[MEIOU] SavoyAAR Reality-show

Yes, according to the tooltips, I am supposed to inherit 3 or 4 unions every time a ruler dies. Obviously this is not the case. Plus, we should be able to refuse an inheritance (at a stab cost?).

England and Castille are going very aggressive in Europe, respectively against France and Sweden. England grabbed France holdings in North Africa, Pyrenees and Albania, while capturing most of Moldavia; Castille is having nice holdings in Finland, Norway and Iceland, and as you can see in the last screenshots, is over-seizing Fez too. I'll have to keep an eye on these two. Both have "early colonization" but, just as Holland and Portugal, are not using it.

Lately, three factors improved my colonization: the Blue Horde being down, my last two sliders moves done toward Expantionism, and a new concelor. I right now have about 8 colonists a year to play with. I do not support growing colonies (let them grow slowly from 100), so I use about 1 colonist/year to settle new lands, and the rest to support "tough" colonies. Aragon and -in the next decade- Anjou are colonizing way more than I am. Aragon has an insane colonial growth (all their colonies are growing from at least +30/+40 a year), while Anjou seems to just waste money (a bunch of colonies with only 20-50 settlers, but colonists are sent to new places...)

As for Australia... I needed a place to deport all these hussites who still are popping now and then

I had a rough day yesterday... will try to post Round XXIV, Second Century update and Round XXV before the week-end (that is, Wednesday night)

Round XXIV (1551-1557): A Tough Challenge



Ray: GOOOOOOOOOOD Evening everyone and Welcome to "BIG RULER". I'm Ray Porter, and I am here with George I. Joe and B. Rene Daid to help you all follow that alternative history! This season, we are following Savoy. Last time, Philippe II 'il Africano' fought hist last fight, against Kanem Bornu, and died preparing the invasion of the Jalayirids, passing his throne to his nephew. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Federico I de Savoie, Re d'Italia, Rei d'Aragó, Magyarország Királya, König von Bayern, Knjaže Bălgarija, Erzherzöge Österreich, Duc de Lorraine, Duce de Milano, Graft von Hohenzollern.



Ferdinando: Good Evening, Ray.

Ray: Ferdinando, first of all congratulations. Your uncle Philippe died after 46 years of reign, by far the longest of your dynasty. He did a lot for Italy, both conquests in Africa, the middle-East and the Caucasus, and colonization in Siberia, Oceania and America... This is a tough challenge to succeed him, isn't it?

Ferdinando: It is. But I think any King newly crowned face a tough challenge... I am now in charge of the life of thousands and thousands of men and women...

Ray: Sure... What will be your policies? Will you follow your uncle's?

Ferdinando: Mostly, yes. I will have to finish his job to reduce the length of our boundaries. Fez, Mali and the Jalayirids have long and aggressive boundaries, so we need to clean them up. This is even more important now that our vassals do have colonies in Southern Mali. Colonization will follow the same logic, trying to implant a strong force in Oceania.

Ray: And internally, will you change anything?

Ferdinando: Economically, I won't. I would love to reduce the military investments to focus on Trade or Production, but our progress have been large enough lately not to need it. Moreover, the Military need our support. I will however try to convince the senate of the need to cancel their current objective for Italy.

Ray: You mean, colonize Obdorsk?

Ferdinando: Yes. The senate asked my uncle to do that in 1528. The senate had a very simple idea in mind at that time: The Sibir horde did control Obdorsk, and was aggressive toward us, so it was just a matter of time before the Horde attacked us, lost the war, and lost Obdorsk to Italy. Smart enough. However, this is not what happened. Moscow did vassalize the Sibir Horde, forbidding it to attack Italy. We cannot seize this land without going to war against Moscow, and there is no reason to do so.

George: You won't fight Moscow... So who will you fight?

Ferdinando: Mali, Fez, the Jalayirids... The army is ready to fight the Jalayirids, so we will shortly. And Pegu.

Ray: Pegu?

Ferdinando: Yes. I want the trading post of Kandy to be incorporated into Italy. And we will do our best so that other trade posts join us too.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ray: Well, Ferdinando does not wait very long before convincing the senate to forget about Obdorsk. A few days only on the throne, and the nobility has a new request...



George: Conquer a center of Trade in Indonesia!

Ray: Well, not conquer, own... The senate does not grants Ferdinando the legitimacy to declare a war on that purpose though. And there is no way Italy can open a new center of trade in that area, to compete with the ones in Surabaya or Selangor, as these two centers are not strong enough to support a concurrent. I do not see how Ferdinando can achieve this mission.

George: Conquest, this is the only solution.

Ray: You are probably right... But Italy has no right to attack anyone in Indonesia right now, besides Pegu, Luzon and Maguindanao... and none of them has a center of Trade nor his allied with someone who owns one...

George: He'll figure that out.... Anyway, time is to another war right now.... It has already been two months since Philippe died. The army is ready, and in June 51, war is declared against the Jalayirids.

Ray: But Ferdinando is still unknown from the Muslim world. While his uncle was feared, this time they think they can take Italy down. A cascade of nations join in defense of the Jalayirids, including the powerful Timurid Empire!



George: This is going to be a three fronts war: against Hejaz in Jordan, against the Timurids in the Ural, and the main front will stay in Persia... Timurids and Hejaz are probably the two most powerful Muslim states right now, while the Jalayirids still have a strong army. This is no going to be a piece of cake. In fact, this is probably the toughest Holy War Italy ever had to make! Still, the summer 1551 battles are for Italy.



Ray: More than 25,000 enemies killed, for about 3,000 Italian... This might be decisive indeed.

George: It is. Italy is progressing on the three fronts. A Timurids-MushaSha army is progressing along the Euphrates into Italy territory, but nearly all Jalayirid territory is under control, while Italy makes cautious progress in Ural and Jordan.



