So, just a quick 'WTF' story about my couple of hours playing as the Saxons today. Played for longer than the usual time thanks to a mod, so I got a real feel for the game so now I know I'm gonna buy it.
Anyway, after reading a few stories on the board I decided to take some advice and start off as King Harold the Saxon of England and marry off my heir to the daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor. Huzzah, he accepts. I call him into my two wars with Duke William and King Harold of Norway. Huzzah, he accepts as well. The troops of the Holy Roman Empire show up and make short work of both armies, causing both would-be kings to renounce their claims on the Kingdom of England and leaving me to rule. Which I do, poorly.
In fact, so poorly that King Harold is named King Harold the Ill-Ruler for much of his reign. All the same, I have very little trouble and it's a relatively peaceful time in merry old England. My sons grow up and I create Duchies for them. Eventually all my sons are ruling Duchies throughout England - this will become the seed of conflict for generations to come.
Before anybody asks, I didn't think to save a map but suffice to say I think I played for about 100 years and the borders didn't change except for one misguided effort into Wales which saw the death of the last King of my line.
So, as per usual, when King Harold finally died at the ripe old age of 65 his son became King. King Edmond the First. He was a pretty decent King, all told, but he had his share of troubles. The biggest of these was his son and heir the Duke of Cornwall, who declared war in order to become King himself. The rightful King Edmond won the War, and his son was thrown in the dungeon. When he complained about the dungeon, he was shown the oubliette. He died in prison without ever getting another shot at the Kingdom.
There were still a number of other relatives. King Edmond lived for some time and was married twice, once in his ancient years to a young Princess from Aragon with whom he had a few daughters and a few sons. The guy was virile right to the finish.
When Edmond died, having finally settled down the Kingdom and got his vassals in line (he was already rather old himself), more wars broke out. The new King was King Edmond's grandson, since his father had died in prison some time earlier. The war was annoying, mostly the pesky Lancastrians and a really annoying Bishop in Hereford who just hated the idea of me ever being in charge of anything. I thought I'd be sneaky and send an assassin to take out the leader of the opposition and failed, and a month or so later they sent an assassin who didn't. King Osuf (or something similar, I forget the name) only ruled for four years before he met his end.
His son was only 3 at the time, so he didn't get much say in the war. He was under the tutelage of the most learned man in the Kingdom at the time, my goal to make him the greatest leader the nation had seen. The war raged on for most of this new King, Swithred's, childhood. When he finally grew up, he became a Brilliant Tactician. He led his forces to crush the rebellious Dukes and once again peace reigned. It wasn't a prolific peace as the nobles were still unhappy and often pressed for changes to the law or, in the case of Swithred's great uncle Prince Harold, control of the Kingdom. He fought all of these claims off without the help of allies. In the end, Swithred locked a great many of his relatives in the dungeon and let them rot. The Dukes of Northumberland even lost their titles in favor of one of his eventual sons because, while they never started a war they always jumped in on the side of the enemy when one begun.
Swithred's reign was about 20 or so years long. He mostly spent it fighting civil wars of one kind or another. He died in his forties out of nowhere. No illness (that I recall seeing, at least) and no mention of an assassin. Just there one day, gone the next. Luckily his son was old enough to take over, except his son (Harold II) was brave and daring and after crushing the requisite rebellions and throwing around some honorary titles to appease the nobility he decided it was time to expand.
For a few years we sat in wait while the Chancellor fabricated claims in Wales. When the news came that he'd succeeded, Harold II pressed them and then launched the attack. The first battle on the Welsh frontier was glorious with King Harold II leading his mighty forces! While the fight was going on, the Lancastrians perked up again and decided another civil war was in order. In the Welsh counter attack, King Harold II died on the field of battle in a battle that his forces nevertheless won. His infant son was now left in charge, with diminished forces and diminished funds that forbade the hiring of mercenaries.
King Harold's son (who's name I forget, sadly) had a reign that was entirely a regency. A white peace was called in Wales in order to focus on the Civil War, but it looked like the Earl of Derby, the instigator of this particular war, had enough money to buy himself some mercenaries. The mercenaries wiped out my forces in Hereford and left me with no hope. Wanting to retain some dignity, I surrendered to the insurmountable odds that had suddenly begun to arise as vassal after vassal sided with my hated foe! My new King, having never had the chance to grow into his role, become the Duke of Bereford. In his place, his Uncle - a major player in the war - became King of England.
And so it ended, because I had to get ready to go to bed. All in all it was quite fun, I recommend playing the messed up Saxons for a century or two to see how it goes.
And finally, the most messed up thing about the campaign: King Swithred's wife. I initially married her to him because of the lack of eligible women, but after a few years I looked into her heritage and discovered she was one of King Edmond's daughters by his second wife. King Edmond - King Swithred's great-gradfather.
