and Wales remain firmly in control of the House of Jimena, making them the third set of foreign kings of England since the defeat of Harold Godwinson.  Scotland, on the other hand, remains in the hands of a native dynasty. The current king, Lambert, has ruled for almost four decades, overseeing the completion of the conquest of Ireland.  To the south, the Iberian kingdoms are all in the hands of various branches of the Spanish d'Hautevilles, leading to frequent wars and messy borders. To their south, the two North African powers, the Almoravids and Hammadids, fight for influence in Andalusia.  The Almoravids are also in a struggle on their southern border, fighting for influence over the Trans-Saharan trade routes with the West Africans of Ghana.  Ghana is a kingdom clearly in ascension with the young rule of King Diara. A brilliant young man, he dreams of uniting West Africa under his rule.  In Central Europe, war has broken out in and around the region of Silesia, with all the major powers of the area Poland, Bohemia, Hungary, the Holy Roman Empire, and even Denmark trying to lay claim to the contested region.  Kaiser Dietmar is the second emperor from the House of Babenberg, rulers of Austria, and he clearly intends to expand his empire's influence to the east just as his predecessors looked west.  Much further to the east, the remaining Russian princes are scattered around the periphery of the great Golden Horde, as threatened as ever by the Horde's conversion.  Even those unconquered princes have been influenced by the Mongols, however. The most powerful of them, Gleb of Yaroslavl, has adopted the Nestorianism popular among the small minority of Christian Mongols.  To the south, the rulers of Athens and the Aegean Islands have continued to consolidate the independent Greek territories against the Latin Empire's influence. All it would take is the conquest of Constantinople to re-establish a Greek Orthodox empire.  And the problems facing the current emperor are significant. Repeated disputes with his vassals have led to his imprisonment at the hands of his foremost vassal, the King of Bulgaria.  Young King Manfredo has not yet moved to claim the imperial throne for himself, but many expect him to eventually. For now, the emperor is in his power.  With the retreat of Turkish power, Arabia has been left open to new regional powers. Chief among them is the Rassid Sultanate, the last significant bastion of Shia Islam.  The weak rule of the current Sultan of Rum makes it unlikely that the Turks will experience a resurgence any time soon.  The most notable vassal to break away from Rum is the Abbasid Caliph himself. A clever man, he hopes to establish a powerful, independent caliphate.  Even worse troubles are currently affecting Egypt. The western parts of the kingdom have rebelled, establishing their de facto independence.  As with Rum, the inadequacies of the King of Egypt have certainly played a part in his kingdom's collapse.  Ledger Religions  The Most Prestigious Characters  The Most Pious Characters  The Largest States  The Largest Armies  World Map 
Viscardus fucked around with this message at 06:41 on Sep 30, 2013 |
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Sep 27, 2013 01:27
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Can we have a religions map too? I'm having trouble keeping track of what is what 
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Sep 27, 2013 03:48
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Holy poo poo, Naples is so much bigger than us 
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Sep 27, 2013 09:39
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Is there any chance of a dynasty map? I want to see exactly how much of the world is ruled by the hautevilles.
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Sep 27, 2013 11:07
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The United Kingdom of Fenno-Scandia (commonly known as Scandinavia) must become a thing. Denmark should focus on his Crusades against the Pommeranian pagans, since that is the thing any real Dane would (if playing from the 1066+ starts). Also, for once I'm not hissy-fitty about the Iberian and Silesian quilts. I find this very intriguing.
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Sep 27, 2013 14:26
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Christ, what's Leon doing in Lyon?