Ray: They don't go down the Euphrates into Musha-Sha territory?

George: No. The Jalayirids are the only objective of this war. As long as the Timurids are in the war, Musha-Sha will not accept any peace conditions from Italy. And the Pope just reminded Ferdinando that he is only allowed to capture land from Jalayirids as he called for a Holy war against the Jalayirids, and not the entire Muslim world...

Ray: I see... Storming the Jalayirids will help securing Italy's objectives before making peace. This is achieved in Fall, after a few disputed battles.



George: Italy lost a lot of men in September and October, peace was the most reasonable solution.

Ray: In December, Switzerland is annexed. The South-Western part of the country remains Italian, while the Zurich area, claimed by Austria, is annexed by Wien.

George: Ferdinando must have an eye on Fez. Castille is making very nice progress in Morocco.



Ray: Indeed. I can see a lot of troops at Fez boundary, ready to invade.

George: This is done in July. As soon as Castille and Fez sign a peace, the Italian troops invade Fez. No resistance is foreseen, may it be from the regular armies or the defending militias. The Rey-based OPM nation of Mazandaram declares war on Italy, but this is not even worth noticing...

Ray: In December, Italy considers the Vijayanagar province of Madurai to be its own. Some spies were involved. With Kandy, this is the second province in the area to be considered as Italian by Ferdinando.



George: At the same time, the sieges of Fez and Rey are progressing. In July 1553, Mazandaran is annexed.



Ray: What about Fez?

George: The war with Fez will be achieved soon. In October, after fifteen months of a weird war with no real battle seen, Fez capitulates, and is down to two provinces, divided by Italy.



Ray: A few months later, the Blue Horde attacks Italy...

George: Yes, but the Blue Horde is already loosing a war against Theodoro... Ferdinando is ready to intervene, but as long as there will be two different nations South of the Crimean peninsula, I doubt Italy makes a move.



Ray: So what will be Italy's next move? It is supposed to be either Mali or Pegu.

George: It will probably be Mali. The Anjou colonies have to be defended, Italian troops already are in North Mali, and the Malian boundary is way too big. War is declared in June. Progress are fast during the summer, with a lot of battles won.



Ray: What a mess! 64,000 Malian felt against Italy, who only counts about 7,000 lost men.

George: Indeed. The first Italian-Malian war of 1505 was a Malian victory, because Italy was outnumbered in the area. This is not the case anymore, and Italy made good military progress in the last fifty years. There is no chance of winning for Mali anymore. Look at the situation in October.



Ray: Impressive. I think that Italy will try to set the boundary at the current front position, or even go Southern. In June 55, Italy controls the more valuable Malian ressources: the Salt and Gold mines.



George: Oh, this is the reason they focus so much on this area... And from what I see of the peace treaty signed in October, you are right. Gold and Salt mines, plus the center of Trade of Timbuktu.



Ray: This is not surprising. What surprises me on the other hand is his decision to incorporate Bulgaria into Italy in June 56, only a couple months after the Blue Horde capitulation.



George: Why does it surprise you?

Ray: Well, there are two ways to integrate a minor partner: By will, or with a parliament vote, like this one. Since Bulgarians and Italians are so different, the Bulgarian people will not have accepted Italy as ruler anyway... but he might have spare the infamy. The other parliaments, including Hungarian or Austrian, do not look at it too kindly...

George: Hungary... this might be the reason...

Ray: Oh... I see... Indeed, you are right. From what I see, at Ferdinando's death, Hungary is supposed to be integrated into Italy, while Bulgaria and Austria were not supposed to. That would make Hungary a huge Italian enclave... difficult to defend.

George: Correct. Bulgaria's integration would insure territorial continuity between Hungary and the African Italy.

Ray: Well... This actually was not needed. Ferdinando passes away in March 1557, and Hungary is not inherited... Milan, on the contrary, is ...



George: Can we have a map of the commonwealth?

Ray: We sure can. It was a short reign, actually the shortest reign in 'de Savoie' history. Italy made progress in Mali, Morocco and Persia, Anjou did progress in Southern Mali, while Aragon is doing stunningly well in America.



George: What about...
Ray: Sorry to interrupt you George. We will do a Second Century Special update tomorrow, and I am sure all your questions will find answers.... So make sure not to miss this special episode of BIG RULER!

@DensleyBlair: Siberia: because I wasn't sure Australia would be big enough to send all the Hussite revoltees I keep having Italy's colonization has been slowed down by the Hordes initially, and now by the aggressiveness of Rebels in Indonesia, forcing me to send more than one colonist to every island... Aragon on the other hand probably has a better colonization policy and is just watching is 100 men colonies growing insanely quickly... :angry: As for Milan, there is indeed a new CoA... you can see it in the CoA collection post 2, or wait for Round XXV...

@InvisibleSandwich: It makes the France-Italy connection smoother, as it is now all Italian, instead of this strip of Land. And I've got the Grischung province back, with a core on it this time (I already had core on all Milan's land)

SPECIAL EDITION: Two Centuries Update



Bree: Good evening everyone, I am Bree Zenter, and I will be hosting tonight's special edition of Big Ruler. My guests will be Ray and George, hosts of the show, as well as Bob, from "Bob and Jim", hosts of the world known Double Domination show. Tonight we will discuss What happened in the last century, and what has to be expected in the next one.... Just as for the first century, we have had a total of 12 rounds. Bob... Did you follow this century?

Bob: Well, this time I did Bree. A lot of actions, while not enough in Europe for my taste.

Bree: Yes. It looks like most of action was done overseas. Ray, can you confirm?

