The Forgotten Ones - A Livonian Order AAR (SRI for DW)

[kepler]

The Forgotten Ones - A Livonian Order AAR (SRI for DW)



Coat of Arms of the Swordbrothers

Hello fellow players and welcome to my first AAR ^^ It's going to be a mix of a proper after action report, "tutorial" and some narrative. The reports on my progresses and the "tutorial" (notice the quotation marks) will be more often than not mixed together, while the narrative parts will be entirely, well, narrative. Now, about the tutorial (quotation marks omitted but omnipresent): one of the reasons why I'm writing this AAR (after the main one which is to share some fun with you of course) is to introduce a bit what I believe it's one of the best mod around here: Sacra Romanum Imperium, or SRI for friends. IMHO it offers the best challenge while still remaining true to the “feeling” of Europa Universalis. TBH I haven't played much SRI for DW (or DW in general) therefore this is not going to be a tutorial by a veteran player; what I would like to do instead is to introduce the mechanics and spirit of the mod, stressing the differences with the Vanilla version of EU. I don't know if I will be able to cover everything, in fact I will be playing in the periphery of the Empire, but I am sure I will be able to cover several aspects of the mod.
By the way, all the narrative parts (whose quantity will depend on my creativity and your presence/lack of interest) are meant to be tales, not an history book. In particular, I won't question the initial setup, like not having civil war in England or having the Livonian Order as part of the Empire. This setup is quite fun and stimulating the way it is.

Regarding game-play I won't compile a set of rules, but in general I will try to balance plausibility and game necessity. We want to succeed but also to create a believable alternative universe, something that I really like to explore, therefore expect some updates on the situation of the rest of the world.

My goals will be very flexible, but should include:
- Surviving the poor starting conditions.
- Expanding at the expense of Russian Heretics and, possibly, Tartars.
- Asserting de facto independence from dangerous powers around us, like Poland-Lithuania, which might be the cause for “pre-emptive” wars.
- Supporting Catholicism within the Empire (although, given the initial position, this will largely depend on our resources/possibilities).
- When the time is right, moving onto a modern form of Government.
- If the circumstances are right and we have become something similar to a national state, move Capital, accept Cultural Shift and become Russia. Otherwise, try our best to be a proper federation of different cultures on the Baltic sea.

These challenges, together with playing a Monastic Sate with an advanced starting date, are the main reasons why I've chosen the Livonian Order. Plus, they have got a cool flag and I have got a friend from that area who suggested me a very interesting book on the subject.
Settings will be the default of SRI (latest version compatible with DW 30/03/11 patch) : normal difficulty, low aggressiveness, lucky nations on, etc. Starting date will be 1st of Jan 1470, when the proper first Grand Master (title edited from the localization file) comes into power (LO is released as an independent state in 1466 according to EU timeline).

I believe playing a poor country (possibly every country) is largely a matter of overall strategy, so my first updates will be about the initial set-up, which should also explain why I will make certain moves. I plan to update this AAR with my actual progresses during each week-end, plus some narrative (if I'm productive and creative enough) during the week. During this weekend I will try to cover the initial setup (I have got the screenshots but I need to put the update in an organic format) so the real action will actually start next week. Hopefully the preparation won't be too boring!

Finally, I understand writing an AAR is not an easy task and English is not my first language, so any orthographical/grammatical/syntactical mistake you will point out is more than welcome. I love the English language and this AAR will certainly be a good exercise! Ah, obviously ANY kind of comment is more than welcome ^_- I also wish to thank all the AAR writers who provided me with ideas and inspirations with their work! Thank you!!!

Now it begins.

[kepler]

Table of Contents

Prologue: Deus vult (narrative)

Chapter I: Terra Mariana (set-up)
Chapter II: Our Mission (1470)
Chapter III: And They Shall See The Light (1471)
Chapter IV: God's Justice (narrative)
Chapter V: A New Order (1472-1484)
Chapter VI: The Enemy of my Enemy is my Enemy (1485-1488)
Chapter VII: Sons of the Empire (1489 - April 1498)
Chapter VIII: Milites Christi (May 1498 - 1501)
Chapter IX: Ninety-five Nails (1502 - 1514)
Chapter X: War of the Crosses (1515 - March 1523)

Chapter XI: Wolves at the Door (April 1523 - May 1537)
Chapter XII: A Cross-Shaped Dagger (June 1537 - 1552)

[kepler]

