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RabidWeasel posted:I don't play with bastards much, is there a "I have no male heirs and hey look I have this totally sweet bastard here I could legitimize" event for illegitimate bastard children of your dynasty? There should totally be a event that fires when you're childless for a long time and your Spymaster suggests you adopt a peasant baby and have your wife run around with a pillow under her shirt for a few months then voila! Heir! And there's plenty of ways for this dumb idea to backfire. Similarly, supernatural omens could lead to a baby showing up, giving you the option of adopting the kid as your heir. With, of course, a good chance of them ending up having the annoying combination of Ambitious, Possessed, and a high Intrigue score.
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Nov 6, 2013 10:24
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Readingaccount posted:Sadly, he became a casualty somehow (though that could mean almost anything), according to the battle results. Well he will forever be a hero to me.
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Nov 6, 2013 10:26
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He's only a casualty because they couldn't find him after he ascended into the heavens 
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Nov 7, 2013 06:45
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State of the World (1350) In the British Isles, Scotland has finally succeeded in annexing its old enemy, the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles. The English, however, continue to encroach on the Scottish Lowlands.  The fact that young King Adam is currently imprisoned in Ireland by own of his vassals doesn't help matters.  In Iberia, the last few decades have marked the rise of the independent Kingdom of Portugal, as well as the consolidation of Hammadid power in Andalusia.  With the rise of the Hammadids, the Almoravids have been forced to retreat to their southern territories. In addition, they have lost control of the Saharan trade routes to the Kingdom of Ghana.  In Scandinavia, Sweden continues expanding, gaining control of more sparsely-populated territory around the White Sea. Norway still resists full Swedish conquest, once again electing the Danish king to rule it.  Young King Abel is the fourth King of Denmark to rule Norway in 60 years, but none of his predecessors have managed to keep the throne more then five years.  The Holy Roman Empire remains in turmoil at the hands of its heretic emperor. This turmoil threatens to undue the expansionist work of his predecessors, who brought Croatia into the empire and forced the King of Bohemia to rejoin it. But with the empire weak, its French and Occitan lands are under particular threat.  The new King of France has just won a civil war deposing his older brother, and would love nothing more than to take back the Duchy of Burgundy.  And while the Kingdom of Aquitaine may be stronger, it is Ranulf, the nominal King of Galicia, who is in the most interesting position in Occitania – as it is he who still holds the emperor in his custody.  Indeed, Kaiser Gottfried could hardly be in a worse position. Hated by most of his vassals and by much of the Christian world, it seems only a matter of time before someone else seizes the imperial throne.  Further east, the Golden Horde seems to be in retreat, losing ground to Russians and Hungarian crusaders alike.  Many among the Mongols attribute this to the degeneration of their ruling house in the party of Khachigun the Fat. Obese, severely impaired in his speech, and rumoured to have private tastes unbecoming a man, the Golden Horde's ruler is a figure of derision despite his administrative competence.  To the south, the Latin Empire has begun to decline once again with the loss of the recently-acquired Kingdom of Jerusalem.  If there is a figure of derision to match the Mongol khan, it is Emperor Massimo. With a facial deformity and suffering from such terrible venereal disease that he has been rendered impotent, Massimo is lazy and woefully incompetent as well.  Serbia-Nicaea is now ruled by House de Damietta, a Norman crusader family hailing from the Kingdom of Jerusalem.  What once seemed like the last hope of the Orthodox faith, the Kingdom of Hellas, is now ruled by a Catholic d'Hauteville – though one more interested in adopting Greek culture than those who have ruled the Latin Empire.  In newly-independent Jerusalem, the promising young King Bohemond rules. He is a member of House d'Harcourt, an old Norman family who have ruled Galilee since the establishment of the kingdom by Bohemond the Great.  In Arabia, a pivotal moment in the history of Shia Islam has occurred. Miraculously, the Yemeni Rassids have united Arabia, no doubt saving their faith from powerlessness and obscurity.  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 05:52 on Nov 15, 2013 |
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Nov 15, 2013 05:31
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So many ugly borders, who will save us from this abomination?
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Nov 15, 2013 06:20
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I can't believe we have a bigger army than the HRE. The emperor's vassal relations must be absolutely hilariously bad.
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Nov 15, 2013 07:56
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It was much worse last time we checked.
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Nov 15, 2013 08:29
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What is that on his wife's face? Is that meant to be a niqab or has she got the worst suntan without taking off her goggles?