Ray: I can. The century started slowly, as François Hyacinthe died only three years into the second century. He only had time to consolidate small positions in Europe. His brother Philibert only had a fifteen years reign, but it gave the direction for the century. Philibert focused on the Middle-East, connecting the Jerusalem and Alexandria holdings, and pushing North to Syria. This is a task his son Louis also followed, increasing Savoy's holdings in Turkey and down the Nile, but Louis was also strongly focused on Europe: he acquired three new crowns, in Milan, Austria and Hungary, founded Italy, and increased its realm in Italy, France and Ireland. This is also the time when Aragon started colonizing, with Madeira and the Senegal.

Bree: Europe arrived lately in the colonization process.

Ray: Indeed. During about 150 years, France, England, Castille, Savoy and Portugal were continuously fighting each other. This total war is actually is still going right now, while Italy and its allies dropped out of it after Louis' reign, allowing colonizing. Aragon discovered America in 1511, and started colonizing it right away. Philippe mainly focus his efforts on the Hordes territory in Caucasus, before implanting colonies in the Indian. By strength, he also grabbed nearly all North Africa, Turkey, and made reasonable progress in Persia. He had a 45 years reign, so he really had been able to impose his policy for a continuous time. His nephew Ferdinando did very well considered his short 6-years reign. He started consolidate the colonies in the Indian Ocean by sending settlers on existing colonies, grabbing ultimately very few lands there, and focus his war efforts on West Africa and Persia. Simultaneously, Aragon and Anjou did very well with the colonization of Ghana and the Caribs.

Bree: here is a map which illustrates it.



Bob: This is not really surprising. This succession of events is classical in alternative history.

Bree: What do you mean?

Bob: See, until 1450, Muslims still are powerful, so Europeans better fight each other than going into crusade trouble. But around 1500, it should be a race to North Africa. France, Castille and England decided to join but did too little too late. Once this task is done, the main race should be the colonies, but again, the Italy-Aragon couple is progressing very fast, I doubt there will be anything left for the other powers....

Ray: You are perfectly right Bob. A thing you didn't mention though is Italy's financial power. By controlling so much land, including several center of trades spread around the Mediterranean, and simultaneously slowing down the war efforts to invest in trade and production efficiency, Italy became by far the wealthiest nation on Earth. Actually, 5 of the 12 richest nations on Earth are under Italian rule: Italy of course, Aragon, Lorraine, Austria and Anjou.



Bob: You were talking of slowing down the military research?

George: Yes, unfortunately.

Ray: George, you know these efforts were needed to maintain such army. Moreover, this had actually been done under François-Hyacinthe, even if none of his successors did anything against it. Right now, very few nations are more advanced technologically than Italy.



Bob: I see. So what can slow down Italy right now?

Ray: I would say, Italy itself.

Bree: What ?

Ray: Its expansion slows down Italy.

George: What ?

Ray: OK, let me rephrase. Right now, there are two major things that could slow down Italy: not being the Holy Roman Emperor, and not controlling the Curia. Italy grows so quickly that everybody considers them as "Bad Boys". No Italian cardinal is ever elected, while Italy controls most of the catholic world, and no one ever votes for Italy during HRE Elections.

Bree: But... Saluzzo, Pfalz and Saxony aren't Italy vassals?

Ray: They are! Still, they vote for Bohemia! Actually, only Hussite Koln does not vote for Bohemia!

Bree: I indeed can see that the Hussites are still powerful, mostly around the North Sea and the Baltic. Aren't they supposed to be gone by now?

Ray: They are, but in this reality, They still are powerful.



Bob: I can see that Italy is doing a good job on converting Muslim lands?

Ray: Actually, not that much. Most of the catholic provinces in Africa are colonies, they never were Muslims. Not being connected to the capital makes it harder for missionaries to evangelize these populations, may they be Sunni, Shiite, or Orthodox. At least, there is no Hussite land anymore in Italy.



Bree: Interresting. Here is the situation in Western Europe. Can you comment Ray?



Ray: Yes. England seems to be the most dangerous opponent for Italy right now, as they have several holdings: Moldavia, Albania, Tunisia, Ireland, South-West of France, Hamburg, Goteborg... They are spreading like hell. Castille comes in second position, with holdings in Morocco, Southern Italy, Norway and Finland. That being said, France, Bohemia and Poland still are powerful.

Bob: What about Sweden?

Ray: They are not anymore.



George: No, the real Nordic power is Moscow.



Bree: I'll not that the Red blob in the Oural is not England, but the Timurids.

George: Yes. They proved to be a challenge lately. They are a powerful and vast Empire... it will be tricky for Italy to go East of the Caspian sea.



Bob: They are the main Muslim threat I agree. Hejaz it the second one though.

George: You are right. Zabulistan is powerful too, but is not threatening Italy. Hejaz on the other hand is difficult to fight, as there is only a small corridor between the Red Sea and the Arabic Desert to go through. It might change if Italy manages to conquer the Kuwait area, or go down to the African part of the Gulf of Aden. Jalayirids should not be problematic anymore though.



Bree: You were speaking of Africa... What about the main powers there?

George: Well, Kanem Bornu does not looks like collapsing anymore, and might be a threat. Due to its location though, I doubt anyone will want to go that way, deep into Africa. It requires too many men and it is just not worth it.



Bob: Mali is not a problem anymore from what I saw...

George: Indeed. The last war with Mali proved to be a success. I think Italy will still want to progress quickly in that Area, as Anjou colonies are not protected, and no one would like to revive the colonial loss we saw when Fez captured the growing "Aragonese Africa".



Bree: Fez itself is not a problem anymore.

George: It is not, and should be annexed anytime soon.



Ray: Before we go to Asia, I would like to add that Aragon is doing very well in South Africa, but the colonies are still undefended, so any conflict with Ndongo or Mutapa should be avoided...



Bree: The situation in Asia looks messy...

