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unmerged(157031)

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There's nothing quite like butchering Latin for the sake of a pun...

Venice; a small republic with masses of wealth and even greater amounts of potential. Sitting uncomfortably close to the Holy Roman Empire, and even closer to the relentless hordes and the powerful Ottomans, Venice always makes for an interesting game. What better a nation is there to start a gameplay AAR with?

This AAR will be quite simple. Unlike my last AAR, the focus shall not be on humor or verbose descriptions of every minor occurance, and shall instead be on gameplay. I am going to set myself a number of fairly abitrary goals, and shall strive to achieve these at all costs!

GOALS:

- Survive (An AAR is pretty uninteresting when you're, you know, dead)

- Unite Italy without forming Italy

- Establish a Colonial empire

- Own a province on each continent

- Conquer the Byzantine Empire [Chief Ragusa]

- Keep the Venetian Trading League alive until the end of the game [TonyJoe]

- Eliminate Genoa, through annexation or otherwise [King_Richard_XI] - [COMPLETE]

- Become Trade Leader in all possible goods [Thandros]

- Secure territory on the Black sea until the Golden Horde collapses [Boris ze Spider]

RULES:


- No gamey tactics

- No over stepping the infamy limit [This rule may be abolished later if the game gets too stale, or I feel like spicing things up a bit]



_____________________________


Index:

Part 1

Part 2


Part 3

Part 4 (I/II)


_____________________________



I'd like to thank everybody who has suggested a goal; if you want to see a goal added now that the AAR has started, feel free to say! I'm not guaranteeing that it will be added, but there's a good chance it will!



Explanation of the gameplay settings:

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Most settings are on default, bar two. AI aggressiveness is set to low, as I (and many others) find that the AI is much less likely to make random land grabs, and is actually a lot tougher. This is because the AI gives its self time to recover after a war, and will not launch head first in to wars that will cripple it shortly afterwards. Lucky nations is set to random because, well, anything can happen when lucky nations could be anybody from France to Hamburg.

Other Information:

I'd like to mention that in order to keep the AAR interesting, a small amount of roleplaying shall be used. This doesn't mean that I shall attempt narrative or introduce characters of any sort; I will, however, keep in mind that historically Venice was a trading nation, that expanded only as she needed to (or if she thought it was profitable). Obviously I have to aim for the outlined goals, which mans a certain amount of land grabbing will be necessary, but I will not be blobbing up hugely on the continent unless it seems like it could be a fairly plausible historical situation.

I'd also like to add that at the best of times I'm critical of my own work, but don't be afraid to critisise it yourself! Any critisism, no matter how constructive, is better than none. I can only improve my AAR's if you do pass critisism, so don't be afraid to do so! Just don't go overboard :p
 
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I will watch with great interest. I'd like to see you dismantle the Holy Roman Empire, personally :D
 
I haven't played a trade league nation before but it seems like you should have some trade related goal.

Perhaps something along the lines of "Maintain the Venetian League until the end of the game, with at least one other member at all times"?

One of the other two goals have been added until this one is confirmed :) Note that not all will be added as eventually it will just become "conquer the world", which is not necissarily the aim of this AAR. They might, however, be added later if the direction of the game allows it :)
 
Perhaps something along the lines of "Maintain the Venetian League until the end of the game, with at least one other member at all times"?

Sure, sounds good to me. I know that historically the trade leagues fell out of favor as the city states declined. Do they generally disappear in DW as the game progresses?
 
Thanks for directing me to this. I did enjoy your last. :)
Venice is always a good read. What's the style to be? Gameplay revolves around the form of AAR as much as the nation. I personally want to see wars with Genoa, but I'll leave it to you, maestro. ;)
 
I've added both of the above, as they feed in to the "province on each continent" and "Venitian Trad League" goals quite nicely :)

I shall begin the AAR tomorrow, as unfortunatly it is the only real opportunity that I have to get it going in the coming week (Barring the weekend). So, if you want to see your goals added, be sure to get them in quickly! Like I said, I will probably be accepting new goals later as the AAR progresses :)

As for your question King Richard, I don't really know yet; let's just see how things pan out and decide from there :p
 