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Sep 27, 2013 16:36
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De jure Leon is split up, so it's very likely a monarch was ousted at some point but able to retain the title, keeping Lyon (most likely a former inheritance), before declaring independence or revolting recently. Jerusalem sure is lean and mean there, it's a long time since they needed anyone's help, despite being surrounded by hostile states. Though perhaps those states, with the exception of Egypt, have been far too terrified of the Catholic world to go on the offensive. I'm also rather impressed with the Rassids. Don't know what dangers lurk in that somewhat isolated corners, but it can't be easy being the last meaningful Shia state (if at all, 12 provinces doesn't even cover their own number, with their recent acquisitions). How's the Castille-Navarre marriage union coming along, did it fail somehow? Readingaccount fucked around with this message at 18:23 on Sep 27, 2013 |
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Sep 27, 2013 18:01
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RabidWeasel posted:Holy poo poo, Naples is so much bigger than us You'll notice, however, that we're still more militarily powerful than they are (in fact, we punch far above our weight militarily), in large part due to the money I've pumped into development on Sicily. Caterina's high martial score also helps with that. Ofaloaf posted:Christ, what's Leon doing in Lyon? Readingaccount posted:De jure Leon is split up, so it's very likely a monarch was ousted at some point but able to retain the title, keeping Lyon (most likely a former inheritance), before declaring independence or revolting recently. The sequence of inheritances and wars among the Iberian d'Hautevilles is pretty confusing. I'll have to check back to figure out precisely how it played out; I honestly don't remember the exact sequence of events. Basically what's responsible for the "Leon in Lyon" issue is gavelkind, though. The King of Leon (and Galicia) inherited those titles but no land in Iberia, only the old Duchy of Dauphinι (which the family had only just before inherited).
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Sep 27, 2013 18:39
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Chapter Thirty-One: Golden Years (1300-1326) A few years after her son comes of age, Queen Caterina decides to strike back against her traitorous daughter.  Her target is the Duchy of Apulia, the base from which Robert Guiscard originally launched his invasion of Sicily.  Before the Neapolitan army can muster a defence, Queen Caterina's army takes control of Apulia.  The enemy capital of Salerno falls soon afterward, leaving the Sicilians in a dominating position.  When a Neapolitan army does arrive to take back the city, it is woefully outnumbered.  The younger Caterina quickly decides that the battle is not worth fighting, surrendering Apulia to her mother.  The victory significantly expands Sicily's power in Southern Italy and ensures a strong position against Naples in the future.  Naturally, Caterina names her son and heir Ruggiero Duke of Apulia.  A few years later, Emperor Riccardo dies, never having managed to escape his imprisonment by his vassal.  Without any sons, he is inherited by his eldest daughter, Carola, who is also the wife of the King of Jerusalem.  A year later, Bruno of Nicaea, Caterina's unwanted son-in-law, falls ill and dies. His death removes the greatest point of contention between mother and daughter, but Bruno's children are still in line for the Neapolitan throne.  It is enough to end further war between Naples and Sicily, though. The Sicilian queen is getting older, and she prefers to focus on internal matters for the time being. The years stretch on, and before long Sicily and its queen have experienced more than two decades of uninterrupted peace and prosperity.  The ageing warrior queen takes well to peace, taking a particular interest in the study of ancient Greek and Latin texts.  To the east, the independent Greek states have been united under the newly-proclaimed Kingdom of Epirus.  Its queen is a member of the Murzuphlos family and thus a cousin of Caterina through her mother.  To the south, another new kingdom has been proclaimed the Kingdom of Africa.  Its king is even more closely connected to Caterina, having married one of her younger daughters. 
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Sep 30, 2013 06:07
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Nestorianism counts as a Catholic heresy instead of it's own thing? Odd. When did the Mongols convert and how much as Nestorianism spread?
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Sep 30, 2013 06:32
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i81icu812 posted:Nestorianism counts as a Catholic heresy instead of it's own thing? Odd. When did the Mongols convert and how much as Nestorianism spread? It counts as an Orthodox heresy. The Mongols (or at least the Golden Horde, since the Ilkhanate are still Tengriist and still irrelevant) converted to Sunni Islam a couple updates back - the reference to Mongol Christians is just a historical reference to the prevalence of Nestorian Christianity among the Mongols. I've changed the wording slightly to remove the ambiguity.
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Sep 30, 2013 06:51
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D'Hautevilles everywhere god drat.