Prologue: Deus vult


Seal of the Master of the Livonian Order

The second peace of Torun in A.D. 1466 marked the end of the Thirteen Years' War and the total defeat of the Teutonic Order, while the battle of Tannenberg, fought almost 60 years before, had simply signed its decline. This time it was the Prussian gentry and cities who brought down, together with the King of Poland, the Order which once ruled upon their lands. Heavy taxes and fees paid to the Grand Master made the wealthy Baltic cities unhappy, while the Prussian aristocrats coveted the same privileges displayed by Polish nobles and granted them by their liege. Eventually, their desires became reality: Western Prussia was annexed by Poland following the peace treaty, while the Eastern half remained under the jurisdiction of the Teutonic Order, but only as a fief subjected to the final authority of the King.
As a further consequence of the peace treaty, the Teutonic Order was also forced to relinquish its influence upon the Livonian lands, also known as Terra Mariana, releasing its Livonian branch as autonomous entity.
The Livonian Order was born in A.D. 1202 by decree of the Bishop of Riga and was known as the Livonian Brothers of the Sword , sanctioned by His Holiness Pope Innocentius III two years later, charged with the holy mission of converting the pagans east of the Gulf of Riga. Unfortunately, it was defeated by the dishonourable heathens in the battle of Schaulen in A.D. 1236 and the survivors joined the Teutonic Order.
The Brothers had acted as the arm of the Teutons on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, but they still upheld their old traditions. Now these old traditions, hierarchy and banner bring new life to the Livonian Order, once again on the front line to protect its lands and people from ambitious nobles, who are too weak in their faith, and greedy heretics.
Master Johann Osthoff re-established the chain of command based in Livland and renew his vows both to the Pope and the Emperor, knowing all too well that none of them would have sent material aid to the Order, in that dark corner of Europe. However, their recognition was instrumental in ruling Livonia and getting the approval of its people, aristocrats and artisans. He did quite well given the circumstances, but was also very cautious, perhaps too much, allowing for a dangerous alliance to be signed between the Prince-Merchants of Novgorod, so wrong in their interpretation of the scriptures, and King Casimir IV of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, Lord of Moldavia and Royal Prussia, the true force of Eastern Europe.
However, in hindsight he had another great merit, which was too grow the young Johann Wolthuss into a pious knight, a charismatic commander and finally the only possible successor to the position of Master of the Livonian Order. During the last months of A.D. 1469, Master Olsthoff was ill and confined to his bed most of the time, leaving Seneschal Wolthuss the actual duties of leader of the Order. Every high officer agreed that he would have been Master before the end of the year. All was already set therefore when Master Osthoff finally died peacefully in bed on Christmas Eve, a gentle death indeed. During the Christmas Mass Johann Wolthuss was made new Grand Master of the Livonian Order, becoming the first Livonian Brother with this title, having the approval of both the Emperor and the Pope. His Holiness also made known trough his envoys his high hopes for the final conversion of the heretics in the Russian lands and the utter defeat of what was left of the Horde, once terror of Europe. This wasn't as significant as calling a new crusade, but de facto renewed the mission of the Order, justifying their claims east of Livonia, allowing, in theory, for a new expansion to begin. Only the diplomatic efforts of Osthoff had made this possible, and it was Grand Master Johann's intention to be worth of his predecessor, not just in name.
The year is now 1470 after the birth of Jesus Christ, Our Saviour. Lights shine over Europe.
Italy is a beacon for artists and philosophers, and beautiful in its glory has become the court of His Holiness Pope Paulus II, while the memory of the blasphemous Anti-Popes is fading away.
Archduke Friedrich V of Austria is Holy Roman Emperor and he's got serious plans to strengthen the imperial institutions, in a way that will benefit all of his people.
The year is now 1470 after the birth of Jesus Christ, Our Saviour. Blood is being spilled through Europe.
At the center of the known world, King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary is waging a war against the Hussite King, with the throne of Bohemia at stake.
England is challenging Hanseatic supremacy over the trade routes of the North.
In the West, the Spider King of France has abandoned his most subtle schemes to end forever, and with steel, the long feud with Burgundy, but the outcome is nobody's guess.
Along the shores of what Romans used to call Mare Nostrum, the Lord of Provence is trying to enforce his claim on the Aragonese crown, while Ottomans and Venetians once again fight in the name of God and, especially, Power.
Finally, in the East, the same Ottomans push into Moldavian lands and it's only a matter of time before the King of Poland is forced to intervene. In this difficult times, the Grand Master, a few months before getting formally appointed, has sent his most trusted envoy, and friend, to the very court of King Casimir, hoping to sign a treaty which would change the balance of power in the area and allow the Order to survive the coming trials. The same King who defeated and humbled the Teutons. Certainly the road is hard, but Marshal Robin Offenberg knows his faith is strong and his mission will succeed. After all, Deus vult. It's God's will.

- By a Forgotten Chronicler of the Livonian Order

[Avindian]

I've never heard of this mod, but am always looking for interesting ones, and yours seems to fill the bill. I shall follow eagerly!

[kepler]

Chapter I: Terra Mariana

Citizens and commoners in medieval Livonia

As promised (warned XP) this update will be about the starting conditions and will stress the differences between Vanilla and SRI.

Europe, A.D. 1470


Zoom on Eastern Europe

SRI timeline starts from 1399 as Vanilla's, but the Livonian Order is released only in 1466 with the treaty of Thorn... Johann Wolthuss becomes ruler in 1470 so I took this as a starting date.
It's actually a very interesting start. Burgundy and the Ottomans look quite dangerous. The Golden Horde has collapsed in several countries, like Crimea (a tribal federation) and Kazan (a proper horde), so we shouldn't worry too much about Russia being overrun by the tartars or Poland/Bohemia crawling to the centre of Asia. The situation should anyway be better in SRI than in Vanilla (fast expansion is much more difficult) but better not take any chances ;-) As usual we have the power blocks Denmark-Sweden-Norway in the north and Poland-Lithuania (with the add-on of Teutonic Order and Moldavia) in the east.
Our position is not very good for expansion, Riga is not so inviting in SRI because of the added complications of having vassals/non core territories in the HRE. We prefer to stay in the HRE for the bonuses. It's also more fun. I am not going to set sail and look for land around Europe, it's quite unrealistic and I'm not sure it would be a good strategy anyway... So our only chance of expanding is east.. Which is what we want actually. Fight and convert the heretics!

Ongoing wars

I have underlined the most significant wars for Europe. A very dynamic start isn't it? I will update you with the final results of each war.

Our beloved lands...

...but we are so poor!

Our richest city, Wenden.

The reason why Wenden is so rich is the Jewish presence in the province. Jews come in the form of a province modifier, which generally improves the economy of the area, but also increases stability cost and revolt risk. The Shtetl of Wenden is a countryside community typical of the Poland-Lithuania area. We could also find Ghettoes (unfortunately the most common form of Jewish community) or Congregations (Muslim lands and Iberia IIRC). The Shtetl modifier is quite good. A series of religious decisions (each one with several prerequisites) allow us to grant or reduce the rights of the Jewish people, even to exile them (not really smart in the long run, but it gives +2 stab in one go) or give them the same rights as other citizen, which will cause, among other things, all the province modifiers to disappear. For now we are not interested in changing the situation, it suits us the way it is.
Notice that, with this starting date, we have all Level 2 buildings (except Forts) built wherever possible... Not bad! Still, we are so poor... The buildings in SRI have some differences from Vanilla, but we shall look at them when I will finally be able to build something... The real good news is that we have (relatively) lot of maximum manpower thanks to the army buildings and we don't have to worry about it at the moment. But. The same is true for our enemies...

Livonia is a patchwork of different cultures... Having Lithuanian as an accepted culture will (possibly) be handy in the far future. At the moment what we really need is getting Russian as an accepted culture ASAP.

Our initial modifiers.
Imperial Integrity is a precious bonus that we don't want to lose (less significant than Vanilla's but still...).
Good Government (see lower picture for details) is connected to the concept of Administrative Efficiency of SRI and it's a very important factor in the growth of a country. For now, suffice to say that the bigger the country, the more your Administrative needs grow. There are more factors, but size certainly is one of them. The proper Administrative Efficiency (AE) depends as well on several factors, like type of Government, administrative skills of the ruler, national ideas adopted. Based on the relation bewteen Administrative needs and AE, you get one of eight modifiers which will give you bonus or malus depending whether you have enough AE to cover your needs or not. When your AE is well above your requirements, you get the Good Government modifier which is the best one. Small countries will often have this modifier at the beginning of the game. Reckless expansion will make you lose this bonus and eventually will turn it into a malus, making even harder to manage a large empire. Vassals count too towards calculating your Adm. needs, but their contribution is smaller compared to your own lands.
Our Decent Relations with the HRE will improve after 50 years of Peaceful Relations with the Empire (without going to war with other countries in the Empire). They will get worse if we go to war in the Empire, refuse to release Vassals in the Empire, annoy the Emperor via Event, etc. This variable, which doesn't depend on who is the actual Emperor, will be used to decide the behaviour of the Emperor (and of the Electors) towards us.
Let's not go too deep inside trade in SRI for now, suffice to say that measures have been taken to help small countries to trade at least a little, hence the Underdogs in Trade modifier. Tenacity helps a Merchant stay in a COT but doesn't influence placement and competing chance. IIRC Merchants with low tenacity will be chosen for competition before the ones with high tenacity. Anyway, we won't be trading at all for sometime. Better leave it to those heretic!

