• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.

Magc8Ball

Second Lieutenant
55 Badges
Mar 21, 2001
159
0
Visit site
  • Crusader Kings II: Charlemagne
  • Stellaris
  • Victoria 2: Heart of Darkness
  • Victoria 2: A House Divided
  • Semper Fi
  • Victoria: Revolutions
  • Crusader Kings II
  • Heir to the Throne
  • Hearts of Iron III
  • For the Motherland
  • Europa Universalis III Complete
  • Europa Universalis III
  • Crusader Kings II: Sword of Islam
  • Crusader Kings II: Sons of Abraham
  • Divine Wind
  • Crusader Kings II: The Republic
  • Crusader Kings II: Rajas of India
  • Crusader Kings II: The Old Gods
  • Crusader Kings II: Legacy of Rome
  • Stellaris: Humanoids Species Pack
  • Stellaris - Path to Destruction bundle
  • Crusader Kings II: Jade Dragon
  • Stellaris: Synthetic Dawn
  • Stellaris: Necroids
  • Surviving Mars
  • BATTLETECH
  • Crusader Kings Complete
  • Stellaris: Apocalypse
  • Stellaris: Distant Stars
  • Surviving Mars: First Colony Edition
  • BATTLETECH: Flashpoint
  • Stellaris: Megacorp
  • Crusader Kings II: Holy Fury
  • Surviving Mars: First Colony Edition
  • Stellaris: Ancient Relics
  • Crusader Kings II: Monks and Mystics
  • Stellaris: Leviathans Story Pack
  • Stellaris: Digital Anniversary Edition
  • Crusader Kings II: Reapers Due
  • Cities: Skylines - Snowfall
  • Crusader Kings II: Conclave
  • Cities: Skylines - After Dark
  • Crusader Kings II: Horse Lords
  • Crusader Kings II: Way of Life
  • Crusader Kings II: Holy Knight (pre-order)
  • Cities: Skylines
  • 500k Club
  • Warlock: Master of the Arcane
  • Victoria 2
  • Europa Universalis III Complete
The Ottoman Empire is experiencing growing pains, and has fractured, leaving several provinces of the empire open for ambitious men to grasp the reins of power. In Smyrna, this has taken place as Hizir Sarahanoglu raises an army of Anatolian tribesmen and lays his claim. With the threat of Ottoman reprisals on the horizon, he now must establish a stable realm, with the strength to fend them off.

Welcome to my first attempt at an AAR. I've played a handful of EU3 games all the way to the end, and I enjoy the narrative aspects of the game and seeing what sorts of interesting turns the world might take. With that in mind, we'll see what happens here in this version of the world.

My goal is to play a "mega-AAR", starting with EU3 and transferring it into Vicky2 when the time comes. This should give fertile ground for many fun stories, as well as reducing the pressure on me to do anything radical (since I've got an additional 120 years to play with).

The game rules I'm using are:
-No lucky nations
-Provinces spread in 200 years; (I finished a game with that set, and colonialism was largely limited to major nations, which felt a bit more realistic)

My own rules for the AAR are fairly simple:
-I'm not going to initially follow any sort of limiting guidelines or with any particular goals beyond survival; this is largely a "reacting to what the world does" game.
-Should Saruhan become annexed militarily, I will create an "exile house", creating a single-province nation out of the most appropriate other country (likely to be one of the hordes) and putting the ruling dynasty at the time of annexation in charge.
-If Saruhan is annexed diplomatically (inheritance, mostly, I guess?) I will take over the country that annexed it.
-If Saruhan is big enough to lose provinces to independence-minded rebels, I'll consider switching to one of the rebel nations if it seems like it would make for a more interesting continuation.

The goal is to simply provide a constant narrative, and to challenge myself to write to what happens within the realm of the game. Your feedback and suggestions are always welcome, both as related to the writing and to the gameplay.

Thanks for coming along!
 
Last edited:
0. Initial Game State - 1 Aug 1402

1. The Fight for Survival - 1402 - 1444
--1.1: Invaders from the Sea - 2 Aug 1402 - 1 Jan 1406
--1.2: Extending the Grasp - 1 Jan 1406 - 4 Aug 1413
--1.3: Standing on our Own - 1 Jan 1415 - 1 Jun 1426
--1.4: The Humbling of the Greeks - 1 Apr 1427 - 1 Jun 1431
--1.5: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire - 1 Jan 1438 - 1 October 1444

First Intermission - 1449-1470

2. Growing Pains - 1475 - 1551
--2.1 - The First Turko-Egyptian War - 1477-1485
--2.2 - Laying the Groundwork - 1485-1500
--2.3 - The Crown of the Sultan - 1500-1527
--2.4 - The Taking of Ilyastanbul - 1535-1551

