Post your CK2 empire!

[Arcaul]

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/59...14C785100702A/

My playthrough as Bavaria. Scotland is independent of my kingdom I just didn't feel like assassinating my 2 year old great-grandson to get the throne. I have since placed a grand-daughter as Queen of Croatia as well.

[Lord Finnish]

Tuscany -> Italy



Started lucky when HRE blew up due to vassal revolts. I stayed loyal at first but when Saxony won independence I decided to backstab the Emperor and won my kingdom. Been expanding in Italy since. My brother is the King of Castille (who I need to save every 5 years due to civil wars and muslims), the Byzantine Empress is my niece and I am married to the Queen of Swabia, which means that our son will inherit almost entire southern Germany. My plan is to form the Arabian Empire and conquer the African coast.
Just won crusade for Jerusalem (87% contribution). Had much luck since Fatimids were in a civil war when Pope decided to move in. I came saw and conquered much like in Mauretania a few decades back.

[Comradebot]

Didn't want to post this game again until I'd reached my next major milestone:




Bam, for the first time in all of my playthroughs... I'm an Emperor, er... Shahanshah. Thankfully, the (now former) Sultan of Persian lost a few independence wars, letting me quickly holy war for the remaining land, allowing me to both usurp the Persian Empire from the Tarantos (who conquered the Fatimids), and get some more authority for the Zikri faith rather than burn piety on an invasion. Up next for Shahanshah Allahyar "The Confessor" Baduspanid (best nickname ever, am I right?)? Figure I'll rebuild my levies and launch an invasion for Khiva to reclaim the last of the old Persian Empire from the clutches of the Ilkhanate, who even in their weakened state may give me a challenge. Once that's accomplished, it'll be on to Syria... and then to face off with the ERE for Armenia.

And yes, I formed and passed out all the duchies. For starters, I want my Zikri faithful to actually be able to have a shot when they start their own holy wars. That, and only having a bunch of single county vassals gets incredibly boring and gamey.

Second "and yes", how awesome is that ex-Caliphate down there?

[ChinpoUK]

My Byzantine Empire game with the The Prince and the Thane mod. Currently 1180. The Grand Principality of Galichia-Volhynia just formed the Tsardom of Rus (with covert help from me in the form of a poisoned dagger). Immediately secured a marriage to get an alliance and sent a hefty sum of gold in the form of "gifts". Since I wiped out the Fatimid Caliphate and caused the Seljuks to collapse after liberal use of assassins (Blasted Hashashin nearly assassinated my Emperor, I blamed the Seljuks). In other news, England was inherited by the France but the Anglo-Saxons didn't like having a Frenchie as King, so the Duke of Mercia, who was also Duke of York, Northumberland and the Five Boroughs rebelled and formed the Kingdom of Merica (that's the yellow blob). Scotland has been having on and off wars with Norway over the Ross, Caithness and the Duchy of Orkney. The Muslims in Spain launched a Jihad against Castille and Leon wiping them both out but Aragon managed to beat them back to my suprise, they've been having the odd Holy War since the 1120's.

Since there's no major opposition right now, I've been trying to convert most of my Empire to Orthodox Christianity, so far I've managed to convert all of Sicily, and most of Syria, Jerusalem, Crimea and Armenia. I plan to make the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople the most powerful Christian Church in Europe! The Pope can shove it, Crusades have been a joke so far. The first crusade was an colossal failure, no Catholic Kings made any contribution to the crusade, most of work was done by minor dukes in Wales and Ireland. Pope finally called it a day in 1126 I believe, after about 29 years of getting their backsides handed to them by the Fatimids. Of course after the failure of the First crusade I stepped in and lauched a Holy War for Jerusalem, I had conquered all the land from the Ducky of Galilee to the Sinai in about 10 years. Pope lauched a 2nd crusade against the Almoravids in 1145 (I think). Again, no help came form the Catholic Kings and I watched as the Pope struggled to conquer a minor muslim nation (Note that during this time the Almoravids were facing rebellion from their own vassals). I stepped in and conquered Tunis in the 1160's when the Pope called it quits.