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Nov 15, 2013 09:55
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MinistryofLard posted:What is that on his wife's face? Is that meant to be a niqab or has she got the worst suntan without taking off her goggles? I think its a veil or something. She looks like she's either Levantine or Arabic culture, and that's one of the things the women get when they marry.
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Nov 16, 2013 01:39
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What the devil is Serbia doing?
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Nov 16, 2013 02:08
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Serbia-Nicaea-Genoa is the best country.
i81icu812 fucked around with this message at 03:39 on Nov 16, 2013 |
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Nov 16, 2013 03:33
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Would it really be that hard to rule Egypt from Palermo?
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Nov 16, 2013 03:37
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paragon1 posted:So many ugly borders, who will save us from this abomination? The Rassids, of course!
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Nov 16, 2013 03:38
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Chapter Thirty-Four: The Iron Crown (1350-1354) Queen Agathe ends up giving birth to another daughter, denying King Roberto the legitimate male heir he desires.  Having defeated one emperor, Roberto decides to challenge another. The Latin Empire's hold over its few remaining Western territories is weak.  Roberto's main objectives are Corsica and the northern part of Sardinia.  Roberto's armies are quick to overwhelm the poorly-defended imperial territories.  Eventually Emperor Massimo arrives with an army to try to defend the islands.  When reinforcements arrive from Sicily, however, the imperial army is quickly defeated.  Unable to continue the war, especially given his troubles at home, the emperor is forced to surrender.  The war leaves Sicily fully in control of both Sardinia and Corsica, as well as the last remaining imperial holdings in North Africa.  Even as his realm continues to expand, Roberto's personal life remains tumultuous. Already on bad terms with his wife, he splits with his lover as well.  Instead, he begins to spend more time on other pursuits, developing a keen interest in falconry in particular.  Robert also seems to develop a sudden interest in contributing great deals of money to the Catholic Church.  He makes several trips to Rome, where he eventually develops a close friendship with Pope Julius II, with whom he shares an interest in opposing the heretical Holy Roman Emperor.  Eventually, the two agree upon an objective of expelling the empire from Italy entirely. On New Year's Day, 1352, Pope Julius crowns Roberto with the Iron Crown of Lombardy – the crown that would normally be used in the coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor as King of Italy.  Rather than return to Palermo from Rome, Roberto immediately sets out to establish his claim to the rest of the Italian peninsula. His first target is the Republic of Pisa.  His army wastes no time in attacking the Pisans, despite being slightly outnumbered.  The Sicilian commanders underestimate the Pisan army, however – composed almost entirely of hardened mercenaries, the Pisan army hands the Sicilians a significant defeat.  Roberto will not allow himself to be embarrassed in his attempts to exert control over Italy, however. Only a few months later, a second Sicilian army once again engages the Pisans.  The Sicilian army has a large numerical advantage this time and the commanders use it well, routing the Pisans.  Equally importantly, the Pisan doge is killed in the battle.  His successor has a much more pro-Sicilian stance, immediately negotiating peace.  Roberto wastes no time in marching further north, where he demands the surrender of the Duchess of Modena.  Without the sort of resources that allowed the existence of Pisa's massive mercenary army, Modena's attempts at resistance are futile.  The city holds out for some time, but Sicilian victory is inevitable.  Eventually, the Duchess is forced to surrender her lands completely and is exiled to Germany.  During the campaign, Roberto finds out he has a second bastard son by one of his more recent lovers.  As he consolidates his new holdings, Roberto decides upon a strategy of ensuring that only Sicilian-educated nobles hold power in northern Italy.  Soon after Roberto returns home to Palermo, Queen Agathe becomes pregnant once again. This time, finally, she gives birth to the son Roberto has long wished for.  Shortly thereafter, word reaches Sicily that Roberto's mother has died. Overnight, Roberto's realm doubles in size.  Roberto now rules a sprawling kingdom – or series of kingdoms, more accurately. Whether such a massive realm can possibly be maintained remains to be seen, but already there are rumours of discontent in Egypt. 
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Nov 16, 2013 06:30
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Those borders look much better. Here's to the old queen!
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Nov 16, 2013 06:41
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Ave Sicilia! Once again the right branch of the d'Hauteville family rules from Africa to the Alps. Nicely done.