Weird.
Anyway, after reading a few stories on the board I decided to take some advice and start off as King Harold the Saxon of England and marry off my heir to the daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor. Huzzah, he accepts. I call him into my two wars with Duke William and King Harold of Norway. Huzzah, he accepts as well. The troops of the Holy Roman Empire show up and make short work of both armies, causing both would-be kings to renounce their claims on the Kingdom of England and leaving me to rule. Which I do, poorly.
In fact, so poorly that King Harold is named King Harold the Ill-Ruler for much of his reign. All the same, I have very little trouble and it's a relatively peaceful time in merry old England. My sons grow up and I create Duchies for them. Eventually all my sons are ruling Duchies throughout England - this will become the seed of conflict for generations to come.
Before anybody asks, I didn't think to save a map but suffice to say I think I played for about 100 years and the borders didn't change except for one misguided effort into Wales which saw the death of the last King of my line.
So, as per usual, when King Harold finally died at the ripe old age of 65 his son became King. King Edmond the First. He was a pretty decent King, all told, but he had his share of troubles. The biggest of these was his son and heir the Duke of Cornwall, who declared war in order to become King himself. The rightful King Edmond won the War, and his son was thrown in the dungeon. When he complained about the dungeon, he was shown the oubliette. He died in prison without ever getting another shot at the Kingdom.
There were still a number of other relatives. King Edmond lived for some time and was married twice, once in his ancient years to a young Princess from Aragon with whom he had a few daughters and a few sons. The guy was virile right to the finish.
When Edmond died, having finally settled down the Kingdom and got his vassals in line (he was already rather old himself), more wars broke out. The new King was King Edmond's grandson, since his father had died in prison some time earlier. The war was annoying, mostly the pesky Lancastrians and a really annoying Bishop in Hereford who just hated the idea of me ever being in charge of anything. I thought I'd be sneaky and send an assassin to take out the leader of the opposition and failed, and a month or so later they sent an assassin who didn't. King Osuf (or something similar, I forget the name) only ruled for four years before he met his end.
His son was only 3 at the time, so he didn't get much say in the war. He was under the tutelage of the most learned man in the Kingdom at the time, my goal to make him the greatest leader the nation had seen. The war raged on for most of this new King, Swithred's, childhood. When he finally grew up, he became a Brilliant Tactician. He led his forces to crush the rebellious Dukes and once again peace reigned. It wasn't a prolific peace as the nobles were still unhappy and often pressed for changes to the law or, in the case of Swithred's great uncle Prince Harold, control of the Kingdom. He fought all of these claims off without the help of allies. In the end, Swithred locked a great many of his relatives in the dungeon and let them rot. The Dukes of Northumberland even lost their titles in favor of one of his eventual sons because, while they never started a war they always jumped in on the side of the enemy when one begun.
Swithred's reign was about 20 or so years long. He mostly spent it fighting civil wars of one kind or another. He died in his forties out of nowhere. No illness (that I recall seeing, at least) and no mention of an assassin. Just there one day, gone the next. Luckily his son was old enough to take over, except his son (Harold II) was brave and daring and after crushing the requisite rebellions and throwing around some honorary titles to appease the nobility he decided it was time to expand.
For a few years we sat in wait while the Chancellor fabricated claims in Wales. When the news came that he'd succeeded, Harold II pressed them and then launched the attack. The first battle on the Welsh frontier was glorious with King Harold II leading his mighty forces! While the fight was going on, the Lancastrians perked up again and decided another civil war was in order. In the Welsh counter attack, King Harold II died on the field of battle in a battle that his forces nevertheless won. His infant son was now left in charge, with diminished forces and diminished funds that forbade the hiring of mercenaries.
King Harold's son (who's name I forget, sadly) had a reign that was entirely a regency. A white peace was called in Wales in order to focus on the Civil War, but it looked like the Earl of Derby, the instigator of this particular war, had enough money to buy himself some mercenaries. The mercenaries wiped out my forces in Hereford and left me with no hope. Wanting to retain some dignity, I surrendered to the insurmountable odds that had suddenly begun to arise as vassal after vassal sided with my hated foe! My new King, having never had the chance to grow into his role, become the Duke of Bereford. In his place, his Uncle - a major player in the war - became King of England.
And so it ended, because I had to get ready to go to bed. All in all it was quite fun, I recommend playing the messed up Saxons for a century or two to see how it goes.
And finally, the most messed up thing about the campaign: King Swithred's wife. I initially married her to him because of the lack of eligible women, but after a few years I looked into her heritage and discovered she was one of King Edmond's daughters by his second wife. King Edmond - King Swithred's great-gradfather.
Weird.