Ray: Daxia and Song are the regional Powers, followed by Indian nations Gondwana, Garjat and Vijanyagar. Tibet, Pegu and Brunei also are forces to respect.



George: The situation in Asia needs to be taken with cautious. Italy has the superiority, but also has a lot of undefended colonies. Moreover, they would be heavily outnumbered in case of a war. WIth only one transport / war fleet for the entire Indian Ocean, from Sinai to Australia, it would take forever to bring reinforcements in, and Italy will not be able to catch local fleets invading its lands.

Ray: This is why Italy is now progressing slowly in terms of territorial gain. They need to reinforce their colonies to fortify them, before going on the offensive.



Bree: I see. Last point is America...

Ray: It is tough to map the actual extends of the commonwealth in America, as our satellites are focused on Italy, and Italy did not discover most of Aragon current colonies...

Bob: Well, I heard you say that last time, so I took the liberty to took some shots with my own satellite, focused on Aragon... I hope you don't mind...



Ray: I don't. This really gives more perspective than the map views... Aragon is progressing quickly... There will not be anything left for the other European nations!

Bree: Doesn't look like it, indeed. George, last time you gave us a hint on Savoy's orientations for the next century, do you remember?

George: I do... I said Italy would probably focus on five center of Trades: Dubrovnik, Genoa, Tunis, Ankara, Copenhagen, and they did. They captured 3 out of the 5 towns already.



Ray: You also said Savoy would focus on Aquitaine, the South-West HRE and the East Adriatic....

George: They did. They did not capture as many land there as I was hopping for, but they definitively did. I also said they will go for Muslim lands, from several ways, and they did. Italy was also a nice progress... I was not entirely right, but I was far from being wrong....

Bree: I think so too. This is why I would like to know what you think the next century will bring us...

George: Wars. Probably. Lately, Italy focused on its borders reduction. To this intend, they should reduce their enclaves. Morocco, Tunisia, Aquitaine, the Adriatic, Crimea, Persia and Indonesia should be the main war zones in the upcoming century.



Bree: These are the yellow areas... What about the other ones?

George: They follow two logics: Ural, Mali and Moldavia are here to connect Italian holdings. This is important to do so, even if it means deploying more men to defend it.

Ray: What about the North Sea area? This is insane, this is HRE land!

George: Precisely. Non-HRE nations currently hold this land, so Italy can legitimately liberate them. The rest is Hussite land... I am sure Italy can grab a few vassals here if they become Emperor or Defender of the Faith.

Bob: Blue arrows are possible expansion paths?

George: They are. I am pretty sure these coastlines will be filled before 1600, as it can be done pacifically or with very easy war. I'm not sure about expansion in Indonesia though. We'll have to be cautious...

Bree: Thank you George. Ray, when is the next episode of Big Ruler?

Ray: Round XXV will be tomorrow, with Antonio I being crowned..

Bree: Exciting. Bob, Thanks for passing by, this was a pleasure to see you. Ray, George, Good luck for the next show. Good night everyone, don't miss the next episode of Big Ruler!

Round XXV (1557-1563): To India



Ray: GOOOOOOOOOOD Evening everyone and Welcome to "BIG RULER". I'm Ray Porter, and I am here with George I. Joe and B. Rene Daid to help you all follow that alternative history! This season, we are following Savoy. Last time, Ferdinando I 'il Breve' was crowned, fought in Persia and Mali, and passed the throne to his son Antonio after only 6 years. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Antonio I de Savoie, Re d'Italia, Rei d'Aragó, Magyarország Királya, König von Bayern, Erzherzöge Österreich, Duc de Lorraine, Graft von Hohenzollern.



Antonio: Good Evening Ray.

Ray: Antonio, you are crowned King of Italy only six years after your father was. It is sudden, isn't it?

Antonio: It sure is. But, I feel ready for the task.

George: Last time, your father told us he wanted to focus on four areas: Fez, Mali, Jalayirids and Ceylan. He only had time to do three. Yourself received a way better military education than he did... Are you also on this military perspective?

Antonio: I sure am. Actually, my father did not finish the job, may it be in Mali, Fez or against the Jalayirids, so you'll have to expect me to do some work over there. Ceylan indeed is a priority, and uniting our Oceanian holdings is one too.

George: Isn't it too soon for that?

Antonio: Some islands are big enough to be fortified, or will soon be. And the Senate asked us to conquer a center of Trade in Indonesia. My plan is to piss the Indonesian off until we are involved in a war with a center of Trade, that we could conquer...

Ray: Isn't it too bellicose?

Antonio: As long as the Italian people support me and is not tired of these wars, it won't be.

Ray: What if they don't?

Antonio: We will see at that time...

--------------------------------------------

George: I like Antonio. He is way more ambitious than his ancestors.

Ray: I am a little worried to be honest. I am not sure such bellicose strategy might last on the long term...

George: It will as long as the wars are planned properly, and Antonio is a real stratege. He waits until October 1558 before doing his first move, attacking Fez. The nation is stormed, and annexed in January, after a 3-months war.



Ray: You are right, Antonio seems to be way more cautious that he appears. Nothing happens in 1559, except that the Hejaz town of Muscat sent Italy a letter in October, offering their future integration into Italy.



George: Antonio will probably not fight for this distant province, but this is very nice to see. Speaking of legitimate trading posts, one year after this event, in October 1560, war is declared on both Mali and Pegu.



Ray: None of their allies come to their help.

George: Indeed. Antonio does scare them I guess. The war with Pegu only lasts for six months, and Pegu agrees to cede Kandy to Italy.



Ray: Soon after, the Blue Horde attacks....

George: Their situation hasn't changed in five years, they still are fighting against Theodoro... There is no room for Italy in this conflict. The Blue Horde knows it and capitulates eight weeks after declaring war, before any fight could occur.



Ray: After nine months of war, what is the situation in Mali?