Our Grand Master. Despite his unexceptional skills, we have high hopes for him... The Diplomacy 6 Skill will come very handy in the near future... For 1 year we will save the money and won't hire anybody, not even an Artist, anyway stab won't take too long to get back to +3.

Our economy is based on taxes and I don't plan to change that for now. We'll have a look at the census tax when I get to +3 Stab, but more or less we will make around 5-10 gold/year net before paying the advisors (that I don't have at the moment) and this should be possible without minting at all. For now I might need money in the short term and I will mint around 35%. And no, I have no idea why I'm starting with trade as highest tech...
Ah, we are in the Western tech group, which will make our infantry better than our neighbours, but our cavalry will be weaker, at least for a while. We can deal with that.

The units in SRI should be similar to the ones in Vanilla, maybe I will investigate in future...We plan to stay below the force-limit unless we are planning to go to war or we are already in one..

Religious situation in the East

Catholicism will give us less Missionaries than in Vanilla (every religion actually). Conversions are generally very difficult if you don't have local Culture as accepted and the tax penalty for wrong Culture and Religion is steep. This must be considered and in fact could make an (unlikely) rapid expansion a disaster for the country instead of a blessing.
Also, no colonists for any religion! You will get them through NIs and triggered modifiers.

Ah, good old fashioned Theocracy! We get slightly less Magistrates than in Vanilla, rest is normal. My only change to the default SRI settings is to switch Divine Supremacy for Military Drill. I could do it at game start and it wouldn't be too bad to recover the stability, but I prefer a cleaner start and more limitations in future. In fact, I will never change my NIs during the game, because I feel the mod is not punishing me enough for that (in this I prefer MM). The only exceptions will be: if there are no heretics in sight (unlikely) I will maybe change Unam Sanctam into another Religious idea. In SRI Unam Sanctam doesn't give you a CB against Heathens who don't border you, but it provides +2 Cultural Tradition / year so it could still be good. The other exceptions will be some Events that might happen to us later in the game.
The reason why I want this change of NIs is that I need to survive before worrying about mass-converting the populations. Also, I feel it's more accurate to give the LO one Religious Idea and one Military Idea at game start.
The initial sliders make us proficient in war: Aristocracy, Land and Quality focus. An extreme Defense is good too, although perhaps in DW I would have preferred extreme Offense, but way better anyway than a balanced setting. Tradition (similar to Narrowminded) will provide us with some more Missionaries (much less than in Vanilla). Moral Economy / Market Economy replace Mercantilism / Free Trade. Becoming a super-trader is more difficult in SRI, because Market Economy gives you way less advantages than Free Trade and most traditional governments pose serious (historical) limits to this slider.
Centralization will only get worse for now, because I plan to have Vassals and annexing them in SRI will cost me 1 or maybe even 2 steps towards Decentralization... I'm glad anyway, I have always felt that it was too easy to deal with Vassals in the latest versions of Vanilla.

The Culture panel looks similar to Vanilla's but game strategies are totally different. You get Culture with placed Merchants, but an Advisor which cost 20% CT in Vanilla will now cost 40% CT, and there are no CT spam-decision. In fact Commission Painting costs 50 gold and Endorse Culture give you only 5 CT for 5 Prestige (with Prestige > 50 of course). So, no fast-and-furious 6 Stars Great Men! For now we will build slowly CT with the help of Unam Sactam NI.
You might notice some extra Great Men who are the Jewish Advisors, generally better than normal ones, but more expensive in Tradition terms (50%-100%) and available only if you have some actual Jews in your country. Also, hiring them might provoke revolts among the rest of the population!

I will probably change this mission very soon... Expand the Bureaucracy requires the Bureaucracy NI (fair enough!), instead we will Formalize SWM ASAP, as it requires also the Good Government modifier which at the moment we possess. The final decision of the list is to get rid of our ruler and exists under different names for other forms of government. It requires 5 Magistrates and will cause instability, revolt risk, might be unsuccessful, and, at least for a Theocratic government, will worsen our relation with the Pope. We don't need this for now... The AI will enact this decision if it has an exceptionally poor ruler (among other considerations).

For today I think it's all, I hope I haven't lost my readers with this no-action update, but... first things first XD
Tomorrow, if I manage the time, I will spend some words on the HRE and describe my initial strategies. Stay tuned!

[kepler]

I've never heard of this mod, but am always looking for interesting ones, and yours seems to fill the bill. I shall follow eagerly!

LOL, I was about to post on your Vic2 AAR... Reading it in the end convinced me I didn't have to buy a new game, but that I really wanted to write something about Eu3. I think too that is the game which offers the most possibilities, although I admit my knowledge of the other games is limited.
So, thanks for providing inspiration and glad you'll be following.

I am really surprised you don't know SRI, it might fit well your style (I will confirm my advice after catching up with your Tuscany AAR). You probably know the new mechanics because most of them were incorporated in the popoular MM mod (well, the HRE sub-mod has been invented by Helius who is the mastermind behind SRI). I hope to prove with this AAR that SRI can be a natural step-forward after Vanilla. Many things that feel a bit too easy or incomplete (like the HRE) in Vanilla are improved by this mod.

Later!

[Avindian]

LOL, I was about to post on your Vic2 AAR... Reading it in the end convinced me I didn't have to buy a new game, but that I really wanted to write something about Eu3. I think too that is the game which offers the most possibilities, although I admit my knowledge of the other games is limited.
So, thanks for providing inspiration and glad you'll be following.

I am really surprised you don't know SRI, it might fit well your style (I will confirm my advice after catching up with your Tuscany AAR). You probably know the new mechanics because most of them were incorporated in the popoular MM mod (well, the HRE sub-mod has been invented by Helius who is the mastermind behind SRI). I hope to prove with this AAR that SRI can be a natural step-forward after Vanilla. Many things that feel a bit too easy or incomplete (like the HRE) in Vanilla are improved by this mod.

Later!