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Nov 16, 2013 06:42
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Foolish Egyptians, protesting at being ruled from Sicily, it's just one short boat-ride from Palermo all the way up to Cairo on the nile. Hopefully the massacre of their serfs will convince them to serve the Empire loyally, or we might even have to kill a few Hautevilles. We might want Cyprus and Crete to lessen the RP comm difficulties by reinforcing our maritime control of the area. And I see the Rassids couldn't keep it all together. Jerusalem sure has lost a lot of territory over time, but at least they still hold their cores west of the Dead sea. Readingaccount fucked around with this message at 11:38 on Nov 16, 2013 |
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Nov 16, 2013 11:29
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Get rid of North Africa and let's focus on Italy and Europe.
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Nov 16, 2013 11:37
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Jerusalem has hit upon hard times, but its 19-year old king has the potential to join Roberto in becoming a Hauteville legend. I request an extracurricular session of the Curia Regis. If it is granted I vote we bequeath Egypt to King Bohemond de Hauteville. Hopefully this will fire up the young talent and put an end to the stupidity that's been going on between the two kingdoms for centuries. We keep Libya of course. Then we go up and grab Croatia, and more of the Po valley, we won't have this excommunication CB forever. Also, was that screenshot of giving money to the pope while at +100 relationship due to forgetting to take a picture first, or was it already at a 100 and you have to give your object of friendship money one or more times to complete the ambition? Readingaccount fucked around with this message at 11:54 on Nov 16, 2013 |
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Nov 16, 2013 11:40
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Excellent! Now how about a union between Lombardy-Sicily-Egypt and Serbia-Nicea-Genoa?
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Nov 16, 2013 11:52
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Readingaccount posted:Also, was that screenshot of giving money to the pope while at +100 relationship due to forgetting to take a picture first, or was it already at a 100 and you have to give your object of friendship money one or more times to complete the ambition? It's because I'd actually befriended him just before that by converting a province, but it was easier to fit bribery into the narrative.
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Nov 16, 2013 12:33
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Readingaccount posted:Jerusalem has hit upon hard times, but its 19-year old king has the potential to join Roberto in becoming a Hauteville legend. I second this motion!
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Nov 16, 2013 14:07
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Readingaccount posted:I vote we bequeath Egypt to King Bohemond de Hauteville. I'm liking this idea! After all, what good is so many kingdom if we don't deal them to our relatives?
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Nov 16, 2013 16:27
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I'd go for Claim an imperial title, then hand out kingdoms. Dealing with fractious vassal kings is always fun.
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Nov 16, 2013 17:38
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The King Bohemond of Jerusalem is no Hauteville you fools. Instead Egypt should be granted to Ruggiero, the king's son by his mistress; let no-one say Roberto neglected a child, especially not one born of love!
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Nov 16, 2013 20:57
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YF-23 posted:The King Bohemond of Jerusalem is no Hauteville you fools. Instead Egypt should be granted to Ruggiero, the king's son by his mistress; let no-one say Roberto neglected a child, especially not one born of love! He isn't? In that case it seems like we have another Crusader Kingdom to add to the d'Hauteville list!
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Nov 17, 2013 02:14
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Drat. Are there any female successors in line for the Kingdom of Jerusalem that we could marry to one of our sons...? Not sure how Roberto feels about knives though. Hmmm... he is an ambitious, elusive shadow. Though we could just keep it. I understand the need for anti-blobbing actions, but the sailing time between Palermo and Cairo is just a few days in good conditions, even for merchant ships, so it seems a bit silly, especially when we're not modding away, over time, monstrosities like Serbia-Nicea-Piedmont and the Latin Empire's western territories to simulate their lack of control. Readingaccount fucked around with this message at 14:23 on Nov 24, 2013 |
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Nov 17, 2013 02:25
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Chapter Thirty-Five: The Alpine Wars (1355-1366) Queen Agathe suddenly falls ill late in 1355. She lingers for some time, but eventually passes away at the young age of 30.  Roberto mourns her briefly, but they had never gotten along well, and he does not wait long before remarrying. His bride is a young daughter of the King of Hellas.  Queen Chrysogone is a highly intelligent woman despite her young age, and she gets along well with her new husband.  More importantly to Roberto, she is also quickly able to produce another son.  With some difficulty, Roberto manages to expand the his royal powers in his new African kingdoms, where vassals have traditionally had more rights than on the peninsula.  But his mind doesn't stray far from war for long. Though his friend Pope Julius has since died, the new Pope is no less an enemy of the heretical Emperor, and encourages Roberto to continue his crusade to drive the Germans out of Italy.  