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Sep 30, 2013 08:55
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For all of her four successful wars (helping Naples expand once, giving her mother a chance as Doux of Athens, and taking a county and a duchy from Naples... and was there a fifth war, a rebellion of some sort?) and great economic policies Caterina's legacy would (imo) be twice as great had she chanced her fortunes on the survival of her daughter. True the risk would have been great (failure (probably like 30% likely I think)) and led to a Hauteville relative inheriting (I'm fairly sure it wouldn't be game over) getting a Sicily with one duchy and county less but plus anywhere else the aggression could've been channeled, but the payoff would have been disproportionately great... and the risk could also have been mitigated by throwing herself further into her warrior personality, expanding her domains further while risking her life in favor of her daughter (though it could very well be that if she dies and then the daughter dies then Naples-Sicily would've gone to her father's line... so not being aggressive until her daughter has an heir would have been best). Might seem a bit meta, but I think that given her martial personality it would've made sense in a self-sacrificial manner. Readingaccount fucked around with this message at 15:46 on Sep 30, 2013 |
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Sep 30, 2013 15:37
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Readingaccount posted:For all of her four successful wars (helping Naples expand once, giving her mother a chance as Doux of Athens, and taking a county and a duchy from Naples... and was there a fifth war, a rebellion of some sort?) and great economic policies Caterina's legacy would (imo) be twice as great had she chanced her fortunes on the survival of her daughter. True the risk would have been great (failure (probably like 30% likely I think)) and led to a Hauteville relative inheriting (I'm fairly sure it wouldn't be game over) getting a Sicily with one duchy and county less but plus anywhere else the aggression could've been channeled, but the payoff would have been disproportionately great... and the risk could also have been mitigated by throwing herself further into her warrior personality, expanding her domains further while risking her life in favor of her daughter (though it could very well be that if she dies and then the daughter dies then Naples-Sicily would've gone to her father's line... so not being aggressive until her daughter has an heir would have been best). I'm... a little confused at what you're trying to say here. Caterina's heir is her son, Ruggiero.
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Sep 30, 2013 16:31
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Exactly the problem. I'm of the faction that wishes she had become the Widow Queen of War with but her daughter as heir, despite the danger of her daughter dying first, or far more severely, the threat of Caterina dying suddenly followed by her daughter dying childless thus possibly leaving the United Sicilies to her father's family. I felt the payoff was worth the risks. And dang... on another topic I think King Turstin controls 7 of 11 titles in his Kingdom, all higher ones included. Pity about the Latin Empire... it looks like the King of Bulgaria waited too long. Going by the last update it's the Kingdom of Sardinia alone, plus a couple of counties maybe, that now represent the Latin Empire. Readingaccount fucked around with this message at 08:15 on Oct 8, 2013 |
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Sep 30, 2013 16:49
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This world is Catholic as balls.
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Sep 30, 2013 19:44
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Is the Cathar heresy in CK2? I don't think I've ever seen it pop up. Cathar world dominance would be pretty amusing.
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Oct 2, 2013 04:56
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It is, but like all the Catholic heresies it rarely gets off the ground unless the player deliberately tanks Catholicism's MA.
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Oct 2, 2013 06:54
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Sindai posted:It is, but like all the Catholic heresies it rarely gets off the ground unless the player deliberately tanks Catholicism's MA. Considering that they were both strict pacifists and were supposed to swear off reproduction as well, I wonder whether the game enforces those two in any fashion.
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Oct 2, 2013 15:47
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PurpleXVI posted:Considering that they were both strict pacifists and were supposed to swear off reproduction as well, I wonder whether the game enforces those two in any fashion. One thing to remember about the Cathars was that the only ones who had to adhere to those expectations were Perfects and one could become a Perfect on ones deathbed so many followers happily lived their lives as they saw fit until they were dying. In the grand scheme of things not much would change in game mechanics, aside from getting a crusade called against you every couple decades.
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Oct 2, 2013 17:23
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Sindai posted:It is, but like all the Catholic heresies it rarely gets off the ground unless the player deliberately tanks Catholicism's MA. Usually it only needs a significant liege embracing the heresy to truly gently caress Catholicism up. The Holy Roman Emperor converting is what usually does it. Some of his underlings convert, others rebel and are promptly imprisoned and stripped of their titles - which then are given to the Emperor's heretic buddies. Usually, by the second revolt, the Catholicism is truly doomed, because what happens next is a holy war spree against neighbors.