It certainly looks interesting; I've been dabbling with MEIOU, but not too much as I don't want to lose my current AAR to a corrupted save. Does the actual HRE work any different with this mod?

[kepler]

Chapter II: Our Mission



Holy Roman Empire, A.D. 1470

In the end I had some time to play today, so I will start with the actual game... After spending two words on the Empire of course ;-)
Ah, before I forget, you won't see me use many Spies also because in SRI Moral Economy (which replaces Mercantilism) doesn't give you Spies. You get Spies with Centralization, Plutocracy, Controlled Cardinals and being Papal Controller. This dramatically diminishes the amount of Spies around at the beginning of the game.
Now, back to the Empire:

The Empire is more accurately represented in SRI.
The Electors must be: 3 spiritual (Theocracies) and 4 temporal (Monarchies). If one Elector falls, his successor must belong to the same category. The relations of the Electors towards other countries are decided dynamically so it's basically useless to bribe them via the diplomatic option. They will support the Emperor until a proper Rival (which has to match some prerequisites and take a country decision) appears.
HRE members are divided in 3 Benches. The first one belongs to the Spiritual Lords, like the Livonian Order. The second one belongs to the Temporal Lords: remaining Electors and Monarchies with at least 3 provinces. The third one belongs to other members, including Republics of any size.
To pass an Imperial Reform, the Emperor needs to get the majority in each of the Benches. He can still pass a Reform with 2 Benches in favour out of 3, but this will cost him Imperial Power.
The composition of the Benches or of the Electors might change as consequence of the two main religious conflicts that SRI models (League War and 30 Years' War).
The way everything works will become clearer during the game.

About the Papacy: Denmark is the current controller with 3 Cardinals, while we don't have any Cardinal under our control.

January 1470: I need to move quickly before the Heretics start guaranteeing each other. I begin to train 1 Cavalry and 1 Infantry regiment. THEN I move my sliders towards Quality (3 steps now), just in case I lose manpower as a consequence. I get lucky and instead I get a 2-star Commander, whom I don't need and will bring us some cash in 1 year time.
I convert my ruler into a General and I have a look at his stats: Fi2, Sh1, Ma1, Si2. Not bad.
I have a look around and I decide the Russian minors will be my first targets. I try to establish Alliances with Poland and Muscowy. Not the most reliable of allies in HTTT, but here I have the CtA option, so at worst we will have a non aggression pact / something the discourages enemies (like Novgorod) to attack us while we are weak.
If they accept.

Getting Poland on our side would be especially useful...

Good. We refuse an alliance offer from Mazovia and in general we are satisfied with the alliances we already have. And...

Of course Poland had joined the war on day 1 against the Ottomans to protect Moldavia! We accept, the enemy is far and our land is not threatened.
We do have other stuff to do however.
In fact we can proceed to DOW our enemies. In Vanilla I would probably DOW the happy trio Pskov, Tver and Ryazan, but SRI poses limits to the number of vassals you can manage easily. Also, the chance for Novgorod or Muscowy to join the war against us would increase. Therefore I decide to DOW only Pskov and Tver. Of course using the Cleansing of Heresy CB.

Notice that I am also checking the chances of my allies to join the war on my side. As expected, I don't like what I see, so I don't call them for now. Chances could be different later and I will have another look.
After DOWing them I can advance to Pskov and battle their forces.

Before the battle, however, we get some news from His Imperial Majesty:

Ehm, apart for the missing Localization, it means that the Emperor has decided to establish the first Imperial Institution. Now he needs to wait for 3 sponsors (one from each Bench) to pick up the proposal. With each sponsor, a voting process will take place within that Bench. Only after the Benches have voted, the proposal will be accepted/denied. When a sponsor for our Bench has been found, we will get our chance to vote via an Event. Normally the process doesn't take too long, but the manual advises it may take as long as 10 years.
A few days later, we can finally fight Pskov:

The siege can begin... Hey, wait!

Capitals in SRI usually start with a Level 2 Fort, which usually gives Allies more time to intervene and save the day. We need to wait for 1 more Infantry before the siege can actually begin. Oh BTW, recruitment takes longer in SRI.

February: let's have a look at what happens if we call our allies to arms now.

I decide not to take any chance with Muscowy and I call Poland to join our battle.

And they will also bring to the party Lithuania (PU), Teutons and Moldavia (Vassals). Once again the two Orders fight together! I haven't checked, but I suspect Moldavia is having a bit of Ottoman problems in the south. The AI will be very cooperative with me and will send a bunch of troops to crush Tver before worrying about the Ottomans.
Other news keep coming from the rest of the world:

I am not going to post every news concerning Jews, it's just to get the idea that different countries will take different steps on this subject.
The Reichstag will assemble every year in a random province of the Empire. In that occasion, the seven Electors and the Emperor will review their relations and behaviour.
Mmm, a Crusade versus the Ottomans sounds good. Denmark has entered the war against the Turks on the side of Venice.

In other news:

Bohemia doesn't have enough of her war versus Hungary and decides to proclaim herself Rival of the Emperor. The Rival can be Religious, Dynastic or Political. Because the Empire is still completely Catholic, I believe Bohemia is a Political Rival, which means it was simply the biggest shark in the pool after the Emperor. Now the Electors will start polarizing around the Emperor and its Rival. Bribes made through national decisions and the behaviour of the 2 contenders will decide who will win their support.
In February I also start the production of a second Cavalry regiment.

March: of course I get this...

My new Infantry is ready and I send it to Pskov. When it arrives the real siege can begin.
The Mameluks join the war against us together with the Ottomas, but I am not really worried.

April:

I go to the ledger and have a look at what is going on. Trier is supporting Hungary (with Castille!) while Lorraine is helping Bohemia.
I also notice that Austria has decided that France is too dangerous and she's now allied with Burgundy against the Spider King! This could be bad for France... BTW, joining the HRE is more difficult in SRI so Burgundy is going to stay out of our club, at least... Italy has become involved in the war between Provence and Aragon, of course on different sides! The Pope is supporting Aragon, while Milan and Naples support Provence.

Back in Livonia, I can't see Novgorod or Muscowy getting involved in our war for now, so I reduce minting to 15%, it went better than expected so far.
Pskov keeps throwing at us units from its production queue but nothing to worry.
However this is not too good:

Muskowy has appealed via Event to Poland to get back the contested province of Smolensk, belonging to Lithuania. And she got it back! Smolensk is a Muskowy core and of Orthodox Religion. These things are not too common in SRI, but can happen that, to avoid a war, an exchange like this takes place.
Our problem is that our "ally" Muskowy is big enough the way she is, plus she's a lucky nation... But enough of that, we'll deal with that eventually.