[Firechanter]

Hey chinpo, nice Byzantine Empire. =) I also plan to play Byzans once I'm through with this here.

Here is my current Double Empire of Scandinavia and Britannia, in the year of our lord 1211. It is my first serious CK2 campaign:



I started out as Norway at Stamford Bridge. As usual for that scenario, I withdrew to the north and waited until Saxons and Normans had decimated each other -- Harold won -- and then I mopped up the remains.

When England was consolidated (which took rather long), I expanded by Holy Wars in northern Scandinavia up to Karelia.
Scotland was slowly chipped down county by county until I was able to usurp the title.

Sweden was acquired by wedding my King to the heirless Queen of Sweden and producing a common heir. Capital moved to Uppland, and I was now able to create the Empire of Scandinavia, in the year 1149.

This new Norwegian-Swedish king was wedded to the daughter of the Irish King. Her twin brother was... taken care of. So she was now the Queen of Ireland, and their son was the common heir. He became King of Ireland, but the father outlived him, so eventually it was the grandson who united Scandinavia and Ireland, and formed the British Empire just for the hell of it.

Around 1180 or so the Pope called a Crusade for Aragon, when I was at the summit of my power and thus was able to participate with full force. At the time I was able to commit about 30K troops, and so I achieved victory and was granted the kingdom. One duchy was granted to the Templars, and then I made them my vasalls.

I never intended to attack France, but around 1205 I noticed it was in uproar, and checked the Diplomacy screen whether I could snatch a province or two. And it offered me to "Claim France". I had completely forgotten that my current ruler's mother was a French princess, so I had a now-or-never opportunity to press a weak claim, which I naturally took. I mobilized just a fraction of my forces and conquered the kingdom by sieges with about 25K troops total. Capital moved to Rouen to keep the vasalls better in line; so far my Swedish and Finnish vassals have not complained.

Now in 1211, just as Aragon's conquest penalties are finally expiring, the Pope has called for a Crusade for Andalusia. The single biggest kingdom of the Iberian penninsula. It goes without saying that I am going to go for that.

Never mind that Danish enclave, result of an inheritance accident when one of my non-dynastic Swedish dukes died without a direct heir. The plot to bring Bergslagen back into my Empire is well underway and about 80% complete.

My future goals are to a) acquire Denmark, and b) complete the Reconquista of Spain.

From then on we'll see how to proceed. If France proves too unwieldy in the long run, I might actually hand it off to a member of my dynasty.

Edit:
Sorry, just noticed I forgot to mouseover my ruler to display his titles:

Emperor of Scandinavia
Emperor of Britannia
King of Norway
King of Sweden
King of Finland
King of England
King of Scotland
King of Ireland
King of France
King of Aragon

and could also create Kingdom of Aquitaine anytime, not sure if I should, though.

[Malvius]

why do you all let brittany exist?

[Effixel]

why do you all let brittany exist?

As a frenchman, I have to fully agree with you.

[Westernesse]

Pictures to come later tonight.

Started as Duke of Veronica in 1325, , dominated north Italy and used the tech advantage of owning all the most advanced provinces in the world to win vs numerically superior foes.

Fatmids, continuation of my first game after SoI, I spent the first 4 years assassinating/executing to be come caliphate of both Shia and Sunni (actually slowed down my conquest since there was no Sunni Jihad). Went on to Holy War/Invade everyone and rule the world with my starting ruler. Each dynasty member adds 1.15% decadence and I didn't execute or imprison anyone to avoid this, just landed them all. By 1104 I ruled the world. Invasion or Holy war vs Sunni/Shia should prob be nerfed.

King of Navarra, HW for Spain and then invaded France with the use of Mercs, almost didn't win that one. This is after the death of my first ruler, I inherited Castille,who I helped claim Galacia. The biggest chance thing to happen was in the second series of HW which I might of lost, I captured the dukes of 2 of the major Iberian muslims (Granada/Abbasids), taking them out of the war as allies and putting the numbers in our favor and held them hostage for 15 years, while my allies attacked them/their vassals revoled.