George: Italy progresses nicely. I have no doubt Italy will be able to secure a nice peace.



Ray: Antonio seems to have no doubt either. In August, he declares an Holy War on Bima...

George: He told us he would do such thing. However, he couldn't guess that so many countries would defend Bima. Cham Pa, Majahapit, Cirebon, Surabaya and Pontianak join in defense. There is a minor center of trade involved, in Surabaya, but I doubt Italy could grab it, as their troops are way outnumbered.



Ray: This war indeed requires full attention from Antonio... He quickly peaces out with Mali to focus on Oceania.



George: He'd better. In October, the situation does not look that nice in Oceania. Avoiding Bima's capital, Italy is progressing nicely against this opponent, but the defending troops have landed in Sumba and Taiwan, fortunately focusing on forts and not on undefended colonies right now.



Ray: This would explain why Antonio tries to peace out so quickly?

George: Indeed. Fortunately, Bima was the war leader, and the only opponent to suffer Italy's progress. They agree to capitulate under Antonio's conditions in November, giving Makassar away.



Ray: This is probably not what Antonio expected...

George: Indeed, he probably expected to annex Bima entirely, or to get the center of Trade of Surabay, but this overload in Taiwan, while the North part of the Island is still colonizing was a big risk. To be honest, I am surprised he did this war so soon, not being able to properly defend his holdings... He was really lucky not to suffer any damages here.

Ray: I agree. Antonio needs to reinforce that region before doing other wars. As soon as the peace is signed, he founds the Indian Trace Company to boost the region development.



George: Oh... A war changer...

Ray: What do you mean?

George: See, Antonio was cautious about attacking Jalayirids, his fifth named target, because of the Timurids, who were a pain during the last war. But right now, the Timurids are losing a war against Moscow.



Ray: I can see that. A few months ago, Moscow declared a Holy war on the Timurids, driving the defending troops to the Ural region.

George: This is the chance Antonio needed to attack the Jalayirids. He declares war in January 1562, and this time the Timurids do not engage. Musha-Sha stay out of it too. Hejaz is the only threat, but it will be a defending war against them.



Ray: in February several battles are fought...

George: And this is a full victory for Italy. In Mosul, Markazi and Sharizor, a thousand Italian died, killing nearly 30 times more. The entire defending army is wiped out in a month.



Ray: Now Italy can occupy the fortresses one after the other, and force the Jalayirids to a peace after only 5 months of war.



George: They make good progress, splitting the Jalayirids in three areas, and even making some progress in the Hejaz corridor.

Ray: This is good, as it isolates the Jalayirids capital, making it an enclage to be annexed during the next war.

George: Indeed. Waiting for that, Italy still progresses on the Bone Island. The small Minahasa nation is still holding the Gorontalo province, so Italy attacks it.



Ray: Storming war, Minahasa is annexed thirty days later.

George: Antonio only gives two months of peace to Italy before going to war. This time, his target is the Philippines area. Since the Italian colony of Cagayan is next to the Maguindanao province of Ilocos in North Luzon, war is declared on this nation, who also controls the Sulu archipelago and the Mindanao Island. The two Italian armies deployed are making very good progress through the summer, and Antonio is only waiting for the Sulu islands to surrender before annexing the nation...

Ray: This is good progress, but he will not annex it himself, as he got hit by an arrow at the siege of Sulu. His son Ascanio Maria will be in charge of handling the annexation treaty...



George: What! Ferdinando and Antonio overall ruled Italy for 12 years. They are the only two rulers born in Italy, while their predecessors were all born in Savoy... And the shortest Savoyard reign we followed was 13 years! One more year than these two last reigns altogether!

Ray: Maybe there is a curse on Italy? Anyway, nice progress were made in South America. We can now add Anjou to the Aragon-Italy couple of crazy colonists. Italy understood they cannot grab more coastlines in America and start to go up the Amazonian rivers, deeper into America...



George: Nice. I can't see how anyone outside of the commonwealth can grab any land in America anymore. They waited too long now...

Ray: You are right. The powers still refuse to colonize, to the commonwealth's happiness. This is one of the things we'll have to watch next time, so be sure not to miss the next episode of BIG RULER!

I start to be tired of this non-colonization policy from the other European Powers. All of them now have the possibility to send colonists but none of them do it. I've quickly looked at Portugal / Castille / England / France / Holland situations. They do not explore (only Portugal can but has no fleet anymore, probably sunk by the English), so have very few knowledge of available spots, only a few useless coastal enclaves in Africa. Both of these nations however have enough money and colonists (5....) to send some overseas... Should I let the IA play as they want (ignoring America) or should I spend one IG day playing all 5 potential other explorers to force them to settle colonies?

I'm afraid that if there is no other colonial powers in Africa / America / Asia, the next centuries will be Italian Commonwealth versus boring useless nations...

Another possibility would be to generate a monster, merging England / Castille / Portugal / France into one nation to prevent them from fighting each other all year long, but I would rather not do that TBH, to give it a chance to create itself with no manipulation. I forgot to mention it, but since 62 the Moscow throne is claimed by Castille... With the current Castillian holdings in Scandinavia, if Castille inherits Muscowy we might see a huge Castille-Moscow opponent in Northern Europe, possibly taking England down... Or Castille might just try to get this throne by force and fight a heavy war in Russia, weakening it to England / France joy ...

I will watch closely the evolution of the situation in Europe but I am pessimist for centuries 4-5...

aniuby said:

Wow, I haven't read through the AAR page in a while and there have been so many updates. It looks like Italy is shaping up to dominate the world on all fronts at once - it's so bizarre that the heathens have the daring to DoW you despite their weakness while the stronger Europeans don't band together to fight you.

Click to expand...