May: Austria instead decides to offer refuge to the Jewish population in exile. It's what I would do, but, at the moment, our theocratic government doesn't allow that. Offering refuge to the Jews doesn't automatically give you more Jewish modifiers, but it makes possible to get them via Event.
I got two Cavalry regiments now and I send them to Tver to join my allies who are crushing that minor. This is in part for realism and in part to actually check what's going on with the sieges and get notified when they are over.

June: my Stability increases (+2).
This is one example of the Events that will give you colonists:

August: our forces are positioned in Tver.

We actually lead the siege in Tver, while my allies lead the one in Rzhev. Nobody taught you moderation, uh? They are going to suffer massive losses from Attrition (guess what? it's worse in SRI than in Vanilla). The siege in Pskov is finally making some progress too.

September: I remember about something called diplomacy and I get military access from: Poland, Lithuania, Riga and the Papal States.

October: my Stability gets to +3. I start investing in Land Tech (currently Level 9). I plan to get Glorious Arms as next NI and a case could be made to research Gov Tech 11 immediately, but I believe new units are much more important.

In January 1471 I finally employ some Great Men:

The Diplomat might seem a bit of an overkill, but it's easy to build up BB in SRI and the limit is low (15 base + diplomacy skill). Land and Gov Tech Advisors are especially important to get new units and new NIs. I will also start to "cash" Advisors from my country for about 15 golds in total.
This leaves us with 3 ongoing sieges: our Grandmaster is well supplied in Pskov (siege progress: 100%), while our Cavalry is starving in Rzhev (88%) and Tver (0% -.-). But that's OK, as they are not going to get involved in foolish assault attempts by the AI.

I was hoping to finish the war with the minors but it's taking too long (and too many pictures) for a single update... Next one will be ready ASAP.
Also, I hope some people found this update more entertaining than the previous one ;-)
Later!

[kepler]

It certainly looks interesting; I've been dabbling with MEIOU, but not too much as I don't want to lose my current AAR to a corrupted save. Does the actual HRE work any different with this mod?

Well, SRI only requires to switch map cache before playing so it's quite safe.
Hopefully this AAR will prove that the HRE behaves very differently.

There are at least 3 main aspects:
- one is the general mechanics which are partially addressed in my previous update. The Emperor tends to be strong and to really act in the interest of the Empire.
- the second is the difficulty of expanding within the Empire. If you get non-core provinces you get punished based on how powerful you are. If you belong to the HRE it's really bad. Spies are less in number and less powerful. The Claim Throne CB is less powerful too IIRC. So you would get Vassals instead, but Vassals in the HRE tend to appeal to the Emperor to get free so you have to be careful, etc.
- the third is the "macro-events" which shape the history of the HRE. The one that (almost) always happens is the League War after the Reformation. Catholics and Protestants form two alliances and fight to decide the religious politics of the Empire. It's normally very funny if you lead the minority group, like if you're Catholic and fight a Protestant Emperor or vice-versa you are Protestant and fight a Catholic Emperor.

TBH I can't play any more Vanilla within the HRE... They made improvements with the Formal Request Event, but now you always get cores on inheritance via PU, it's crazy °_° In SRI you get cores using the Estates mechanism (which will be essential to this AAR), but you get lot of penalties in doing that.

[Avindian]

Looks a lot more in depth than Vanilla; I am very interested to see what would happen if/when you become an elector (dare I say Emperor?)

[kepler]

Chapter III: And They Shall See The Light

Seal of the Swordbrothers.

This update will be shorter and will be used mainly to cover the end of the war with Pskov and Tver. I was worried this could include an intervention by Novgorod or Muscowy, which would have caused this post to be much longer, but clearly I worried too much ;-)
Now, where were we?

January 1471: Pskov did not last much longer...

We shall leave them their name in exchange for their loyalty and, of course, renounce of their blasphemous ways.

Now the Count of Pskov (Vassals don't get the theocratic government) has been saved from hell and he's our loyal servant!
We want then to conclude quickly also the war with Tver and, for realism reasons too, we send our Siege 2 Grandmaster to check things in the east.

February: we ally Pskov (Mutual Relations 200). Relations with our Vassals are limited dynamically and, in our current situation, they can be up to 200 with Pskov (they are accepting their situation).

March: Grandmaster Johann arrives in Rzhev with our foots and is involved in a botched assault lead by the Lithuanian commanders -.-



"Regular" siege is immediately resumed, but I move my Infantry and Grandmaster to Tver where we are in charge of the siege.

April: The Reichstag assembles in Meran (Tirol). Ottomans and Venice conclude their trade war with a White Peace. Now the Ottomans can push even further into Eastern Europe...

May: Rzhev falls into Lithuanian hands (probably after thousands of soldiers died during winter or botched assaults).

June: Artisans try to enforce their demands while our Grandmaster is away.

We gladly give them what they want. I wonder why the other option is even there...
And, shortly after that, Tver surrenders.

We offer them the same generous terms we gave Psychov.

They are glad to accept. There are many reasons why I am not annexing anybody. Their provinces would be worthless (non accepted culture and religion) and difficult to convert (non accepted culture). Plus, it's 8BB in one go for each country... Also, Vassals are quite good for our force-limit in DW! I will integrate them (hopefully) in my next updates, which in SRI will provide us with interesting possibilities...
After making peace with the Russians, I pull my forces back to Livonia and set minting to 0. I would have needed a lot of cash if one the Russian majors had chosen to intervene, but now I feel safe.

July: I ally with Tver (Relations 200).

August: Tver gets this event...

I think this is new of SRI for DW and I don't know the precise effects, but it appears Tver has fully embraced Catholicism and converted his other province to the True Faith! Mmm, I wonder if this Event is in place to avert a Country collapsing after having been converted... Which was one of my strategies to break Novgorod in HTTT BTW XD Anyway, it's good to know these things can happen.

November: my forces are back at full strength and I set military maintenance to 0. I have decided I don't want to send my troops in the south to fight the Ottomans, especially in a war the AI is conducting.
However, I feel bad without helping my allies, so I decide to send a small contribution for RP sake.

It's my net income for one year so they shouldn't complain!
In other news, the Pope gets out of the Aragonese Succession War, but losing Avignon to Provence.
I also start producing a new Infantry, my force-limit is now 8 thanks to my Vassals.

In January 1472 we are making about 12 gold/year before paying Poland, but we are still enjoying the Crusade bonus. I'll post you the overview of the Empire to show that the Electors are supporting either the current Emperor or his Rival:

In the rest of the world, Bohemia is losing against Hungary, while France is losing against Burgundy-Austria. The Ottomans have occupied Moldavia and are invading Poland... We wish our allies the best of luck (not really but it doesn't matter)!

