Monopoly - a Hansa AAR

[Sybot]

Peace. The infamy costs will completely wreck trade outside of Lubeck.

[Malurous]

Also, what other targets with a CB do you have (nearby)? The opportunity cost is rather small...

I don't think he has a CB on Denmark either? I believe this mission doesn't give one.

[Johan11]

I don't think he has a CB on Denmark either? I believe this mission doesn't give one.

And, The Hansa gets it every time!

[naggy]

October 20, 1399: The first three merchants from the Hansa reach Lubeck. They all wonder how the Hansa became a great trading power without trading in her own CoT...
November 1: Right on cue, England leaves the Hanseatic League. This is caused by her distance from Lubeck and proximity to Antwerp.


Later, I'll get a mission to bring her back in the league, but I need Antwerp to do that.

December 1: Our first diplomat is spent on getting Cloth rights in England. If she won't be in the league, I want something.


March 1, 1400: Stability increases to 1. Stability is nothing to small nations. Also, we add get military access with Denmark to increase relations.

May 1: New regiments are raised, and the army now has 4000 men. Quite simply, having 1000 men and more than 1 province is the equivalent of tying a steak around your neck and running through a meeting of pit bull owners.

June 1: Military access is given to Denmark.

September 1: We guarantee Brabant, in the hopes we get a free shot at Antwerpen.

September 23: Our 5th merchant arrives in Lubeck. The value is 1041.21.

October 13: Burgundy annexes Hainaut.

October 14: A really good crop of advisors - so much so, I choose to take a loan so I can get some nice advisors, send merchants, and send gifts to Denmark. Since I plan on having 20 merchants placed by the time the loan comes due, this is worth it. We get 2 TE advisors (+10 TE) and a Commandant (+10 discipline). For comparison's sake, our income is now 16.8 month.



December 1: The first gift of 12 ducats to Denmark raises relations by 31, bringing them to 128. Hopefully, I'll only need 2 more.

December 6: Teutonic Order declares war on Riga. We join the war (and take leadership), in hopes that we can nab Danzig (Base tax of 12, grain). Danzig will give us two things: a high tax German province, and later, we can enact an event to create a Grain Depot, which requires a Grain Province, National Focus, 5 magistrates, and Gov Tech 8, and gives +5% global manpower, +10% Land force limits, and -50% local trade income modifier.


Another bonus: TO has taken Samogitia from Lithuania. Samogitia the only pagan province in Europe in 1399, and if either TO or I convert it, it'll become German.

January 9: TO breaks free from our trade league.

January 23: A lone Teutonic regiment is wiped out in Danzig. We were first, so we get the siege.


April 7: Danzig falls to a Bohemian assault, ordered by Hansa generals. That's obviously why they left 10,000 men hanging around, right?


April 17: Our Statholter dies in Danzig, and we elect a new one. The diplomatic candidate turns out to be an administrative genius. We send another gift to Denmark for +23 relations.


April 23: Munster leaves the trade league, due to her proximity to Antwerpen.

June 1: TO asks for White Peace. Hah.

July 1: While chasing around small disorganized Teutonic armies, the Statholter raises war taxes. We'll need the money to pay off the loan. Another gift is sent to Denmark.

September 1: 5 merchants are sent to Genoa.

October 1: The last gift is sent to Denmark, bringing relations to exactly 190. We successfully end the Sound Toll, and now need to lock up the Polish Grain Trade...despite them being in the league. Hrm. Luckily, we have the diplomat we need, and so we secure the rights, giving us +5 trade tech investment for the rest of the game.



Our next mission: lock up the Swedish iron trade. Again - they're in the league already.


October 13: Our Commandant becomes world famous, giving us +10 more discipline for 6 years. We take the prestige, since we have nothing to spend 3 stability on right now, and are maxed.


November 17: Riga is annexed. Our poor allies. Meanwhile, Bohemia has taken Warmia.

December 6: Our army is ambushed in Ostpreussen - I was nailing one last little regiment, and then the main army snuck up before I could disengage. 2 new regiments are immediately ordered.


February 14: Iron rights are secured from Sweden.


Our new mission is to secure 5 total trade rights. At the moment, we're too busy to go forward on this...


March 26: Bohemia takes Ostpreussen, so TO asks for white peace. No.

April 30: An attempt to land in Memel and take something is repulsed.

June 16: Granada westernizes. I have NEVER seen that done by the AI before Granada gets initially wiped out.

September 1: Government 4 gives us our first idea. We take National Trade Policy for +10 TE.

