Why You Should Play As Any Particular Character in CK2
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Despot Alexios II Komnenos of Trebizond, 1321.
THIS IS TREBIZOND: MAXIMUM SUFFERING EDITION
Struggling to recreate that feeling of relentless existential dread that EU4 Trebizond provides? Look no further than 1321 Trebizond in CK2! Alexios "The Horribly Doomed" Komnenos has abysmal stats, no allies, hateful children, a capital province that borders the Ilkhanate (which is at the height of its power), and 2 other provinces which border the Golden Horde (also near the height of its power); but, don't worry, Trebizond is bordered by many hateful minor powers that will probably kill you, first.
Failure awaits!
THIS IS TREBIZOND: MAXIMUM SUFFERING EDITION
Struggling to recreate that feeling of relentless existential dread that EU4 Trebizond provides? Look no further than 1321 Trebizond in CK2! Alexios "The Horribly Doomed" Komnenos has abysmal stats, no allies, hateful children, a capital province that borders the Ilkhanate (which is at the height of its power), and 2 other provinces which border the Golden Horde (also near the height of its power); but, don't worry, Trebizond is bordered by many hateful minor powers that will probably kill you, first.
Failure awaits!
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Buddhist
Daksina Kosala, Raj of
-Prithivinamaharaja, Raja of Daksina Kosala, 1204
Buddhism was born in Indian subcontinent and widespread in East and Southeast Asia, but it has been suffering critical center collapsing after Harsha Vardhana.
Pala kingdom was completely destroyed by muslims last year, now you are the last secular buddhist ruler in India.
Buddhism seems to be going extinction, all holy sites are lost and huge muslim neighbors are dangerously hostile.
Can you expel mohammedans from India, restore all holy sites and become the second Ashoka?
Daksina Kosala, Raj of
-Prithivinamaharaja, Raja of Daksina Kosala, 1204
Buddhism was born in Indian subcontinent and widespread in East and Southeast Asia, but it has been suffering critical center collapsing after Harsha Vardhana.
Pala kingdom was completely destroyed by muslims last year, now you are the last secular buddhist ruler in India.
Buddhism seems to be going extinction, all holy sites are lost and huge muslim neighbors are dangerously hostile.
Can you expel mohammedans from India, restore all holy sites and become the second Ashoka?
There have been a few, but the main list hasn't been updated in a while.
Suomensko
876 Duke of Livonia.
Most of the hardest pagan rulers to play. It takes some serious professional skill to rule the baltics or finland. Only time when estonia is independent and united!
876 Duke of Livonia.
Most of the hardest pagan rulers to play. It takes some serious professional skill to rule the baltics or finland. Only time when estonia is independent and united!
Whoops, looks like I've left this a bit long. I'll make sure to get onto the mammoth task of updating this as soon as I can. It might not be for a week or two, though 
Why isn't El Cid - Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, not on the list of unlanded ones? He was a very famous figure, some kind of a hero to Christians, in his time. And then he became equally famous with Muslims as well.
Wait why did this get unstickied?
Anyway, so this won't be a content-less post, here are a few characters who will likely be playable in the upcoming Charlemagne DLC (assuming you own SoI, RoI, and TOG, of course)
Catholic
Charlemagne: Duh
Carloman: The other King of the Franks. He's something of a cipher since most contemporary historians focused on his brother.
Offa, Petty-King of Mercia: I could talk about Offa's extending of Mercian power over Southern England, and how he was arguably the last non-Wessexian Anglo-Saxon king to wield major power over the island, but most people who would play him know that. The real challenge will be to ensure his hegemony outlives him. He also created the Diocese of Lichfield to break Canterbury's power (this was before Canterbury was an Archdiocese, mind).
Desiderius, King of Lombardy: Last King of the Lombards, Desiderius was defeated by Charlemagne (his former son-in-law) and driven into exile. If later start dates are included (and a playable Ragnar Lodbrok has been hinted at, so that seems possible), you could also try to re-establish his son Adelchis on the throne. Desiderius also set up an antipope.
Orthodox
Constantine V of Byzantium, the Dung-Named: First of all, he's called the "Dung-Named", so he has that going for him. Also he was a noted Iconoclast and a military commander with enough skill that he destabilized Bulgaria almost completely.
Tengri
Telerig, Khan of Bulgaria: The reason Constantine's victories over the Bulgars only "almost" completely destabilized the country. Telerig son of Tervel has only been on the throne a year at game start, but he managed to turn around the Emperor's machinations and tricked him into betraying his own agents in Bulgaria. Historically, he was overthrown by Kardam, fled to Constantinople, and converted to Christianity, after which he died. Obviously, you should try to avoid all that.
Norse
Widukind, Petty-King (Possibly Tribal Chief) of Saxony: The last and greatest of the Continental Saxon chiefs, Widukind successfully resisted Charlemagne for years before Saxony finally succumbed to the Franks. You should do one better, and drive the Franks back into Frankland so that a proper, Germanic, empire can be formed.
Sunni
Abd-ar Rahman, Emir of Ummayad Cordoba: At this point Abd-ar Rahman is trying to re-establish his family's power base after the Abbasids threw them out. In time, his descendants would form a rival caliphate that became renowned as a center of learning and culture. But that's easy under CKII mechanics. The real trick is to turn the tables on the Abbasids and reclaim your rightful position!