With Kaiser Gottfried still rotting in a Galician prison, Roberto declares war once again. His goal this time is to permanently remove the Holy Roman Empire from the Italian peninsula.  The early months of the campaign move slowly as the two great realms gather their armies to battle in the Alps. Sicilian armies are able to arrive first, however, and fortify themselves against the German assaults.  The first victory comes at the Battle of Meran, where the two evenly-matched armies are separated only by the terrain – in a defensive position, the Alps are their ally and the Germans are driven back.  The truly decisive battle comes at Bergamo, however, where the Duke of Carinthia leads the Sicilians to a great victory. It is the Sicilian cavalry who carry the day, overwhelming the Germans and cutting them down in retreat, inflicting massive casualties on the enemy forces.  Several of the Kaiser's greatest allies among his vassals, including the Dukes of Franconia and Cleves, are captured in the battle. It is enough to throw Gottfried's realm into turmoil.  But it is the death of Prince Hartmann, Gottfried's son and heir, that seals the Kaiser's doom.  The rebellion is over in a matter of months. At the end, Meinhard von Neuenberg, the Duke of Switzerland, is Holy Roman Emperor, and all German claims in Italy are effectively forgotten.  For Roberto, the good news is soured by the death of his second legitimate son, Prince Eugenio, during the war.  There is one thing left to do to drive the Germans out of Italy, however. The German Duke of Croatia – the father of Roberto's first wife – still controls the city of Verona, having abandoned the Empire during the rebellion. Roberto demands that the surrender of the city, but the duke refuses.  Verona is quickly put under siege without real resistance.  When a Croatian force does arrive, it is easily defeated by the Sicilians.  Decisively defeated, the duke makes peace.  And with that, the German influence has been fully pushed beyond the Alps. Except for the Papacy and the Northwestern Italian states, the whole peninsula is under Sicilian control.  For his accomplishments, it isn't long before Roberto is known by the same nickname as his father – 'the Great'. 
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Nov 24, 2013 04:15
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I am awash in joy, and we haven't even gotten to EU4 yet.
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Nov 24, 2013 06:49
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There's still plenty of work to do prettying those borders in North Western Italy 
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Nov 24, 2013 07:33
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Any bets for how long it takes for his empire to fall apart?
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Nov 24, 2013 09:02
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Keep the borders as "ugly" as possible so I can read about a goon having a nervous breakdown finally over this ridiculous obsession.
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Nov 24, 2013 11:04
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Why can't I ever find any genius king title claim inheritors to marry in my games? Look at those beautiful stats! 
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Nov 24, 2013 11:34
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This is a great LP and I haven't even voted on a thing yet.
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Nov 25, 2013 00:02
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Here's hoping Italy will form sooner rather than later. And preferably in a direction other than maximum Hitler.
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Nov 25, 2013 01:19
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It is for us Normans to reign over the Mediterranean. Italy is perfect for ruling either or both the western and eastern side of it. I'm a bit bummed we didn't hustle for Croatia, but there'll be time to secure the Aegan I suppose. Looks like Serbia is in a civil war and losing to the rebels. Readingaccount fucked around with this message at 05:06 on Nov 25, 2013 |
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Nov 25, 2013 05:02
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I will say if at some point we need to split the realm, I'd be happy giving "Egypt" it's modern OTL borders and us keeping the rest of North Africa. Also, are we so concerned about the preservation of Serbia now that it's lost the more interesting modifiers?
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Nov 25, 2013 05:26
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Triskelli posted:I will say if at some point we need to split the realm, I'd be happy giving "Egypt" it's modern OTL borders and us keeping the rest of North Africa. Serbia still controls a bit of North Italy and Nicaea. For as long as I draw breath, the territorial integrity of Serbia-Nicaea is second only to the prosperity of the House d'Hauteville.
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Nov 25, 2013 05:45
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Don't count Serbia-Nicaea-Lombardy out so quickly. The civil war was to lower crown authority, so win or lose they don't lose territory. The weirdest state in Europe lives yet.
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Nov 25, 2013 22:53
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It's not a fully legit state though. Piedmont is legally ours under the Iron Crown. So fellow Sicilians, personally I'd like to keep Egypt, but if we have to give it away how about giving it to the KoJ? It'd transform their polity to a sword pointed at the heart of Islam. It'd be best if we could somehow ensure the new united kingdom is Hauteville though... but even if we can't such a price might be worth it to create a country capable of crippling Islam in the near East. Readingaccount fucked around with this message at 06:40 on Nov 26, 2013 |
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Nov 26, 2013 06:35
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