Count of Argyle I got conquered by Scotland, expanded into Ireland/Wales and then claimed Scotland. I invaded England with France's help at the same time I formed Ireland and vassalized them once I had the CB. Now I'm emperor of Britannia.

Started as a muslim count in Palermo, the hardest part was surviving the first crusade in 1090 for Sicily, right when I basically owned only Sicily vs HRE/France + others. Then expanded around the western Mediterranean

[Firechanter]

Oh, if I keep France, I do plan to integrate them into my realm sooner or later, but they are not a priority. I already planted the seed by wedding off one of my kin into a Breton county, should yield a claim sooner or later. Then I need just one more county and I can usurp the Duchy, and let the other counts swear fealty to me.
But it's more something that I plan to do en passant as opportunities arise; or maybe even not at all if I elect to give away France and Aquitaine to a kinsman.

[Afinati]

Albrecht the Great of the Holy Roman Empire is liege of 45 monarchies. His dynasty score is 196,000.

Very detailed info of progress in 1413:
http://www.facebook.com/notes/james-...20632021305999

Edit: Cities, bishoprics, and baronies ... really.

Edit: Albrecht the Great is Albrecht II ... the grandson of Albrecht I.

[Lord Finnish]

My Finland game with latest CK+.

Started out as Estonia, quickly took Ingria and started expanding with Conquest CB to gain Finland. The 200 prestige cost was great but thankfully I got into some defensive wars which I won and regained it, also in the last moments before forging the Kingdom my ruler, with some -200 prestige died and thus I could launch another war right after winning the last one. The Kingdom of Finland was established in 1109 and I have been expanding south ever since.
Just fought a very dirty civil war, having to boost crown laws and taxes makes a lot of vassals unhappy, not to mention the low demesne for pagans. About half the country revolted two years ago but thankfully I won them in a lucky battle that destroyed their main force letting me pick their smaller stacks with ease. I imprisoned and revoked all of them.

I am particularly proud of this save since I haven't used a single cheat so far
I did save scum once when I lost three kings the same year, though. I reloaded, lose the first one to assassins but the second one survived his illness letting me play as usual.

[Downtown1]

For those people who have huge empires with 10+ kingdoms, do you have any tips how to prevent endless revolts within your Empire? I have the Kingdoms of Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Brittany, Galicia, Greece and also as vassals Leon, Bohemia, Lotharingia plus not-yet-created Italy, Germania, and a few more. My point is that everyone's always trying to revolt on me and a single revolt causes everyone else to chain revolt.

Also distance penalty is killer.. I literally have Counts in brand new conquered provinces rise up against me even when they can't field any armies! They have 0/0 levy and they just sit there in their castles while I siege them , how pointless is that uprising?

[cheese40000]

why do you all let brittany exist?

They are a constant thorn in the side if you let them exist. Atleast they have been everytime I 'spare' them playing as France. General rule of thumb for me now is to swallow them as fast as possible.

[Lord Finnish]

Update on Italy game.
http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/9956/italyp.jpg
^Political map
Whackin' them Muslim types. Now that the south Mediterranean coast has been recovered my main concern is getting Iberia and France, the former of which I have recently landed in.

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/5340/dicanossi.jpg
^Dynasties
As you can see my house is in Castille, Saxony and through the latter also in Bosnia and Sardinia. I used to have kinsmen ruling half the HRE but I gave my cousins a good tumble and inherited them. Doing the same for Castille, my current character is married to its queen, his distant cousin connected from great-great grandfather (who had 12 kids by the way).
Besides independence and supporting Saxony gain theirs I have not fought a single war against HRE yet I have gained Carinthia, Venice, Swabia and some areas around the latter. Plan is to have unbroken land connection from Naples to Denmark just by f***ing cousins.

I was very close to having Di Canossa ruling France and Byzantine Empire as well but they both failed. Former got murdered and replaced and latter got deposed in Byzzies' many civil wars.

[Ryasyr]

Almost there:



And the North:





And My Current Czar:

He Earned his "The Great" Title the legit way. no "Exalted by men" Crap-shoot. Just good old fashioned conquest.