Actually, Muslims strategy to group and attack from all sides was nice: it raised my WE, forced me to end wars before my objectives were reached to focus on the other ongoing wars... And the tech gap was growing in my favor, so they had to do it, not wait. As soon as I've stopped waiting for them, and attacked them one by one, it became way easier....

Europeans have been fighting one each-other for decades. France and England always are at war, while the Castille-Portugal alliance switches sides every now and then. Sweden or Moscow are involved from time to time. This caused a lot of trouble to Sweden, not any to Moscow. Their position seems logical though: these nations are not neighbors, so there are a lot of naval fights involved, so their navies are pretty weak... so they cannot send enough troops to enemy mainland, so the war theater only concerns overseas provinces: Scandinavia, Ireland, Albania, SW France, Maghreb... They can keep going like that for centuries, as their WE will stay reasonable, and no real power can emerge.

I'll pay attention to what happens and will decide what to do in 1606, at mid-game.

aniuby said:

As to what you're going to do next and the failure of the other Europeans to go out and colonise, it really depends on your definition of fun. You see, such a situation would be a dream for me because I really hate other countries colonising and I'll go out to mess them up and take their stuff, while I almost always leave the Muslims and Asians alone.

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Well, it happened to me a couple times (in vanilla) that I was doing early colonizing (~1475) while the Europeans powers only dare doing that very late (~1600). I then had the entire Americas for myself, and nothing to do there beside fighting rebels. This is why I have the "home rules" about QftNW (if I am stuck and need new ways to expand, if someone already discovered America, or if I need to defend myself against the Hordes / North Africa). It indeed is easier to play (one less continent to fight for...) but is probably not fun for you to read...

aniuby said:

I'd personally like to see Europe painted Italian green, but if you really have a hankering to fight a huge monster nation I think your only route is to do it DDRJake style and merge everything into a single giant country.

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I don't especially want to fight a huge monster I'd rather have some realistic opponents. Portugal does not explore while it had had QftNW for half a century??? I was so pissed about that I loaded the game as Portugal and forced their useless 2-caravels-1-explorer exploration navy to go discover America. Castille, France and England do not have QftNW, and while I have no problem giving a (potentially nefast for me) mission to one useless (literally) unit, I'd prefer not mess with AI NIs. Then, Portugal is my only hope for some challenge in America.

I will see in 1606 what the situation looks like. If it is obvious that Castille-France-England will just continue fighting each other for years, I might just try to edit the save file to merge Castille/Portugal and France/England and change their relations to +200, in a RM + alliance. I'd really hate to do that, this is why I prefer we discuss it before

aniuby said:

And also, doesn't König mean King? How could you become King of Bavaria when Bavaria didn't become a kingdom until after Napoleon broke the HRE?

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Yes, Bavaria is indeed a Kingdom. The different provinces of Bavaria had been united relatively early in the game. I think -while I said something else before- it was by Munich, who already conquered Salzburg, Ulm, and a few other provinces and was upgraded to Prince of Munich. Bavaria quickly became a Kingdom after its formation.

aniuby said:

It's also interesting that I had no idea you were old enough to have a wife and kids - well, such is the nature of assumptions on the internet =P

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Hey, I said in the intro that I've started playing strategy games with the then brand new Sid Meier's Civilization II as a teenager ... I sure am not in college anymore
But with the skills needed to play this game, I am sure a lot of people on this forum are way older than me
No Kids, for god sake, just one... He is brand new though Which explains the outrageous amount of typos in my writings o

DensleyBlair said:

König would indeed be King. You may also want to change 'Graft von Hohenzollern' to Graf von Hohenzollern. I've noticed this appears in every update, do I don't know if it's just autocorrect, but you might want to have a look at it.

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König is correct, as it reflects the IG title. MEIOU is way better than vanilla for titles, so "King" actually means "King", and not "Guy who inherited the throne from his father and is not a vassal".
I didn't pay attention to the additional "t" at "Graf". I tend to copy/paste the intro line of Ray, just changing the "Last time,...", so this typo has been reproduced again and again....
I will correct it in the next updates (and take some time during the week-end to clean up the additional ts from the published updates).
Thanks for the feedback.

DensleyBlair said:

I'd be happy for you to get some other powers colonising - just as long as we don't end up with Swedish Pennsylvania or anything. As you may have guess by now, I like my AARs to retain some semblance to realism - hence all the calls to release land

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I like it too. This is why I tried to give away territories to my vassals (mostly in Scotland, Greece, Turkey). So far the only think I could do was to force Portugal to use their 5-decades-old QftNW NI by exploring North America... I don't want to do more as I feel I would interfere too much with the AI, but who knows... As long as Aragon and I were the only colonizers, it was alright. But now all western nations are too advanced technologically, and all of them have the "Early colonization" modifier, which actually grants colonists. I was hoping for Castille/France/England/Holland to use them, but Anjou is the only one really using any. From time to time, Connaught, Bremen and Pisa try to send colonists too, (to the last coastal provinces in W Africa), but... they also are my vassals! If I have to face a multicolored colonial map, I would prefer it to be challenging, not full of vassals
(fortunately, their colonists either fails to reach the provinces, or the province have such a negative growth that the colony dies within a few years)


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I will try to play Ascanio Maria full reign before posting it.
He is doing well, as he already did 12 years without dying! A record for an Italian-born!

SirkTheMonkey said:

Oh dear, I put off reading this AAR for a few days and there are three updates and all manner of things to comment on.

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Alan deLane said:

Wow, what an evolution: last time I follwed the show, there was a kid named "FH" ruling Savoy. Now there are Ferdinados and Antonios ruling over Italy

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This is why you should "not miss the next episode of BIG RULER"

SirkTheMonkey said:

Either way, I reckon you should give it until about 1600 before you start panicking and doing something drastic with the AI nations themselves. In the meantime, if you want peace why not guarantee them all while they're out of war.