The next game update should cover about 10 years and hopefully won't see us fight versus Novgorod yet (I haven't played that far). I will take the chance instead to introduce the House of Estates system which is the key to many successful games in SRI.
Should be ready the next weekend.
Also, it would be nice to have some more feedback by the people who are reading ^^

[kepler]

Looks a lot more in depth than Vanilla; I am very interested to see what would happen if/when you become an elector (dare I say Emperor?)

The fact is, I already had a very interesting game playing Brunswick, becoming Elector and then Emperor... For this game I was looking for something else, but never say never!
To become Elector the best way is to inherit one, but I can't as a Theocracy, so an "accident" should instead happen to one the current Spiritual Electors and the Emperor should choose me as a replacement. Maybe during the League War, who knows...
Becoming Emperor is far away in the future... Provided I survive and (especially) prosper, I need to get out of the theocratic government first . So Gov Tech 27 IIRC. BTW in SRI you need to take a National Decision to change into Monarchy from Theocracy (so the AI won't do it en masse), which requires also Centralization and Prestige, but hopefully I will meet the requisites when the time comes!

[Memento Mori]

Quite interesting mod - I guess I won't play it, as this whole punishment for overextension and low infamy limit coupled with high infamy gain will make it difficult to enjoy a game - however the new HRE mechanics are distilled awesomeness, and many other things adds a nice flavour - I bet that the Jews are not the only example of such a feature

[GulMacet]

Will you try to reconquer Samogitia or Prussia (and maybe form Prussia as a secular state, and go to Germany from there)? After all, you are a monastic-military order with the explicit directive to germanize and christianize the heathen Baltic lands...

[Concrete]

@GulMacet, I believe he is attempting to go East.

Anyways kepler:
Nice AAR, an interesting nation choice in what certainly appears to be an interesting mod.

[CatKnight]

Very interesting, kepler! I've never tried SRI without it being attached to another mod. I'll be interested in seeing how you fare

[kepler]

Chapter IV: God's Justice

Rulebook of the Teutonic Order, 1847 Edition (source: openlibrary.org)

The military campaigns of 1470-1471 saw the first triumphs of the Livonian Order. The conversion of the aristocracy of Tver and Pskov was the first step towards the spread of Catholicism in Russian lands and confirmed the position of the Brothers as protectors of Terra Mariana.
However Livonia remained a loose confederation of factions, each one with their own agenda. In particular, local bishoprics still answered to the Archbishop of Riga instead than the Livonian Grandmaster. In this climate, distrust between different parties was common and even easier was for the Hand of the Devil to find weak and corruptible people, ready to do his unholy bidding.
The session of the Livonian Council called in January 1472 was the first step taken by Grandmaster Johann Wolthuss to change the situation, although in an unconventional way...

- By a Forgotten Chronicler of the Livonian Order


<<It's good to see you back safe in Fellin, my lord>> said Ludwig Klein to the Grandmaster, while the council members were taking their seats. Marshal Robin Offenberg frowned upon this obvious display of kindness by Klein; the fat merchant was renown for having a huge appetite for food, money and power. Surely he wouldn't have minded if an accident happened to the head of the Order... But was his greed enough to win his fear?

<<I am no lord, Herr Klein.>> answered Johann Wolthuss, first Grandmaster of the Livonian Order, a blonde man in his mid-twenties, not handsome, but certainly capable of getting attention with that cold stare in his blue eyes. In front of him on the table there was a massive tome sealed with a chain and a lock: one of the three complete copies of the Teutonic Ordensbuch, containing the code of the Order, a symbol of justice and power. <<You should know how to address me.>>

<<Of course... Grandmaster.>> replied Klein with a sly smile. <<Yet this is a surprise for us to have you back already. When news of a Moorish aggression in Moldavia reached us, we were sure you would have run to help King Casimir, especially given the... new-found trust that bind us.>>

The other councilmen were now sitting in silence, watching the conversation unfold with interest. The meeting had already begun.

<<But they are getting help from us.>> said Master-at-Arms Mathias Minucci, fourth son of an Italian baron and an Austrian noblewoman, first military advisor to the Grandmaster, a man with short temper. Robin had only sympathy for him. <<Supplies, weapons, everything that we could spare. Except men, the Order can't afford sending his soldiers marching to the shores of the Black Sea. Even to help our allies. But you know that, don't you?>>

This seemed to silence Klein, and most people in the room were nodding ponderously. There were thirteen of them, members of this restricted council which was in place since the Livonian Brothers joined the Teutons. It was composed by the Grandmaster, the Seneschal, four Commanders, the High Chaplain, the Master-at-Arms and, upon request of Johann, Robin himself. This for the Livonian Order. The bishops, nobles and merchants of Livonia could send a representative each: because the council was officially a military meeting, there was no need to extend the invitation. By desire of the previous Grandmaster... no, Master Osthoff, the last place belonged to the Burgomaster of Wenden, Adomas Oginski, a man in his early forties with a short beard and a paternal face. Not only he represented the richest city of Livonia, but he was also instrumental in running with success the local hospital of the Order. The same place where Osthoff found the boy who would have become his successor and took him into the Order. Certainly the Grandmaster had a soft spot for the man, but Robin had heard other stories about Oginski, that his devotion to Christ was not as strong as expected and that he was practising usury, a terrible sin in the eyes of Our Lord. The Grandmaster seemed not to hear this rumours or to simply dismiss them as fake.
Anyway, thirteen there were, like the Christ with his Apostles. And, among them, there was a traitor as well. Robin realized that God's Justice sometimes works in strange ways.

<<Yes, about this “alliance”, fellow council-members, I wonder if it was the right thing to do?>> said young Lord Peeter Kross, an Estonian noble who only recently succeeded his father as head of the family, chosen as a compromise between the more influential aristocratic families of Livonia. A puppet. Expendable and easy to manipulate.