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I recommend you think hard about remaining a trade-league throughout the game as a goal, it's possible but you might like better the more modern governments (only Merchant Republics lead leagues).
Here's another goal I (for some strange reason) always try to accomplish in a game of EU3-- liberate the American nations. Guarantee/protect as many natives as you can, and when 1750 rolls along do everything in your power to make Quebec, Canada, USA, Mexico, Brazil, etc. form and survive :)
 
Venice, Vidi, Vici - Part 1


Ah Venice; I've always had a bit of a soft spot for her. She was the first nation I played with way back when I first tried out EUIII, but I've never had a proper game as her. That, of course, is about to change!

First things first (as opposed to first things second): The initial starting situation. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's 4,000 words worth of Venice circa 1399:

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As you can see, Venice has three major things to her advantage. The first is having one of the most defendable and richest provinces in the game. Secondly there's the hugely valuable CoT in her possession. Finally, Venice has a head start in overseas expansion, with holdings in Crete, Greece and the Balkans. However, Venice is surrounded by the HRE, making it difficult to expand, and her initial empire is right next the foremost power in the Balkans: the Ottoman Empire.

So, just what will Venice set out to achieve? Well, in terms of conquest, we have two targets. To the west we have our Italian brothers, currently divided on a splintered peninsular, always subject to foreign interests and one anothers own greed and lust for power. The wealth of the Italian mainland would be far better put to use under the enlightened rule of Venice, so they will be a priority.

To the East, we have the remnants of the Byzantine Empire, surrounded by the Ottomans. We already own a few small holdings in the Balkans to aid out trade, however if we seek to keep these holdings, we must expand in their direction. The riches of Constantinople mustn't fall to the heathen Ottoman Empire! They too would benefit from our rule, as would we from their great wealth.

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The initial extent of Venetian ambition, 1399

Given my current goals, my initial priority is making sure I do not succumb to the Holy Roman Empire or the Ottoman Empire, so I set about seccuring powerful alliances. Bohemia, Austria and Hungary all agree to a military alliance, keeping our HRE enemies at bay and allowing for expansion in to the Italian mainland without interference from Bohemia. We also begin expanding our trade league and securing merchants in our main trading rival's CoT, Ligueria.

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Before we can expand in to our two priority targets, we must strengthen our position in the Balkans and increase our manpower pool. We already have a core on the province of Zeta, so an invasion is launched against Monterego. They seem to have anticipated this, and have secured an alliance with Aquelia, one of our three neigbours in Treviso. This is a prime opportunity to disarm Aquelia as a threat nice and early, so our 7000 man army is split between Treviso and Albania; 3000 in Albania and 4000 in Treviso, enough to overpower both nations.

With that, we begin our war against Monterigo, eventually dragging in both Aquelia and Achea in to the fray. This, of course, is excellent news, as it gives us the opportunity to capture another key city by the Adriatic Sea.

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Ragusa was also brought in to the conflict, so after swiftly overwhelming Monteregan forces, we move on to take Ragusa.

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Our campaign in aquelia begins well, defeating our opponents in their capital city. With this, we should be able to defeat them swiftly, crippling their economy and weakening their resolve! With the defendable terrain and the larger army, I decide that victory is assured and shift my focus to our remaining foes.

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In Greece, the Achean army irritatingly got to Athens before we could get to Achea. Fortunately, they do not send their army to defeat ours, allowing us to seccure a foothold through which we can send reinforcements.

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By the 6th of November, Ragusa falls. Rather than waste 8 infamy on annexing a useless province, we instead opt to secure them as a vassal, our third in the region along with Corfu and Naxos.

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Following the seizing of Frufilli, the Aquelian's launch a relentless attack with all of their remaining forces. While victory is assured in the waters thanks to our larger navy, the second battle of Frufilli could prove to be a catastrophic defeat should they overpower our forces with their greater numbers!

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On the 6th of Febuary, exactly 4 months following the defeat of Ragusa, Zeta also falls. This time no mercy shall be shown as I choose to annex the core outright.

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In Frufilli, the Aquelian army is defeated in the mountainous terrain by our superior commander. With the enemy on the retreat and their capital in our hands, we pursue, confident of victory.