Indian
Gopala, Emperor of Pala: Founder of the Pala Empire. Not much is known about him, other than that he came from Gaur and - apparently - killed a Naga Queen. It's actually possible he's dead by the time the game starts, depending on which historian Paradox uses, in which case you can instead select his better known son Dharmapala. Both emperors are believed to have been Buddhist
Nandivarman II, King of Pallava: The legends say he was brought from Cambodia after the prior Simhavishnu dynasty died out, as he was a member of the related Bhimavarman dynasty. Regardless of his origins, the young Nandivarman was an intellectual and patron of the arts, who was still militarily strong enough to subjugate other parts of southern India. He was Hindu.
Anyway, so this won't be a content-less post, here are a few characters who will likely be playable in the upcoming Charlemagne DLC (assuming you own SoI, RoI, and TOG, of course)
Catholic
Charlemagne: Duh
Carloman: The other King of the Franks. He's something of a cipher since most contemporary historians focused on his brother.
Offa, Petty-King of Mercia: I could talk about Offa's extending of Mercian power over Southern England, and how he was arguably the last non-Wessexian Anglo-Saxon king to wield major power over the island, but most people who would play him know that. The real challenge will be to ensure his hegemony outlives him. He also created the Diocese of Lichfield to break Canterbury's power (this was before Canterbury was an Archdiocese, mind).
Desiderius, King of Lombardy: Last King of the Lombards, Desiderius was defeated by Charlemagne (his former son-in-law) and driven into exile. If later start dates are included (and a playable Ragnar Lodbrok has been hinted at, so that seems possible), you could also try to re-establish his son Adelchis on the throne. Desiderius also set up an antipope.
Orthodox
Constantine V of Byzantium, the Dung-Named: First of all, he's called the "Dung-Named", so he has that going for him. Also he was a noted Iconoclast and a military commander with enough skill that he destabilized Bulgaria almost completely.
Tengri
Telerig, Khan of Bulgaria: The reason Constantine's victories over the Bulgars only "almost" completely destabilized the country. Telerig son of Tervel has only been on the throne a year at game start, but he managed to turn around the Emperor's machinations and tricked him into betraying his own agents in Bulgaria. Historically, he was overthrown by Kardam, fled to Constantinople, and converted to Christianity, after which he died. Obviously, you should try to avoid all that.
Norse
Widukind, Petty-King (Possibly Tribal Chief) of Saxony: The last and greatest of the Continental Saxon chiefs, Widukind successfully resisted Charlemagne for years before Saxony finally succumbed to the Franks. You should do one better, and drive the Franks back into Frankland so that a proper, Germanic, empire can be formed.
Sunni
Abd-ar Rahman, Emir of Ummayad Cordoba: At this point Abd-ar Rahman is trying to re-establish his family's power base after the Abbasids threw them out. In time, his descendants would form a rival caliphate that became renowned as a center of learning and culture. But that's easy under CKII mechanics. The real trick is to turn the tables on the Abbasids and reclaim your rightful position!
Indian
Gopala, Emperor of Pala: Founder of the Pala Empire. Not much is known about him, other than that he came from Gaur and - apparently - killed a Naga Queen. It's actually possible he's dead by the time the game starts, depending on which historian Paradox uses, in which case you can instead select his better known son Dharmapala. Both emperors are believed to have been Buddhist
Nandivarman II, King of Pallava: The legends say he was brought from Cambodia after the prior Simhavishnu dynasty died out, as he was a member of the related Bhimavarman dynasty. Regardless of his origins, the young Nandivarman was an intellectual and patron of the arts, who was still militarily strong enough to subjugate other parts of southern India. He was Hindu.
You missed an important person!
Roland: Legendary hero of the Song of Roland and the Margrave of the Breton March. Who don't want to play one of the famoust persons of the Middle Ages?
1. Saxony is a real kingdom.
2. Widukind isn't there leader in 769. In the stream it was still Theoderic. But I'm sure Widukind is his child or the "duke" who ruled western Saxony and rebelled in the stream. Widukind was the leader of the Westfalians (Western Saxony).
Roland: Legendary hero of the Song of Roland and the Margrave of the Breton March. Who don't want to play one of the famoust persons of the Middle Ages?
1. Saxony is a real kingdom.
2. Widukind isn't there leader in 769. In the stream it was still Theoderic. But I'm sure Widukind is his child or the "duke" who ruled western Saxony and rebelled in the stream. Widukind was the leader of the Westfalians (Western Saxony).
Most of the stickies are now outdated.
I bet the OP was no longer updating his lists so there is no need for the list to be stickied here - you can still see it on the wiki if you need it.
I bet the OP was no longer updating his lists so there is no need for the list to be stickied here - you can still see it on the wiki if you need it.
Well, since we saw him in the stream: Al-Mansur, the second Abbasid caliph, builder of Baghdad.
The father of Ragnar (Sigurd right?). The reason? Because Ragnar will be his heir
Huh? Are we talking Ragnar Lothbrok here? Because he was dead before 867 (although may be playable in the Charlemagne expansion!) The clue is that all the Vikings marauding around Britain are there to get revenge for his death.