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Kensai7

Field Marshal
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Sep 18, 2011
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Hello everyone. :)

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This is my AAR of the new campaign I am starting with the Zähringer Dynasty. The House of Zähringen was an illustrious medieval dynasty (it is even in the end game score comparison, fairly low) that dominated the Swabian region in the 11th and 12th century before continuing as the House of Baden. Since I live in Freiburg (and a neighborhood of the city called Zähringen) I find it rather cool I can play as them.

In real life the Zähringer of Freiburg died out with the main line of the family in 1218, but I plan to do better than that, establishing a dynasty of a small but respectable demesne. My starting date will be the 1st of May in 1120, to coincide more or less to the date of the founding of Freiburg. Actually the city was probably founded earlier, but at that point in time got permission to operate its market by the local lord, Konrad, the guy I will be playing at the beginning as pater familias of my dynasty.

I have two main goals:

  • survive the Medieval era until the Renaissance, outdoing the historical Zähringer who had their main line extinct
  • start as a nobody (a Count in the Holy Roman Empire at the height of the Investiture Controversy) and grow my demesne and territories until I can form the Duchy of Baden, having no one above me but the Emperor himself

If I manage to reach 1444 I will save the game and continue in Europa Universalis IV as an alternate reality Baden (with the descendants of the original Zähringer in place) trying to become the premium nation of the HRE. But that's story for an EU4 AAR that will come later.

It is important to note that I will not take unnecessary risks, I will play as if my head is at stake. I do not need to grow huge to achieve my goal (of survival), I just have to establish myself. This shall be an epic saga that starts in 1120 and finishes in early 19th century.

Can Baden become the premium nation of Germany?
 
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This looks like it could be really good. So are you not even aiming to takeover in Germany? Merely to become a powerful magnate in Southern Germany?
 
Nope, no takeover of Germany or the Holy Roman Empire in this game. I want to create a strong Duchy, powerful and consolidated enough to become a Prince-Elector as soon as possible in Europa Universalis IV. The glory of Baden shall unleash in the Renaissance, not in the dark Medieval ages. Historically, the Zähringer rushed and lost their domains in Carinthia and Verona after backing the wrong "faction". I won't do the same mistake which could mean the extinction of my dynasty.

Some first screenshots, I will start the game on the weekend.

This is my Konrad. :)
A Shy guy, but very promising for Medieval warlord. He is a Skilled Tactician that has already caught the eye of his immediate liege (the Duke of Swabia) who has appointed him as Marshal of the Duchy. Konrad is very young and unmarried. His personality traits (Patient, Diligent, and Chaste) imply a very stable character with huge potential.

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This is the immediate surroundings in diplomatic mode. We are are surrounded by territories that belong to the Holy Roman Empire so we should be relatively protected. On the East of our domains is Swabia, our liege's Duchy. North is the County of Baden that belongs to our first cousin, Hermann. Pfalz is also a friendly territory as Konrad's brother-in-law (married to Konrad's sister and heir) is the current Count.

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This is the map of Europe in 1120. The HRE is the dominant power and we are blessed to be part of it. Nonetheless, we are too small to be of any importance.

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I am not really sure how to start my campaign. The difficulty gauge showed "Very Hard" so I won't take any chances. I have already some options to consider:

  • go against my own cousin and his useless heirs (more on that later) to claim the County of Baden as soon as possible, uniting the domains of my dynasty
  • play dead, support my liege in all his crazy schemes to gain his approval and recognition for later
  • support a rival faction to overthrow my liege or hit him hard to gain independence when he is weak

Whatever I choose, I must definitely not risk my head. The dynasty is too weak at the moment and the wounds from the previous attempt are relatively fresh...
 
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I'd go for Baden and then play the loyal vassal to the emperor.
 
You must ask mod permission for an interactive AAR.
With that said,I will follow this!
 
I didn't ask anyone about anything, I was simply pondering myself out loud. Comments are always welcome, but I won't follow them necessarily, that's for sure. This is definitely not interactive. :)
Oh I see what you mean.
I hope you manage to form a strong south German state and have a South - North German Division like that of Italy :p
 
First things first. :)
A good marriage is indeed one of the most important tools to gain access to power, money, and influence... this seems to be as valid today as it was back in the medieval times. Konrad is a young fellow with a dynasty to consolidate. Who should he marry? When I write in italics I imply first person thoughts of my hero or at least in-the-role storytelling.