October 11: Peace is reached with the Order, whereby the Order rejoins the Hanseatic League and cedes Danzig.

[Avindian]

Awesome AAR! Are all of these missions Hansa-specific? I converted to a Merchant Republic with Russia and don't remember getting any; it was pretty late in the game though.

[morningSIDEr]

October 20, 1399: The first three merchants from the Hansa reach Lubeck. They all wonder how the Hansa became a great trading power without trading in her own CoT...

Just brilliant.

[Sybot]

Good start getting another province almost right off the bat.

Awesome AAR! Are all of these missions Hansa-specific? I converted to a Merchant Republic with Russia and don't remember getting any; it was pretty late in the game though.

Most of them are Hansa-specific. The last one is one of a few generic Trade League missions, but those require specific circumstances which is probably why you didn't get them.

[naggy]

Good start getting another province almost right off the bat.



Most of them are Hansa-specific. The last one is one of a few generic Trade League missions, but those require specific circumstances which is probably why you didn't get them.

It seems silly to get missions to get trade rights from nations already in your trade league - it also seems like you should achieve the mission either through trade rights or joining the league.

[Sybot]

It seems silly to get missions to get trade rights from nations already in your trade league - it also seems like you should achieve the mission either through trade rights or joining the league.

I agree. It's fairly simple to mod that in if you want though, for example:
(curse bold tags not working with code tags)

gain_swedish_iron = {
type = country

allow = {
...
NOT = {
trade_agreement_with = SWE
}
}
abort = {
...
}
success = {
OR = {
trade_rights = {
TAG = SWE
trade_goods = iron
}
trade_agreement_with = SWE
}
}
chance = {
...
}
effect = {
...
}
}

[lordkestrel]

Nice work on Denmark, the diplomatic route is definitely the easiest/best way to go. You fared much better with TO than I did, Bohemia WP out almost immediately in my attempt.

once you become Emperor

Only Monarchies can become Emperor.

[JDMS]

Great job, though I do have one question. Why was Bohemia not alliance leader?

[Malurous]

Very nice start - a bunch of completed missions, some with permanent gains, and a gained high-tax correct-culture province. I also do wonder, was Bohemia the leader? If so, it's a bit of a break to get the province before they peace out.

[Tweetybird]

No, Bohemia is the Emperor, The Hansa is the ally. The Hansa leads the war. But, agreed, I hate when that happens. You conquer the province you need, BAM, peace for 25 ducats from the leaders.

[naggy]

I have no idea why Bohemia didn't keep leadership, especially since they joined the war first and had leadership when I joined in. It might be due to my economy. Either way - good for me, not for them.

[Johan11]

Yay!

You gained Gdanzig!

[anweRU]

I have no idea why Bohemia didn't keep leadership, especially since they joined the war first and had leadership when I joined in. It might be due to my economy. Either way - good for me, not for them.

It has to do something with alliances and guarantees. Something similar happened early on in my French game, though I forget the exact circumstances. IIRC, a country that I was allied with & guaranteed was attacked, and I became alliance leader despite not having the largest army in the defensive alliance.

[PrawnStar]

I choose to take a loan

[Duke of Wellington]

Very interesting game you have going. I'm yet to give a trading nation a go. I think I shall have to change that.

[Wetboy]

It seems kind of weird to play a trading nation that is almost fully mercantilistic, are you going to trade at all in foreign cots? It might take a long while before you manage to capture another cot and most cots takes a huge amount of time and effort to capture.

[naggy]

elbasto: As lordkestrel noted, I can't become Emperor without changing governments, which I'm not going to do. Yes, that means I'm sticking with Merchant Republic until the end...

Avindian: What Sybot said. Thank you for the praise!

morningSIDEr: Sometimes I wonder how the game determines starting position - I know it's not hard coded. It does occasionally end up with some weirdness.

Sybot: Thank you! Now I have to keep it.

JDMS: Thank you!

Malurous: The permanent gains are rather surprising. It would be nice if there were more nation-specific missions with permanent gains.

Tweetybird: The moral of the story: get big enough to keep leadership.

Johan11: It reminds me of a categorical pun from Jeopardy: Gdansk With Me.

anweRU: It is also weighted towards the player.

PrawnStar: I wondered who would pick up on that.

Duke of Wellington: On the flip side, there are some interesting tactics you can use to take advantage of a merchant republic. Vassalizing one (and protecting it) has some great advantages.

Wetboy: For a while. I actually plan on posting the joyous differences between Mercantilism and Free Trade.