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Nice idea. Just did it in the middle of the upcoming round... As a result, they all attacked Sweden... At least they all are going in the same direction now

SirkTheMonkey said:

Anyway, nice progress with the game. I fixed that Indonesian CoT mission in the hotfixes / next version and I also fixed that vassal horde colonise mission issue after it popped up in the story.

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Thanks! That's support!

Alan deLane said:

Btw, I was surprised that the Greek Romans survived ... and searched for their land/s. Then I spotted Sinope! My oh my! The Megas Komnenos should annex them outright!

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They actually went down once, but revolted in Sinope + Samos. I would wait to have Trebizon + Malta annexed before going on them. They are my vassals so no hurry anyway

Alan deLane said:

DensleyBlair adressed the matter with "Graft", I noticed the "Erzherzöge Österreich". Should be Erzherzog von Österrreich. But t'is nitpicking this here.

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Thanks. Corrected for next round

Round XXVI (1563-1574): In India (Part 1)



Ray: GOOOOOOOOOOD Evening everyone and Welcome to "BIG RULER". I'm Ray Porter, and I am here with George I. Joe and B. Rene Daid to help you all follow that alternative history! This season, we are following Savoy. Last time, Antonio I 'il Bellicoso' was crowned, fought in Fez, Mali, Ceylan, the Philippines and Persia, and passed the throne to his son after only 6 years. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Ascanio Maria I de Savoie, Re d'Italia, Rei d'Aragó, Magyarország Királya, König von Bayern, Erzherzog von Österreich, Duc de Lorraine, Graf von Hohenzollern. We will have a lot to deal with tonight, so today is going to be a 2-hours special!



Ascanio Maria: Good Evening Ray.

Ray: Ascanio, your father fought seven different wars in just six years, in Africa, Persia and India... Do you plan on keeping such a high war rate?

George: Ray, don't influence him!

Ascanio Maria: I do. The wars we fight in Indonesia are quickly won, we have a huge reserve of volunteers to join the army... My people is not bothered by these wars, neither are our economy or the other European Powers... We never know when these savages can attack us by surprise. Therefore, we have to take them down first.

Ray: I see. But when you say that your economy can support it.... I doubt it. During wars, the military maintenance should be very expensive....

Ascanio Maria: It is. We should reduce our investments. Fortifications should be built in colonies, but the rest should go to our military maintenance.

Ray: Wouldn't it be bad for inflation?

Ascanio Maria: It will. But if we want more money, we need more taxes. And if we want more taxes, the easiest way to do so is by getting new taxpayers. Conquest is the only way.

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Ray: I am a bit worried George. After the reign of "the Bellicose", I was expecting a ruler who is not willing to kill all his neighbors.

George: I am a bit worried too. More and more people in Italy are starting to wonder if the "Holy war" really is worth fighting for. Moreover, with so many different religions in the commonwealth. I fear the revolts who will start all around under his reign...

Ray: Well, maybe he'll change his strategy for round XXVII...

George: we'll see..

Ray: He starts by ending his father's war, annexing Maguindanao in September 1563. He seems willing to give his people some time to rest before going back to war.

George: Are yous sure? In July 1564, Italy takes control of the Vijanyagar province of Madurai, by force. Of course, this creates a war situation, and Vijanyagar attacks.



Ray: This is Italy's first real test in India. This war happens at a good time for Italy though, as Vijanyagar just fought two wars against Garjat and Gondwana, and the country needs peace.

George: Francesco Malaspina is sent to Madurai with 15,000 men and quickly takes the best on the defending armies, lead by Gopa Govindaraya.



Ray: a couple weeks later, Italy opens a new Trading Post, this time in Malaccan Selangor. This is way more interesting since this is a center of Trade, one of the only two in the Indonesian area.



George: This might be a good opportunity to expand in this area... The war with Vijanyagar expands however. The India fleet is too big to be properly intercepted by the Italian one. The Vijanyagar commanders ambush the Italian fleet and use the time to move their troops North, up to Taiwan.



Ray: The Italian fleet do some huge damages to the Indian one, but you are right, they still manage to reinforce their troops in Taiwan, while starting to face some rebels problems. In February 1565, the Vijanyagar agrees to end this war, leaving Madurai to Italy.

George: This is a relief for both nations.

Ray: Indeed. Ascanio Maria uses this peace to re-affect his troops in the Indian Ocean. After one year of peace, the next opponent is chosen, and Italy attacks Luzon.

George: It was a bold move, as all Chinese majors were guaranteeing Luzon, but none of them came to their help. The defending army is quickly defeated, and Italy can siege their fortresses.



Ray: In September 1566, it is only a matter of time before the last forts of Mindoro surrender. Ascanio Maria considers that this war does not require anymore attention, and attacks Mali, as they are overrun with Rebels.





George: As Mali is down already, this is going to be a quick war. By November, Italy controls most of Malian territory, and is ready for peace. Italy objectives are the yellow area, and indeed are the ones integrated into the Kingdom.



Ray: I can see more and more revolts being started... I told you I was worried.

George: Yes. And the internal revolts might be an invitation for other countries to attack. Ashanti does it in March 1567.

Ray: Ashanti attacks the entire commonwealth, including Anjou and its unprotected colonies.

George: Four Italian armies are sent to the tiny African state, two of them with orders to protect the Angevine Africa. Fortunately, the Ashanti armies prefer to prepare for a defensive war.



Ray: Stupid strategy if you want my two cents. They are annexed in September 1567.

George: Stupid indeed. In February 1568, it has been two years since the Luzon war started, and Italy is doing very slow progress taking the forts down.



Ray: This situation calls for a new ear. In May 1568, the Jalayirids and their pack of allies attack Italy another time.