According to the marriage potential screen, the most powerful (in rank) woman I can marry is Teresa, the widow of the late Duke of Portucale. She is a historical person as you can see, the bastard child of a King of Aragon-Catille, sister of the current Queen. Indeed, if I was planning for a game of all out expansion, this fat (and relatively old) lady would have been an ideal match for my plans. Hell, if I opted for Matrilineal marriage, even her sister the Queen, would want me for her groom. But I don't desire that: power is one thing, but sharing the power with the wrong person in the Iberian peninsula is not in my dreams. Another person I could marry is the illegitimate daughter of our Kaiser himself, but she has opted for a life in celibacy, and I want children!! All these ladies are far older than me and very pious. I am chaste too but a heir is a must!

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The second possibility is in the exact opposite side of the spectrum. Her name is Oda, a young courtier of my own House. Konrad and Oda used to play together when they were little, she is a kind and trusting woman with a known weakness for the desserts of her father, the Master Cook of the castle. However, albeit her looks and good heart, she is a horrible administrator and most importantly, a nobody... a lowborn. The other lords will laugh at me if I marry her.

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The third possibility is probably the most interesting. I could try to marry one of the several sisters of my liege, the Duke of Swabia, Frederick the II. His House is a very important one and we will become relatives. Through one of his sisters I could also gain a weak claim on the Duchy, if anything happens to him, I could find an opportunity and get involved... By marrying the sister of a Duke my prestige will definitely climb the ladder... but the thing is, it is them they might not accept me as a groom. But who is the most interesting of all these fair ladies?

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I wish I could marry my childhood sweetheart, Oda. I know I am the most powerful man of my own little realm, but even men in my position have to follow the rules and customs of society. If I married the kind girl Oda is, I know I would be happy for life, but I will remain small and unimportant. If I marry a fat old broad like Teresa of Portucale I would be powerful almost instantly, but why should I care about the machinations of a land so far away? I think the safest bet is to marry to my own overlord's family. He has many sisters, damn, he could spare one for me!!
 
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As I am thinking about the ideal marriage, let me tell you few things about Konrad's first cousin, Hermann, the Count of Baden and his heirs. OK, he is not a bad guy (he is kind, patient, just) in heart, but very procrastinating and slow in everything, a very bad trait for a leader. And I cannot forget that it is his line (his father) that lost our grandfather's estates of Verona and Carinthia. He has two heirs, in an age about to mature, but both have already developed some bad characteristics: the older one, is greedy and lustful, something my Konrad cannot tolerate.

Rumors have it that servants in Baden have caught both of them doing inappropriate things like touching themselves and each other. They are getting away from our church's teachings regarding chastity and moderation. What a disgrace for our family's name if the peasants came to know!

All things considered, as much I respect my older cousin I believe that I should better remove him from our family's lands before he or his useless heirs take the reins.

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This is my Council. All of the councilors are rather masterful at what they are doing, except for the spymaster who is simply decent. But that's ok since I don't plan any aggressive intrigue operations at the moment. I will send my Chancellor, the mayor of Offenburg, to fabricate a claim on my cousin's powerbase in Baden. The sooner I unite our lands the better. Currently the Empire has limited crown authority, if this ever went higher I would not be able to declare war on other vassals. Since Baden used to be my grandfather's land, I hope he will find something soon. Our Marshal and Court Chaplain will stay in Freiburg, our capital in Breisgau, in order to train our troops and research cultural developments. Freiburg is very new, it needs to become an accomplished town of the realm. I will send my Steward in Schwyz region, in the city of Zürich. This is a prosperous city and he should do his best to gain as much taxes as he can from the townsfolk. Last, I will send Peter von Sankt Blasien to my liege's court to scheme. He does not have to do something in particular, but understand what is going on there, perhaps giving us in advance information about Frederick's plans and keeping him our side.

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Nice looking AAR so far I like the premise of it. I would start by sacking your cousin though, taking Baden seems to be of importance. And you have a nice council for starting out.

Anyways its always nice seeing an AAR take place at a different date than 1066 and seeing the different dynasties in power. Will definitely sub to this and look forward to more!
 
Spouses naturally should complement each other and Konrad could be everybody else, but a good chancellor or diplomat. So trusting Beatrix or cynical Richilde are obvious choices. To add spice to your life, propose to Richilde....Guess who proposed to me last night?...Konrad, hehe:rolleyes:
 
Thanks for your kind words tnick0225! Indeed, that's what I was thinking too, Berkis, your comments are right on spot. Bear in mind that I always look and think about what you guys are suggesting, but I cannot promise I will do it (to avoid being interactive, per forum rules) and also to be less gamey. I mean: since my goals for this game are rather mediocre, potentially dull (no world domination!), I want to live this experience of the Zähringen Dynasty as close as to the real thing as possible. In other words, suboptimal choices might some time be in order. :)

Indeed however, the weakest trait of my Konrad's character is his diplomacy so I need to find a wife who complements me. Seeing Frederick's many sisters, I find indeed that Richilde is the ideal choice: she is gregarious, cynical, and an intricate webweaver. But she is also patient and honest, characteristics my Konrad would probably appreciate. In fact, in game Konrad has the HIGHEST opinion for Richilde, above all her sisters. The second best is probably Beatrix, but Richilde is better and younger too.