[Carmilla]

For those people who have huge empires with 10+ kingdoms, do you have any tips how to prevent endless revolts within your Empire? I have the Kingdoms of Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Brittany, Galicia, Greece and also as vassals Leon, Bohemia, Lotharingia plus not-yet-created Italy, Germania, and a few more. My point is that everyone's always trying to revolt on me and a single revolt causes everyone else to chain revolt.

Also distance penalty is killer.. I literally have Counts in brand new conquered provinces rise up against me even when they can't field any armies! They have 0/0 levy and they just sit there in their castles while I siege them , how pointless is that uprising?

The bonus from granting them a lot of vassals and territory helps a lot. Plus giving them gifts if you can afford it. If you have a lot of stable income, I'd recommend keeping mercs under your control permanently. Also don't hesitate to use assassinations. Sometimes a single death is more than enough to prevent a rebellion. Plus remember to check if you have any vassals, counties, baronies, bishopries or cities within the De Jure area of your vassals. They tend to dislike that. Stick to having your own personal demesne in the empire wherever you want it's core to be. It's what I did at least. Don't forget to make a lot of babies to create a ton of marriage alliances. That helps a lot too.

Also here's my contribution to the thread(it's not the most current map screenshot as I forgot to make one before quitting the game for the day):

PS: Abyssina survived in my game. I had a marriage with the kings son, said king got his title usurped by the fatimids when I took egypt though, and invaded the parts of it that the fatimids held before handing the land back to the son. So the fatimids failed just before succeeding as half of abyssinia still stood at that point. So they became my vassal! Nice trade for me. :P

[pieGEEK]

House Dulo after the complete conquest of all Shia and Christian Nations. With Venice as our seat, we rule all of the world...the little bits were kinda hard to get so I gave up after Mali. We started a Duke of Bulgar, defeated all three Moingol Hordes, 7 Crusades, and 1 Shite Jihads. We invaded all the world we could. The Pope after losing his little Bishopric was the end of the Christian World. The Orthodox and Shite Faiths almost all gone...We beat the game five times...in 1 playthrough. No Mods or Hacks. Sorry but I think I have the biggest empire and highest score. So Far.

[d345f]

House Dulo after the complete conquest of all Shia and Christian Nations. With Venice as our seat, we rule all of the world...the little bits were kinda hard to get so I gave up after Mali. We started a Duke of Bulgar, defeated all three Moingol Hordes, 7 Crusades, and 1 Shite Jihads. We invaded all the world we could. The Pope after losing his little Bishopric was the end of the Christian World. The Orthodox and Shite Faiths almost all gone...We beat the game five times...in 1 playthrough. No Mods or Hacks. Sorry but I think I have the biggest empire and highest score. So Far.

proof the fatimids are not over powered

[pieGEEK]

Proof that Muslim invasion CB is OP.

[plnp123]

This si my biggest empire so far. I started as the Bagrationi, Kings of Georgia. Holy warred agaisnt the cumans and got a good chunk. managed to getmy husband in the Throne of Rus as of my 4th ruler, Queen Natia I of Georgia. After that, his grandson Tornike I of Rus and Georgia got to marry the Empress of Byzantium.
Emperor Shota I of the Byzantine Empire, II of Rus and I of georgia was crowned on 17 September 1254.

From there to 1453 i got to conquer Poland Hungary Sweden Norway and Volga Bulgaria. by getting claimants on each throne. I did not take on the Muslims because i wasnt in the mood to fight for a duchy as a time. Also, only one horde even came, no sign of the Golden Horde nor the Timurids, Guess i was very lucky.

On the religious side, almost all of my empire is Orthodox, except for half of hungary since that was annexed on 1420.

EDIT: In Iberia everything is divided between France HRE and Aquitaine. In fact both France and Aquitaine remained moderately powerful



P.S.Despite being a very bobbly game in all aspects, there are quite a lot of independent baronies and mosques all around the world. The sultanate of Africa is just a mosque in Apulia