The Seneschal coughed heavily before speaking. As expected he would have done most of the talking: he was older than Johann and wiser in the ways the council works. Formally, loyalty to the Order was due by ancient laws and customs, but diplomacy had regularly to be used to guarantee the cooperation of the local factions. After all, the incapacity to have a dialogue with their subjects was the chief reason why the Teutonic Order had fallen and was now a shadow of his former self. Still, sometimes diplomacy was not enough...
<<It was an agreement that will benefit everybody involved.>> said the Seneschal with his hoarse voice. <<King Casimir would face serious opposition among his own nobles if he were to start a new campaign against the Russian Lords. On top of that, his resources are already stretched to contain the remnants of the Horde and the Turks: he negotiated an alliance with Novgorod and gave the feud of Smolensk to Duke Ivan of Muscowy to avoid troubles on the eastern border.
However, we do have His Holiness' permission, and mission, to convert the Heretics east of the Lake. Our claim is recognized not only by King Casimir, but by all of his nobles. He intends to use us to prevent Muscowy from growing too strong or dangerous. Eventually, I would also expect him to grow more fond of us than his petty merchants in Novgorod. They provide him with rich gifts, but we can provide stability to his Kingdom.>> He paused, coughing again. He could have been the new Master if he wasn't so sick, or at least mount a credible opposition to Johann.
<<The advantages for us are many. As I said, if we can break the alliance between Novgorod and King Casimir, the door to the east will truly be open. On top of that, the experience of the recent campaigns proved how useful it was to have the support of Lithuanian troops in our military action. Finally, we all know that our pact of non-aggression with Duke Ivan is temporary at best and Muscowy is a much more dangerous foe than the Prince-Merchants. If it breaks... When it breaks, we will need all the help we can muster.>>

<<We all understand that, but we believe these decisions should have been taken after consulting the rest of the council.>> This was old Bishop Iulius of Dorpat; his faction was composed of the clerics not chosen by the Grandmaster and who answered instead to the Archbishop of Riga. <<You must understand, Grandmaster, that even your predecessor couldn't rule this land without us. Also, you won a crushing victory upon the Lords of Pskov and Tver. Still it appears you didn't ask much from them except for some oaths and tributes. Certainly the words of a few nobles won't cleanse those lands of the taint of heresy. The Teutonic Knights would have been much less generous with them.>> He was stroking his beard while talking, as to underline the meaning of what he was saying.

<<And I still believe that was the best course of action, Your Excellence.>> replied Johann staring at the bishop with his cold eyes. Robin sensed doubt in the old man, but he was experienced in hiding it. <<About our victories, the best way to teach those people the proper loyalty to Rome is to get the help of their rulers. The oaths are binding, but the rulers will maintain their flags, something that their people know and trust.
About the decision to sign a treaty with King Casimir, we were perhaps not careful enough: it seems somebody tried to prevent us from accomplishing our goal.>>

<<Oh, dear Lord, what do you mean Grandmaster?>> asked Klein. Robin could see Lord Kross shift uncomfortably in his chair. Even the Bishop seemed surprise.

<<Marshal Offenberg, would you explain them?>>

<<Certainly Grandmaster.>> said Robin. It finally came his turn to talk, which was good, because he wanted this story to be over as soon as possible. <<As you all should know by now, I was chosen as envoy by the Order to discuss the terms of our alliance with King Casimir. I left with ten trusted men in the middle of the night, riding as fast as we could towards Krakow. A few miles from our destination we were attacked. They came at us with swords and arrows, in a point of the road which offered poor visibility to the travellers. I left five of my men on that road. At the end of the combat, twelve of our aggressors were dead on the ground, while some of them escaped. I thought it could be just brigands, but the quality of their weapons and armours was too impressive to be simple criminals. That steel came from the north, as the gold which was found in their pockets. The Prince-Merchants of Novgorod hired and armed them.>>

<<That's terrible!>> said Lord Kross in an acute voice <<We should pay them back with the same coin...>>

<<How? By hiring other assassins?>> mocked Minucci <<You seem very eager to adopt this kind of ways. Maybe you want to tell us who sold our Brothers to the Russians?>>

The young noble became pale and tried to answer, but Johann didn't give him time and addressed instead all the council.
<<Obviously anybody could have bought those weapons and hired those assassins. However only somebody who does fear justice tries to hide his deeds. The warning is clear. We need to prepare for the worst in our current situation with Novgorod. At the moment they are busy defending their commercial interest from the Crown of England, but this is not going to last forever.>>
The Grandmaster stood and began walking around the table, slowly and carefully, accompanied by the sound of the steel he was wearing.
<<And yet, as the Master-at-Arms said, they couldn't have organized such a precise attack without detailed information coming from inside Livonia.>>
All the council-men could feel the stare of the Grandmaster on their back. Robin tried not to smile.
<<Fellow council-members, I am afraid there is a traitor among us.>>

<<What?>> exclaimed Klein, breathing anxiously, red in face.

<<I won't stay here being casually accused, if you have any proof...>> Peeter Kross tried to get up, but the man next to him, Commander Heinrich Funck, a big and hairy warrior, put his hand on the young man's shoulder and forced him to sit again.

<<You will stand down... My lord.>> added with a smirk. Kross became even paler.

<<As Lord Kross said, if you have any proof, Grandmaster, you should share that knowledge with the council. >> Bishop Iulius was looking at the empty space in front of him, trying to appear calm, but the way he was stroking his beard now betrayed nervousness... Fear?

The representative of Wenden, Oginski, seemed instead calm and relaxed, without betraying the minimal emotion.

<<Proof, Your Excellence? We already found all the proof that we needed. During lunch I had my Master-at-Arms search your rooms here in Fellin for evidence and we found Russian coins in one of them. A lot of gold, really. This is now a court of justice.>>
Johann stopped behind Ludwig Klein: <<That room happens to be yours, Herr Klein.>>

The fat merchant of Kurland started to move strangely, not daring to stand up, still trying to turn his body to face the Grandmaster.
<<No my lord... I mean, Grandmaster, I swear, I don't own any Russian gold... Or, maybe yes, maybe I do, but not here... I mean, I did not get it for that reason, I'm an honest man... I swear...>> He was about to cry. Robin tried not to laugh. The Seneschal coughed.

There was a moment of silence, then the Grandmaster spoke again.
<<You know what? I believe you. In fact, I believe somebody is trying to frame you.>>
Robin looked around carefully and now saw surprised expressions also on the faces of the Commanders and the Seneschal... They had not been told this part of the script!
<<However, I had my men observe in secret what was happening around your rooms. So we actually know that somebody tried to frame you, hiding that gold in your room. It was one of us.>>

It all happened so quickly. Somebody went for his sword and was about to get up, but Minucci was too quick, had his dagger ready in a flash and, with a fluid movement of his arm, pierced the head of the man standing next to him, a strike from below. Commander Funck finally stood up, the hilt of the dagger, shaped as the cross of the Order, showing between his chin and his throat, the blade running through his mouth half-open and piercing his brain. He left the sword in his right hand fall on the ground, gurgled a silent curse, or a prayer, then he fell too, dead. Minucci slowly leaned forward and recovered his dagger soaked in blood, extracting it from Funck's head; with the other hand took the white cloak of the former Commander and began to clean his weapon.

