Paradox Games

You might be joking, but I haven't touched the game since I heard about the coming map changes a few months ago.

Yeah it's a rather common affliction.

Thankfully I'm largely immune

Map changes? What map changes?

Northeastern/Eastern Europe is getting touched up, among other areas.

I don't start new games when there's a change on the horizon, but I'll continue old ones.

Oh man, did I shoot myself in the leg on my latest CKII playthrough...

So I've started a game playing as count Myxares of Lesbos at the earliest bookmark, with the aim of eventually putting house Myxares on the throne of Byzantine Empire. Things were going really well for a while, with a bit of luck, I've managed to become a Despot (King-tier title) of Aegean Islands in six generations. There were three Duchies in the realm, holding almost all of the territories on the Aegean sea's shores (the part where my Doux became King was fun - I've joined the Independence faction, Basileus complied with the demands, I've quickly created the Kingdom of Aegean Islands title, gave out the Doux titles to loyal vassals, and swore my fealty back again to the Basileus, since we were basically splitting the Empire in two geographically, with no chances of expansion without warring with the Basileus himself). The Despot was married to a Countess from the neighboring realm patrilineally, so the Heir would inherit her County as well.

But the heir was at her mother's court. And turns out she married him off matrilienally.

So the King dies, and the new king doesn't have an heir. I've panicked, started a plot to see the Queen dead (the King had low piety, so I couldn't divorce her), which was quickly uncovered; tried to imprison her, but due to the low Intrigue score, she fled to the neighboring Aztec Empire (those guys conquered Spain, France, Italy, Northern Africa and most of Arabian Peninsula). I forgot you can't imprison your own children, killed the wrong guy, and now the King is a kinslayer on top of being a Tyrant. With no heir while the dynasty has bajillion people in it (the King's great-grandfather was very prolific — not only did he conquer most of the territory that comprise the Kingdom, he also had 18 children). With everyone in the realm hating my King with no prospects of putting myself out of this mess and only myself to blame, I Rage Quit.

edited 22nd Jun '18 9:59:18 PM by Millership

That's like the night I used a cheat mod to build an Orthodox emperor of Byzantium and wound up plotting to kill people over and over to get rid of the Iconoclast people. It was not something I want to repeat and eventually I'll redo that campaign as Iconoclast so I don't have a heresy penalty with my own people.

I don't suppose you could have changed the succession law to elective (provided you had a dynast lying around somewhere to land and put your electoral support behind) or engaged in some cheap stunts to pump up your piety to secure that divorce? Or you could try switching to ultimogeniture and selecting the seduction focus to try to pump out a same-dynasty bastard and disinherit any offspring of your inconvenient matrilineal marriage?

edited 23rd Jun '18 4:41:38 AM by Balmung

Yes, the initial plan was to wait 10 years and change the succession law to Elective Monarchy, as there were plenty of good candidates around, but I forgot to mention that Greece (and my Despot along with it) got hit with TB. There were good chances he wouldn't survive that long, so I panicked because of that.

EDIT: To be fair, I should have done that while his predecessor was still alive, or even better, invite the heir to the court and find him a suitable mate myself, but I blew that.

Anyway, I'm starting a new Zoroastrian game as count of Bukhara, see if I can restore the Persian Empire.

edited 23rd Jun '18 4:50:54 AM by Millership

Has Ultimogeniture ever actually been a thing historically? Semms dumb to have a succession system that's designed to pass over adults for children.

It was practiced in Saxe-Altberg, parts of India (wherein matrilineal ultimogeniture has been recorded), by some Syrian Christians, as well as allegedly by the pre-Norman Anglo-Saxons and the Biblical accounts of the kingdom of Israel mentions many of its kings being youngest sons. Also, the Kachin people of Burma and China would send their elder sons away when they reached maturity, leaving the youngest son to inherit

Furthermore, in southwest Japan and the Mongol Empire, they practiced what could be described as an ultimogeniture-weighted form of gavelkind. In the Japanese version, land was divided among all sons into n + 1 parts, with the youngest receiving the additional share. In the Mongol version, older sons generally got more (but more distant) land, but the youngest son got the seat of the empire and the lands closest to it (in CKII terms, the youngest son gets the primary title)

NVM,

edited 23rd Jun '18 5:02:41 AM by Millership

I had that problem too at one point. I married the Duchess of Gelre to try and get her territory, but I ended up getting the entirety of my domain in Wessex taken up by the Karlings. And with that I realized just why everyone hated them.

Okay, so, I've become a big Many A True Nerd fan. He recently finished up a Stellaris Apocalypse playthrough, and his next effort? Crusader Kings 2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbrlO8vuZS0

This is a fun watch of someone new to the game who's coming in from the Stellaris fandom. He does have issues seeing things, and you'll probably notice it in action this time as well. (I know I did.) It's still amusing to watch someone reacting to the randomness this game throws at you.

The one thing that does kinda annoy me is that he spends 90 % of the time in direct vassal map mode because it's really not that useful for day-to-day stuff. You only need it if you want to figure out who's owning what within the realm.

And of bloody course he's playing as Cornwall - there was no other option.

For him, apparently not. From the comments he seems to support the Cornish Independence Movement in real life, unless that's a community in-joke.

He seems to have a soft spot for Cornwall and keeps hyping it whenever it appears in a game - last time in his Thrones of Britannia series - they were one of the few factions he didn't murder.

edited 25th Jun '18 7:10:47 AM by DrunkenNordmann

Oh I definitely got a soft spot vibe from his narration in the beginning of this one. He was practically squeeing over the fact they have a unique culture in the area.

And then he keeps giving all the children of his dynasty to Anglo-Saxons or Norwegians.

I need to start playing Thrones of Britannia again. I only played it once but I enjoyed it and should get back to it.

edited 25th Jun '18 9:22:08 AM by theLibrarian

I'm still waiting for the new CK2 DLC - Jon's new series kinda makes me want to attempt another duchy-level campaign, maybe in multiplayer - but then I read about the new content and my motivation just dies.

I'm also sort of waiting for Holy Fury xD

I already came up with a possibility: Secretly become Jewish and join in on a Crusade, become the chief contributor...then cast of my trappings and establish the Kingdom of Israel.

I started an Ireland campaign as those des people in the south of the island. Using the Ruler Designer Unlocked mod to give myself three positive inheritable traits. Managed to unite the island under my rule by a mix of warfare (I think the Ducal and Force Vassal C Bs are from the mod, sadly) and vassalizing by request. I took a concubine early on and eventually got two children out of her. My daughter was married to the Prince of Asturias, who is probably going to wind up finished off by the Umayyads, and my son/Tanist was married to the queen of Northumbria with whom I now have an alliance. I also pushed a claim for a vassal's wife to take over what's left of Mercia, but I get the feeling that'll bite my ass later on.

How the heck do you ever win as Asturias, I wonder. Kowtow to them, remain Christian while publicly converting to Islam, then work to ruin the unity of your overlord?

That would be the likely way, yes. It's how the Zoroastrians manage theirs usually.