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Nonetheless, we have a problem. If Oda my courtier is a nobody to me, then myself am a nobody to the Dukes and his family. Richilde is a big fish. Her brother is our Duke overlord and the whole Hohenstaufens are relatives to the Kaiser himself (Richilde's grandfather was a Kaiser!). When I try to propose to Richilde I get a negative answer, in fact she does not appear to the screen of potential (yes saying) bribes. I don't have the money to present a gift to the Duke either... but I want a good marriage, what should I do?

Konrad decides to give away one of his own vassals, the Bishop of Engelberg (in Schwyz region) in order to become appreciated by Frederick. Indeed the plan succeeds and with the high opinion the reluctance of our liege is solved. The marriage will probably proceed! My prestige will go really high and I will be married to a powerful Duke's family and potentially next Kaiser of the Empire!!

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I like Richilde. She has a strong laugh and she is very intelligent in the court and beyond. I guess she will hate me the first years because of my low prestige, but I believe that with her I will have a pleasant active life, with many children. Eventually we will be happy!

OK, this was the last action, I believe, before unpausing and starting the time to see how things go. Of course I will be much less verbose in my next posts, as I will be giving only relatively brief summaries of the dynasty's evolution, unless something really important for my storytelling comes up.
 
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Definitely follow your own path in the AAR, I think it's more interesting seeing the decisions a player makes throughout the game rather than watching them do what everyone wants them to. So it will be great seeing a none-world painting AAR :)

Great job getting the marriage arranged though, it did come with a steep price! Never thought of giving land off to someone just to convince them to marry a daughter off to me so that was quite an interesting move.
 
Yes, it is definitely an advantage to play without the stress of having "to beat the game" (ie conquering most of the map and outdoing all other dynasties). This is the saga of the Zähringer Dynasty across the Medieval and (later in EU4) Renaissance times of an alternate reality, so I'm not too scared to give away land. After all, if I manage to marry Richilde I will always have a weak claim to her brother's lands. Who knows, all these Swabian lands might one day return to my family again... ;)

I will unpause and play the first couple of years tonight. The wait is over!
 
1120-1122
And here starts the saga. :)

Friedrich II of Swabia accepts my offer to marry his sister Richilde. This was a very important move for my Count, as an alliance with the liege Duke himself means we should not worry about the other Swabian vassals. Richilde arrived in Konrad's court after a magnificent wedding and many monetary presents. I have immediately declared my ambition to have a male heir as soon as possible. In the first couple of the opening months the Holy Roman Emperor declared war to the French King (Louis the Fat) to regain the region of Gent. The Pope asked for a Crusade in Southern Spain to free Andalusia from the Arabs. At the moment we will not commit to any fight that is beyond our immediate vicinity.

In the home theater Konrad is falling in love with gracious Richilde. He also had to deal with a very threatening situation while training troops in Swabia, but managed to gain the Brave trait out of it.

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Eventually the Emperor was successful, although he had to deal with a peasant revolt in Brandenburg in the other side of the empire. The Crusade also goes well at the moment.

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My cousin Hermann made a wrong move: he created a faction to install Beatrix (one of my previous marriage considerations) as a Duke of Swabia. If Frederick were to find out... also, my sister's husband, the Count of Pfalz died of natural causes. Their underage daughter is now in control but I would have to find a new husband for my widow sister although I doubt it is of importance anyway.
 
1123-1125

Three more years passed in our story. Konrad matured a lot in these years. First of all, he became a father, twice and expecting a third one. The line is now secure, the first child, Ida, is a lovely girl but all hopes are for Berthold (gave him the name of grandfather and dead uncle) who is the heir of our dynasty. The third child, if a boy, will complicate things as we have a gavelkind succession but we better have a secure line than a single heir. In these years Konrad invited some noblemen in our court, as well as to find a substitute for our late Steward, and also organized a successful summer feast. Konrad became a hunter too!