Most of the people in the room were shocked before realizing what exactly had happened. Among them, only Robin and Minucci had been informed exactly of what was going to happen, the others were given only partial information to avoid ruining the “surprise”. Peeter Kross was looking at the body next him in horror, but somehow managed not to throw up the lunch. Probably the man had never seen a fresh corpse before. The High Chaplain, a quiet man dressed in heavy purple robes, quick to react, stood up and got closer to the body, kneeling in front of him, then started to whisper a prayer in Latin.

<<So it was him.>> said calmly Oginski.

<<Yes, it was.>> admitted the Grandmaster <<We also had previous reports of Funck leaving his fortress in Reval to meet with Russian merchants in inns on the road to Novgorod.. We hoped it could be to get some information out of them, but it appears it was the other way around.>> He came back to sit on his chair.
<<They must have bought him with gold, women or other pleasures. Funck was never the most pious of us, but betrayal... That's a deadly sin in the eyes of the Lord. My predecessor, Master Osthoff, told me to to watch him closely... Now I wish we had acted sooner.>>

<<Why.. Why not just arrest and execute him? Why all of this?>> squealed Klein, who was trying to regain his composure, but he knew already the answer. That the meeting was meant to show the determination of the new Grandmaster... And was also a warning to all the council.

Somebody did not like the idea.
<<What you did>> shouted Bishop Iulius standing up, his hands on the table <<is against the rules! First you hide from us important information and instead drag us in this farce where only you and your "friends" know the true meaning. But you also pass final judgement on an accused, executing him in front of the council without a process. This wouldn't have happened before. According to the Ordensbuch...>>
<<Only God can pass final judgement.>> replied the Grandmaster, beating his fist on the very book in front of him <<And we are not the Teutons. So you will stop talking to me in this way. Now a new Order rules this land, and with the Emperor's permission. You will get my trust after you have proved yourself to be worth.>> Paused.<<Beginning to pay your taxes to Livonia will be a good start anyway...>>
Johann smiled at the Bishop like a wolf.

<<What? Our taxes have always been paid to the Archbishop of Riga, the spiritual Lord of Terra Mariana. His Holiness didn't give you any libertas to do this! >>

<<No, but his Imperial Majesty did. Now that we answer to the temporal authority of the Emperor, the bishoprics will start paying their taxes to the local Lords who in turn will pay the Order as usual. This was already decided under my predecessor, just never put in practice... My aim is to rectify that. Did you understand what I just said, Lord Kross?>>

<<Yes... Yes, Grandmaster. The other Lords will be pleased.>>

Bishop Iulius' eyes went wide and his mouth, under the white beard, was trembling.

<<We all belong to this land>> concluded the Grandmaster <<and we shall stood and prosper together. Or die divided. You have witnessed the fate of who opposes us. God wants us to help each other, not fall to petty betrayals and squabbles for power.>>

The High Chaplain rose from Junck's body, having concluded his prayer. <<Deus vult.>> said solemnly to the people in the room.
<<God wills it.>> said Oginski, surprisingly.
Klein was still shocked after the experience to say anything.

Robin saw realization in the eyes of the Bishop: if he had tried to oppose the Grandmaster, he would have been alone in that room. And the Imperial Law was actually supporting Johann's edict. He fell back on his chair, defeated.

The Grandmaster smiled again. <<Now, Brother Minucci, will you get rid of this body, please? The council has other points to address.>>

Robin Offenberg smiled as well. He really liked the new Grandmaster, and the two of them had become very close over the last few years. He would have done well, he knew that... Still, looking at the other Commanders, he realized that they had not liked a slightest bit being lied about who the true traitor was. The expression of the Seneschal was difficult to read, but Robin could see a wounded pride mixed in it; and pride is something very valuable to a sick man.
Yes, Johann would have been an excellent Grandmaster, and a good leader for entire Livonia, provided he survived his own Brothers first...

[kepler]

So, as promised, I will do some narrative updates like the previous one, mainly to improve my written English XD But not too many, it's not as easy as playing ;-)
The previous one was meant to make the AAR more historically believable, because the Livonian Order didn't have actually the authority it has in Eu3. By portraying a strong Grandmaster, I am making the hypothesis he could have won the conflicting interests over Livonia and become a real "ruler". This hasn't anything to do with Centralization/Decentralization. Also, the final part refers to an Event which is going to happen in a few years of game-time, the awesome "Cessation of Church Functions".

Quite interesting mod - I guess I won't play it, as this whole punishment for overextension and low infamy limit coupled with high infamy gain will make it difficult to enjoy a game - however the new HRE mechanics are distilled awesomeness, and many other things adds a nice flavour - I bet that the Jews are not the only example of such a feature

If you will follow I hope to change your initial impressions ^^ Expanding is more difficult because of the BB/CB events/rules, but still very possible. The administrative stuff can actually translate into a bonus for the player, you just need to upgrade your government asap (which everybody does anyway) and make some good choices of NI/sliders. I once had all the German and French areas with several colonies and I was still enjoying the Good Government modifier with a Constitutional Republic.

Will you try to reconquer Samogitia or Prussia (and maybe form Prussia as a secular state, and go to Germany from there)? After all, you are a monastic-military order with the explicit directive to germanize and christianize the heathen Baltic lands...

The fact is, there are no more pagans around! Historically, the main rivals were the Orthodox Russians I believe. Which for gameplay is good, because at the moment there is no chance of attacking Poland-Lithuania.
Also I need to culture-shift even to become Prussia... Old Prussian is not a culture that can form that country -.-

@GulMacet, I believe he is attempting to go East.

Anyways kepler:
Nice AAR, an interesting nation choice in what certainly appears to be an interesting mod.

Thx! If I fail in forming Russia, I might try to get the Nationalism CB (not easy in SRI but can be done), conquer the Lithuanian lands and change my country in Livonian Federation or something like that.

Very interesting, kepler! I've never tried SRI without it being attached to another mod. I'll be interested in seeing how you fare

Thx! For me it's the opposite, I try other mods then I come back to SRI for "long" games XD Perhaps my difference with some MEIOU/MM players is that I still like the "Vanilla experience" (outside the HRE) and I am mainly looking for gameplay differences and tweaks, not a total "reworking" of the system.

Anyway, thx everybody for the feedback!

[gabor]

Just ran across your aar, haven't read the narrative part yet, but surely will be following. I like your take on LIV. Them being not only independent but also having their own agenda. Is turning Kourland possible in SRI? As securalisation seems what you aim at, this might be your ultimate goal.

[kepler]

Hey, glad that you'll be following gabor. Your AARs have been very instructive to me. No, no Kourland in SRI. Is that a MM country?