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Oct 2, 2013 18:52
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Chapter Thirty-Two: A Kingdom Restored (1327-1336) The year 1327 is marked by two significant deaths in Queen Caterina's family. The first is her daughter Margherita's sudden death in childbirth.  The second comes as her beloved husband Bartolomeo slowly succumbs to illness and infirmity.  Their deaths and Margherita's own advancing age turn her thoughts to her son and heir Ruggiero. Though he is not yet king in either Sicily or Naples, Ruggiero has a crown through his wife Safiya, Queen of Egypt. He has distinguished himself as a general in her wars and his mother's, but has recently been cursed with misfortune, having lost his eyesight to disease.  Finally, Caterina decides that she cannot put off claiming her son's birthright any longer. Once again, she prepares a campaign against her daughter. This time, however, she will accept nothing less than the crown of Naples for her son.  Even in her old age, Caterina insists upon leading an army into battle against the Neapolitans.  But the larger Sicilian army is under the command of Ruggiero. Despite his blindness, he is a confident commander, leading his army into an attack on a numerically superior enemy force.  His boldness is justified in victory as he routs the Neapolitans.  His legend grows as the war goes on. He wins every battle in which he fights, and nobles once hesitant to follow a blind man follow him loyally into battle.  With her son defeating the Neapolitan armies at every turn, Caterina lays siege to the the beleaguered capital of Salerno.  Salerno is only the first to fall, and slowly more and more cities and castles fall to the Sicilians.  A few years into the war, Caterina and her son have a stranglehold on Southern Italy.  One final attempt at turning the tide of the war comes in the form of an Aragonese army sent to assist the Neapolitans. As expected, it is routed by Ruggiero.  Finally, Caterina of Naples nowadays young only in comparison to her mother is forced to give up. She accepts the loss of the kingdom she has ruled for decades, though she is allowed to retain significant lands, particularly in the north.  Ruggiero's coronation as King of Naples reduces the size of the Kingdom of Sicily once again, but only for so long as the queen lives.  Caterina, for her part, knows that she has fought her last war. Having finally achieved her greatest goal, she retires to live her last few years in peace in Palermo. Her son, on the other hand, has further ambitions, campaigning in North Africa to bring Tunis under his own rule and Tripolitania and Cyrenaica under the control of his wife.  Finally, at the age of 79, Caterina passes away. Having ruled for 77 years, she is by far the longest-reigning monarch in Sicilian history, and by all accounts one of the greatest.  Ruggiero's coronation comes without much resistance. In addition to being the only reasonable claimant to the throne, he is a pleasant and generally well-liked man, despite his recent excommunication well-known to be due to the machinations of his resentful elder sister.  Most importantly, the two kingdoms are finally united, and Sicily is finally restored to something resembling the glory it acquired before Alessandro's creation of the Latin Empire and partition of the old kingdom. While some former lands remain under the control of the Latin Empire, the Neapolitan campaigns in the north have brought much of northern Italy under Sicily's rule.  Not long after, there is another important unification, with Emperor Massimo inheriting the Kingdom of Jerusalem.  With his health steadily declining no doubt in part due to the disease that took his sight Ruggiero spends significant time and effort in arranging to have his excommunication lifted.  He is just in time. Only a few days later, he dies suddenly in his sleep, having ruled Sicily for just over a year.  His successor is his second son, Roberto, his first (and only other) son having died only a few years before while fighting in Egypt. Not having been expected to rule Sicily, Roberto is in some ways unprepared. On the other hand, he is relatively well-liked and eager to embrace his new responsibility as king.  Still, Roberto is following a father and grandmother whose names have already begun to go down in legend, and is expected to rule a kingdom greater than either of them did especially with the presumed eventual inheritance of Egypt from his mother. He quickly realizes that the advice of the Curia Regis could be a significant help. While the kingdom was in its reduced state and dominated by the powerful Queen Caterina, the Curia Regis atrophied somewhat into a group of Palermitan loyalists, no longer significantly influenced by the dukes and counts of the peninsula. Roberto makes it one of his first actions to substantially revive the Curia Regis. His first question to them is one that could have a massive influence on his reign; with a large realm and more territory bound to be inherited from his mother, Ruggiero believes that he must choose a focus for his ambitions or risk seeing his kingdom falling apart. For the lords of the the former kingdom of Naples, Northern Italy is no doubt the obvious choice. The influence of the Holy Roman Empire is ever-receding and control of the entire peninsula is a natural goal.  Others, however, have their eyes on a North African empire. With the reconquest of Tunis and the eventual inheritance of Egypt, Sicily could be poised to dominate the other side of the Mediterranean, albeit at some risk to their logistical capabilities. It is no doubt the easiest route, and the one that Roberto himself is most naturally inclined to.  But there are some who say neither plan is grand enough in its ambition. A few in Sicily still bitterly resent the actions of Emperor Alessandro in splitting the Sicilian kingdom, not to mention the way his successors have squandered the might of the Latin Empire. They passionately make the case that there can be no goal but the conquest of Greece and the seizure of Constantinople itself. 