The crusade in Southern Spain was a success for the Pope. Funny thing though, it seems that the real power behind it was the Duchess of Portucale all along. Remember the fat bitch as one of my possible (prestigious) wives? Argh, if I had married her I would probably be King by now! Teresa is now Queen of Andalusia, the newly acquired regions of Spain and sister of another Queen (that of Castille).

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The Duke of Savoy did something rather strange in 1123. He tried, alone, to overthrow the Kaiser! A crazy move which was crushed soon after. It was rather fortunate for us as the sister of the Duke is married to Hermann, my cousin in Baden which could come to his aid in case I declare war on him. A weaker Duke of Savoy is perfect news for us, indeed after this war Savoy lost the County of Piedmont.

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Nonetheless, the fortunes of the Salian House did not last for long. Soon after the Kaiser of the HRE died and our direct liege which was his relative inherited many of his lands in Italy. This makes Frederick, our brother-in-law, a rather powerful lord indeed. He was not elected to Emperor though. This honor went to Wilhelm of Luxemburg, a very impressive and acculturated man, good at talking and convincing. His son, Konrad is already being proposed for heir.

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Fredrick was not happy with what he had and wanted more (as the ambitious duke he is). He declared war on Lombardy over a claim of Padua. The war started in 1125 and was disastrous in the beginning, including a battle just out of our own city of Zürich. Nevertheless, this was mostly because Fredrick needed some time to muster his troops from his Swabian domains to Italy. These last victories might change the fortunes of his campaign. The Lombard Duke is less strong, but not powerless.

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Finally, by the end of 1126 our Chancellor managed to forge a claim on the lands of our cousin. Now everyone in the HRE knows that my side of the family is the rightful claimer to the County of Baden as my cousin was a disgrace. Hermann was obviously furious by this development, but he won't have time to react. We plan to claim his lands with a swift winter campaign and unite the Zähringen lands!

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Wow, did the Emperor introduce a law on a bride price? It seems that Kaiser has been strongly influenced by Muslim councillors... but a good move, anyway, to get a woman of your dreams. Three children in five years, ..well, Konrad has been kinda busy. Time to tackle the tricky stuff.
 
I think it helps a lot to fall in love with your own wife (the decision that fired previously). It is a very nice touch by Paradox that the wife's portrait appears in this case in the Lover tab as well. The +75 mutual opinion bonus gives probably a nice "fertility bonus" for the married couple, even if Konrad himself is chaste. ;)

And we are very young, I do hope for more children actually even if I have gavelkind succession. I simply hope to gain the Duke title so my first male heir will be the Duke and all others his Count vassals. Much will depend upon my liege, Frederick. Even if he loses his inherited Italian domains in the war against Lombardy, he is still a potential candidate to become Emperor if the von Luxemburg ever lost the grip. If he becomes Emperor and I manage to gain the County of Baden, then he could probably elevate my Konrad to Duke status by creating that title. Holding Baden AND Breisgau is needed for the dukedom of Baden.
 
1126-1129

The declaration of war was done almost immediately as Hermann himself was away, leading troops in Padua. From the first moment we understood it wasn't a war we could win on our own, but Konrad was intelligent enough to accrue money the previous years. Now this money will be used to hire mercenaries, namely the feared Swiss Company, to do our dirty work. Konrad has given command to raise the levies, both personal and vassal, but they shall stay to defend our land as the Swiss will assault without delay the fort of Baden. Hermann is already improving the fortifications, the siege should end before that!

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Our chancellor was sent to Tübingen, the capital of Swabia, to further improve relations with our liege. The Swiss Company assaulted the fortifications of Baden Baden and then moved again to confront the army of my niece who was marching from the West side of the Rhine. Our own levies stayed home to protect our regions from them or Lombard attacks. The Swiss managed to destroy completely the armies of Baden, capturing Hermann the 2nd, and effectively forcing Hermann the elder (who was leading troops in Padua, far away) to accept defeat. Baden was ours!

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By completing this war, we were now masters of the entire area of Baden. After using our Chancellor to improve relations with my liege in Schwaben, I sent my diplomat to Luxemburg to repeat the feat with the Emperor himself. Positive relations with both these men will make the difference in the future. We were lucky to start and complete the war with our cousin already as by year 1129 Wilhelm had convinced his vassals to accept Medium Crown Authority, effectively barring any future wars between vassals. The stability of the Empire is secured.

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Life is indeed very strange. Remember the useless daughter of my (now deposed) cousin? Well, that Judith has managed to marry high, the son of the current Kaiser, Konrad of Luxemburg. Oh my God, considering that Konrad is the number one heir and potential imperial elect, I might find my own niece on the throne of the Empire. Thankfully, she does not hate me for what I did to her father and brother.

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