George: Ascanio Maria did neglect Persia, and Persia reminded him... However, their forces are heavily outnumbered by the Italian troops. The first battles are bloodbaths for the Muslims. Their entire army is defeated.



Ray: Good news reach Ascanio Maria's camp in Persia in August 1568. Luzon capitulates, and is annexed. Now Italy entirely controls the Philippines.



George: This is nice. Total annexation is the only way to be sure your enemy will not attack you when you are not ready.

Ray: In September, Italy negotiates the purchase of the Center of Trade of Selangor. The 100 ducats offered by Ascanio Maria are seen an offense by Malacca.



George: But Malacca kept the bribe... I guess it would mean war in no time... Anyway, when the current war in Persia ends... Here is the situation in November 1568.



Ray: With all Jalayirid territory under Italian control, the Persian states capitulates, and is annexed. The war is over. We are five years into Round XXVI, and I guess it is a good time for a commercial break! Sea you guys in a minute!

Round XXVI (1563-1574): In India (Part 2)



Ray: Welcome back everyone to the second part of this 2-h special edition of BIG RULER. Before the break, we were in November 1568, and Asconio Maria just annexed the Jalayirids. George, what do you think his next move will be?

George: Well, he seems to be focused on the Indian Ocean... Attacking Pegu might be an option to get some holdings in the Siam peninsula... But Asconio Maria showed some interest for the Malayan center of trade of Selangor... This is probably a war worth fighting.

Ray: What about that high rate of wars?

George: Such high speed of fights is not problematic... As long as your predecessor was not so bellicose...

Ray: Antonio I was nicknamed "The Bellicose"... I am not sure it is the good timing for such high rate...

George: Live with it, Ray. He won't change his behavior any time soon...

Ray: Anyway. In July 1569, George authorizes private companies to settle lands, probably hopping for a faster colonization rate.



George: A few months later, in October, Ascanio Maria is back to war, after only eleven months of peace. The anti-Pegu revolts who occurred in Ceylan lately lead to the independence of the Ceylan state, holding the Southern part of the island after a peace was signed with Pegu. The new state borders the Italian trading post of Kandy and is attacked.

Ray: Pegu and Ayutthaya defend the small nation, but Bengal exploits the situation and attacks them. An unexpected help for Italy in this war, as this second front will divert Pegu...

George: Ceylan is annexed in November 1569. The Italian fleet blockades the harbors of Pegu, while the Bengali army is the only one fighting this war.



Ray: Peace is signed with Pegu in February 70. A few months latter, Asconio Maria makes annexation requests to his Georgian vassals of Georgia and Abkhazia. This is rather unexpected, but both two accepts to be integrated in Italy.



George: A few days later, Danish refugees were killed while trying to immigrate to the Italian peninsula of Jutland. This incident escalates quickly, and Italy declares war on Denmark.



Ray: Sweden immediately defends Denmark, but half Europe is already at war with Sweden. I doubt they could do any good to fight Italy.



George: They indeed won't. Denmark capitulates and give away the island of Fynn in October.



Ray: Sweden accepts a truce a few months later, before any noticeable battle could occur. This gives Italy its longer peace period within Asconio Maria. In April 72, Malacca is attacked.

George: I told you so.

Ray: Sure. Most Indonesia comes to Malacca's assistance.



George: The last wars in Indonesia however force Pontianak and Cham Pa to quickly call for a truce. This is gladly accepted by Italy as this war is only scheduled to be a small one. Revolts still are problematic in the Kingdom.

Ray: So why would they attack Malacca now?

George: Because they could, I guess. Kelantan, the war leader, asks for a truce with Italy. This is gladly accepted, as soon as Malacca has been annexed.



Ray: This gives Italy a new center of Trade, and with all Italian holdings in the Indian see, it will prove to be a wealthy one. The senate however does not consider it as Indonesian enough, and insists on controlling the one in Surabaya.

George: Asconio Maria seems to be willing to give his people some peace now...

Ray: He indeed looks way less willing to go to war. Moreover, the number of potential targets has decreased noticeably lately...

George: However, Musha-Sha is involved in a bloody war of succession....

Ray: Indeed. This is a situation the Italian court is watching closely. War is declared in June 1573.

George: No resistance is encountered. The country was already defenseless before Italy attacked it.



Ray: I can't not notice the large number of revolts that occur in Italy...

George: Indeed. This is really problematic. The ten-fourteen months of peace that we see between two wars are actually months of civil war, the regular armies chasing independent movements and religious extremists all around the commonwealth.

Ray: Musha'Sha is annexed in November 1573, opening a second boundary with Hejaz.



George: This is good, even if the border with the Timurids is huge.

Ray: No period of peace this time. Mali is still recovering from its last wars, and is attacked in February 1574.

George: Mali rebuilt its army, but is not the African power it used to be anymore. The first battles are showing large Italian victories.



Ray: Then, Italy can progress quickly

George: Indeed. This is the situation in July.



Ray: Another series of fight occurs in Fall?

George: Indeed. Their aim is the control of the unclaimed land of Futa Jallon and Kars el Barqa, from which both Armies can connect their different holdings.



Ray: These battles seem strongly unfair.

George: They are. Mali resists the best they can, but the technological gap is too high here. You don't fight muskets with spears. The Malin army is annihilated after this offensive.

Ray: I still am worried about the revolts going on in Italy... It seems that everybody wants to end the series of wars we have been seeing for the last fifteen years. But Asconio Maria has the support of the students, and refuses to see the truth...



George: Ferdinando will have to bring peace back on Italy.

Ray: Ferdinando? Oho...



George: Here is a map of his realm.



Ray: Italy is doing great in Amazonia, and built two outposts in North America... We'll have to see what Ferdinando II will do to restore peace in Italy... A tough challenge, so don't miss the next episode of BIG RULER!