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Oct 8, 2013 02:13
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Our seed has spread itself far and wide. On every Mediterranean shore, d'Hautevilles have landed and d'Hautevilles have conquered. It is abundantly clear that our line is favored by God to bring just rule and true religion to every corner of Mare Nostrum, though we are unfortunately fractured at the moment. It's time to bring the family back together. The Latin Empire is Roberto's birthright, and he shall take it for the glory of God and for his rightly-guided ancestors of the House d'Hauteville.
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Oct 8, 2013 02:25
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Great update. We can take any of these lands, but we can't hold them as securely as we can hold Northern Italy.
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Oct 8, 2013 02:28
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Forgot those uncultured fools, Italy for the Italians! We have long been denied our birthright but soon Italia will grow powerful under our grasp. She has been ravaged by outside forces because of a lack of unification but we will change that!
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Oct 8, 2013 02:28
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Why tussle with either false claimant to the Rome when we can just wait for their lands to fall into our laps. Go south, and seize Egypt
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Oct 8, 2013 02:29
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Natty Ninefingers posted:Why tussle with either false claimant to the Rome when we can just wait for their lands to fall into our laps. Egypt is already in the inheritance - the option is just to further expand our reach in North Africa. Unless you're voting to go to war with the King's mother.
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Oct 8, 2013 02:30
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The Germans are on their way down, let's give them another push: Northern Italy.
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Oct 8, 2013 03:00
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Let us take Northern Italy.
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Oct 8, 2013 03:15
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We've gone in every other direction before, so let's try going north.
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Oct 8, 2013 03:22
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We shall own the Mediterranean. Africa it is!
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Oct 8, 2013 03:29
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The Crusading traditions of Sicily cannot easily be forgotten; Lombardia, Greece and the Levant itself are now ruled by earnest Christians, but what of Africa and Hispania to the west? To be sure, the Latin territories around Valencia have been doing God's work in Spain, but there is so much more we could do to protect the faith! We must bring the cross to Africa and either add the Hammadid lands directly into our own flock, or else bring a new shepherd to the Moors.
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Oct 8, 2013 03:38
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This is definitely the time to push north. Campaigning in algeria will just strain our resources for little gain and a knock-down drag-out fight for Greece would be folly for a young and untested king of a realm that was only recently united. Pisa and Modena are practically there for the taking, so we should grab them before anyone else can.
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Oct 8, 2013 03:39
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Furthermore, it is my opinion that Egypt must be destroyed. Africa!
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Oct 8, 2013 04:04
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Push north, my lords. With Egypt in our inheritance, our control over North Africa is all but assured already. Save the Lombardians for Sicily and for God, and conquer today!
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Oct 8, 2013 04:13
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Serbia what are you doing over there?  And what's going on with the LE? It looks like they have a single king-level vassal who holds everything?
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Oct 8, 2013 04:22
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Sindai posted:Serbia what are you doing over there? Serbia, Nicaea, and Lombardy have been united for a while, recently under the Boccanegras (the guys who were going to inherit Naples out from under us). Since then a new dynasty took power in a civil war and decided to change their primary title to Serbia. The Kings of Bulgaria has owned the whole eastern part of the empire since being overthrown as emperors themselves a while ago. They just have never bothered to actually seize the throne for some reason.
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Oct 8, 2013 04:47
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