3. The Drive for Empire - 1555 - 1589
--3.1 - 1st Turko-Hungarian War - 1555-1560
--3.2 - The Second Turko-Egyptian War [ Part 1 | Part 2 ] - 1561-1566
--3.3 - The Coup of Hizir the Impatient - 1566-1572
--3.4 - Forging an Empire - 1574-1580
--3.5 - Securing the Levant - 1580-1588
--3.6 - 1st Austrian War - 1588-1589

4. The Fall of the Saruhanoglu Dynasty - 1590-1636
--4.1 - Restoring the Honor of the Empire - 1590-1607
--4.2 - Sunni Civil War - 1610-1617
--4.3 - A New Hope - 1618-1633
--4.4 - The Empire Strikes Again - 1634-1636

Intermission 2: A Look at the World, 1642

5. The Golden Reign of Hizir the Trader - 1636-1695
--5.1 - Part I: 1636-1647
--5.2 - Part II: 1648-1662
--5.3 - Part III: 1662-1674
--5.4 - Part IV: 1676-1695

Intermission 3: The World in 1700 - 1698-1700

6. The Jewel of the Nile (and the Bosphorus, Euphrates and Tigris) - 1700-1740
--6.1 - Part 1: 1701-1708
--6.2 - Part 2: 1709-1724
--6.3 - Part 3: 1724-1729
--6.4 - Part 4: 1730-1740

7. The Conquest of Gonder - 1740-1760
--7.1 - Part 1: 1740-1753

8. Defending the Empire - 1760-1776

9. The Long Regency - 1776-1789

10. The Saruhani Enlightenment - 1789-1821
 
Last edited:
1 August 1402
No narrative section

1402_08_01_a.jpg

The initial state of the realm of Saruhan

The primary focus in the early years will be stability and strength: conquering the other small nations around Saruhan, and working to ensure that the Ottomans do not attack us. We will do our best to move towards government reform as soon as possible (at this point in the game Saruhan starts at GOV 5) and then work on westernization. An attempt will be made to minimize inflation, but this is rather low on the list.
 
I'm interested to see where you take this! :)
 
I wonder if Aragon will get a mission to defeat you before becoming king of Gonder.
 
Good luck to you; that sounds like a tricky goal, but I'm eager to see if you can do it.
 
Hope you win.Subscribed
 
2 August 1402
Rushing into the royal tent, a lieutenant whispers into his chief's ears. The chief's eyes go wide for a moment, then he nods, quietly ordering the messenger to "bring my troops, I will tell them."

Stepping out into the morning sun, the man who hoped to be rememberd as Hizir I looks over his assembled warriors. "We feared that we would be attacked from the north, that our cousins would come to reclaim what they see as their lands. I was mistaken in this, at least for now, for our first fight comes from across the sea, from those broken Greeks, looking to save some shreds of their fallen empire."

Pausing to let his words sink in, Hizir purses his lips, then continues. "We ride for the shore, where we will drive them back into the waters. This land shall remain ours!"


1402_08_02_war.jpg


The peace of Saruhan would last exactly one day before sails were sighted, carrying troops from the Byzantine Empire across the Aegean Sea. They saw this land as belonging to them before the Ottomans claimed it, and were trying to take it back once more.

They underestimated the strength of the Saruhanoglu warriors, however, or perhaps chose their landing site poorly. Regardless, two landings were repelled.
1402_08_02_invasion.jpg


Scouts continued to watch the shore for more forces, but eventually only a single boat came into land, carrying an envoy. "We have need of our men elsewhere. Perhaps if you simply... pay us a fee, we shall let you maintain this land for some time."

The chief, shrugged. "It is only gold. The next time you come we shall be more prepared. Be gone from these lands now." He turned to his advisors after the envoy departed, and murmured "our friends did not help us. It is time to punish them for their lack of faith. We ride tomorrow."


1402_08_03_byzpeace.jpg


1403_01_war_mentese.jpg


1403_02_annex_mentese.jpg


The war was swift; the Mentese were not prepared for battle, and their people saw little reason to fight when the new master was largely the same as the old one. Besides; the Ottomans had won their war with the Byzantines: there was a larger worry on the horizon than whether their land bore the name of Mentese or Saruhan.

1406_1_anatolia.jpg
 
If you reformed the government to monarchy and did a WC, would that make you the One King to Rule Them All?

Interesting country choice! I'll be following.
 
Hi, folks, thanks for the initial encouragement, and all the (obvious) LOTR puns that I'm at least partially responsible for. :)

We'll see if I get an update in tonight; I played earlier today and it was largely sitting around working diplomacy, since right now my next military target is guaranteed by pretty much every local power. As a result, there's nothing really to talk about (an heir popped, and that's largely it). I'm not playing on a particular schedule, but I'll try to at least get 2-3 updates per week, and I'll also follow the FAQ guidelines to not make more than one update in a day. If I have a long session, I'll simply divide it up into multiple updates to spread out over a few days.