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Meanwhile, in Greece, the Achean capital falls as fast as Athens. This is a mistake that would prove costly; with our men on low morale following the assult on the city, the thousand men in the area are under threat from an attack from the Achean army; they waste no time, attacking our unprepared men and defeating them swiftly. Hopefully we shall be able to draw men from the Aquelian theater into Greece, as all but the city of Istria remains under their control.

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Soon, Achea is reclaimed by the enemy. As a result, we are forced to recruit reinforcements to send to the area, however it could be months before they arrive.

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Upon arrival, we find that their capital has been under control for long enough to utterly cripple them economically, making way for an easy assault on their position in Athens. Achea falls just as quickly; we choose to annex them at a high 8 infamy cost on the basis that the area is vital to our interests in the region.

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In Aquelia, on the 5th of February 1403, Istria falls to our men, assuring victory once and for all. The war has been short and has cost us little. We do not, however, have the capability to challenge the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire for unlawful territory. As much as we would like to own their Gold provinces, we instead choose to vassalise Aquelia and secure them back in to our trade league, hoping to draw as much profit as possible from the region without costing us unnecessary infamy or stability.

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With that, the first Venetian war in the 15th century draws to a close. We have managed to make a good start in securing the Balkans and making our way to Constantinople, while aslo securing another of our neighbors as not just an ally, but also a permanent source of income and manpower; not bad for four years of gameplay!

During the war, it came to our attention that the Spanish called for a crusade against the Moroccans. We saw that they took a valuable city on their coast, giving us an idea; a city on the edge of the Mediterranean would certainly be of great value to our trade links, drawing much profit to our coffers. Perhaps the Balkans can wait a while longer yet...

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Venice tends to get lost in the shuffle of the Middle Ages/Early Renaissance, but you've got yourself a fine start!
 
Great opening moves, Scarctic. Tangiers does have strategic value, being at the mouth of the Mediterranean, but further south are perhaps more valuable provinces if you intend to later colonize Brasil or beat up on the American or African natives for some sweet piles of gold later on. If I remember correctly (and I'm uncertain that I do), there is even a gold province along the coast of Morocco there, but if I remember incorrectly, you might have to grab a coastal province then one inland for the gold. In any case, Morocco is ripe for the picking and with a crusade going on it's a good time to take a chunk.

Venice was also my first serious EU3 game (HTTT, I'm a late-comer), and I had a lot of fun with them and am enjoying reliving this (albeit with a different historical trajectory) vicariously through you :)
 
Bravo, my good sir, a wonderful start!
 
Bah, conquer the Mediterranean! Renovatio mare nostrum! :p
 
Nice work. I hope North African doesn't turn out to be a distraction for a greater Italy.

You might be right there... I'll elaborate on what I mean in the next update (hopefully today or tommorrow)

Venice tends to get lost in the shuffle of the Middle Ages/Early Renaissance, but you've got yourself a fine start!

Thank you! Kind words are always appreciated :)

Great opening moves, Scarctic. Tangiers does have strategic value, being at the mouth of the Mediterranean, but further south are perhaps more valuable provinces if you intend to later colonize Brasil or beat up on the American or African natives for some sweet piles of gold later on. If I remember correctly (and I'm uncertain that I do), there is even a gold province along the coast of Morocco there, but if I remember incorrectly, you might have to grab a coastal province then one inland for the gold. In any case, Morocco is ripe for the picking and with a crusade going on it's a good time to take a chunk.

Venice was also my first serious EU3 game (HTTT, I'm a late-comer), and I had a lot of fun with them and am enjoying reliving this (albeit with a different historical trajectory) vicariously through you :)

Good advice, thank you! Mind you, conquering too much of Africa may prove dangerours. Again, I'll elaborate in the update.

Nicely done.

Thank you, Boris :)

Bravo, my good sir, a wonderful start!

Thanks!

Bah, conquer the Mediterranean! Renovatio mare nostrum! :p

One step at a time; launching head first in to mad conquest is a very bad idea for a trading nation (again, elaborated on in the update)! Alas, reconquering the seas may take a while :(
 
Nice! How far are you with your Venetian Ambition?