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Avindian

People's Commissar of the Navy
120 Badges
Jan 3, 2010
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My name is Halfdan, called the Whiteshirt. I am a warrior born. I will slay any in my way, or simply if I am bored. I will raid, pillage, and conquer, as my ancestors before me, and as I hope my sons shall do one day.

1whb.jpg


These lands are my hunting ground.

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I have not been long in this realm. I arrived with my brothers and sons two years ago, to wreak havoc upon these lands and bring them under my dominion. The fat priests accumulate wealth to no gain and defy the gods in Valhalla. They encourage only weakness in their followers; they are a blight upon land and must be culled, permanently, and the old ways restored. Woe betide any foolish monk seeking to approach me or mine; they shall find all ears closed to them and their own shorn from their bodies, if they are fortunate. I am also here to wreak vengeance upon the so-called King of Northumberland; he shall regret putting my father to death, without a proper trial by combat. I shall seize his lands and make his daughters my concubines; that will do for a start.

As with any wise general, I surround myself with capable lieutenants, whom I can trust absolutely.

lyx1.jpg


The best way to ensure that loyalty is obvious; to ensure that only your kinfolk hold positions of importance. The one exception in my court is Kol af Skipton. He is wise indeed, able to read not only the runes but that confounded Latin beloved by the priests. No proper Viking can raid if he does not know where to raid or where the valuables are kept. He is, on occasion, overly concerned about his death, but any good warrior should look to his blindside. I approve of such caution, if it be not excessive.

y34r.jpg


My son and heir to my lands of Jorvik is Sigfrid. He is adept with a blade and cunning, but will need his own Kol af Skipton when he becomes king. He works long hours at swordplay and to learn the basics of governance. I am well pleased, and I am certain in the coming campaigns he shall be an asset.

kv5f.jpg


My second son, Gudfrid, has taken to the book while still keeping his wits and sword sharp. He will be an excellent administrator, I think, if he can learn to measure his words. He ensures these peasants pay their tribute on time.

mnpa.jpg


Rikulfr of Richmond may not be my blood, but we have fought many a campaign together. I would be proud to call him brother; he is among the smartest and most capable men I have ever met. I did not hesitate to name him Baron when I conquered this castle of Richmond, and if my own blood cannot succeed me, I think of no better person to do so.

murg.jpg


My youngest son, Ragnarr is a seer, wise in the ways of the All-Father. He may not have the blade of Sigfrid or the gift for gold of Gudfrid, but he is strong in many areas and has no weaknesses.

nnog.jpg


All of these cross worshippers hate and fear us, as they rightly should, and we give battle to all south of Scotland.

zk8gd.jpg


Although my army is well trained, more soliders are always welcome, and I have sent a dispatch to the King of Jylland. With his aid, we cannot fail!

zqz1.jpg




I normally don't start with a cold open in my AARs, but I think it's appropriate for the beginning of what could be (and I hope will be) an epic adventure through CKII, EUIV, and either Vicky 2 or, perhaps by then, Vicky 3? I don't promise to go all the way into HOI IV, but it's also possible.

For this AAR, my latest, we have Sakura_F to thank. In my last AAR, an EUIV gameplay AAR about Uesugi->Japan, I had a contest to see who could guess how high Japan would reach in the pantheon of nations. He guessed correctly, and was able to name my next AAR. Thus, we have the beginning of this megacampaign (one might say that was cheating, as it would be naming three AARs and not one, but I'm inclined to let it slide). As you are no doubt aware, I am playing as Halfdan "Whiteshirt" of Jorvik in the 867 start. I have the latest beta for CKII and all DLC except Rajahs of India and Sunset Invasion.

House rules
1. No save scumming.
2. No cheating.
3. Nothing "gamey."
4. At no point will we convert to Christianity, or any other faith, apart from reforming the Norse faith. This applies to the entire megacampaign.

Goals
1. Conquer the kingdom of Northumbria.
2. Conquer England.
3. Expand to the entirety of the British Isles, including all of Ireland.
4. If time permits, I may expand farther, but the maximum extent of my Empire in CKII will be the North Sea Empire, plus Ireland and Scotland, plus whatever is needed to reform the Norse faith. I don't want to expand farther than that for fear of having nothing to do in EUIV. (Maybe Iceland too.)

I am hoping to have updates relatively frequently -- once a week, possibly twice. I'm not completely convinced I'll stick to the first person format, but it will be mostly narrative with a splash of gameplay here and there. Each update will cover the reign of one monarch, or if necessary, multiple updates for one monarch. I am hoping that the first proper update will be out Thursday or Friday.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you'll join us for more adventures!
 
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Table of contents

The reign of Halfdan I Whiteshirt
Chapter 1: 867-869

The reign of Sigfrid I 'the Wise'
Chapter 2: 869-878
Chapter 3: 878-888
Chapter 4: 888-899
Chapter 5: 899-906

The reign of Frodi I 'the Great'
Chapter 6: 906-913
Chapter 7: 913-924
Chapter 8: 924-952

The reigns of Sigfrid II and Haesteinn, the Boy King
Chapter 9: 952-967

The reign of Skuld
Chapter 10: 967-979

The reign of His Imperial Majesty, Halfdan I, known as the Cruel
Chapter 11: 979-991
Chapter 12: 991-999
Chapter 13: 999-1006
Chapter 14: 1006-1025
Chapter 15: 1025-1038

The reign of Her Imperial Majesty, Rikissa, known as the Wise
Chapter 16: 1038-1066

The reign of His Imperial Majesty, Halfdan II, known as the Blind
Chapter 17: 1066-1078

The reign of His Imperial Majesty, Baldr, known as the Great (and Dyre, His Son)
Chapter 18: 1078-1101

The reign of His Imperial Majesty, Sigbjorn, known as the Young
Chapter 19: 1101-1113
Chapter 20: 1113-1135
Chapter 21: 1135-1154

The reigns of Their Imperial Majesties, Halfdan III and Suni the Great
Chapter 22: 1155-1219

The reigns of Their Imperial Majesties, Suni II and Erling the Great
Chapter 23, part 1: 1219-1238
Chapter 23, part 2: 1238-1292

The reigns of Their Imperial Majesties, Halfdan IV "the Wise" and Halfdan V
Chapter 24: 1292-1350

The reign of His Royal Majesty, Suni III "the Great" of Denmark
Chapter 25: 1350-1407

The reigns of Their Royal Majesties, Odd I "the Unready" and Odd II "Good King Odd"
Chapter 26: 1407-1444
 
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An excellent start to an excellent AAR!

But the Magic eight ball... it calls out to you... siren-like...

ALL HAIL THE HELIX FOSSIL*!!!

*If you get that reference, then you please the All-Father!!!
 
I'm excited to see this begin!

And don't forget that after reforming the faith, you could release some of those far-flung counties, or transfer them to other rulers.
 
Following! I do like me some vikings!
 
*pulls up seat, gets popcorn, gets ready for some good pillaging*
Subbed!
 
Checking in early this time. Looks very good, Av!

I am appalled -- appalled -- that it took 18 whole minutes for my first comment. However, the source of that comment is highly appreciated.

I will attribute this to the time difference between the US and Russia. See that it doesn't happen again. :shakes fist at entire AARland community:

:D

An excellent start to an excellent AAR!

But the Magic eight ball... it calls out to you... siren-like...

ALL HAIL THE HELIX FOSSIL*!!!

*If you get that reference, then you please the All-Father!!!

Great to have you along! I should note, by the way, that my familiarity with Norse myths is very, very limited. It's pretty much all Skyrim, the first Thor movie (I've yet to see the second), Douglas Adams, and what I've learned so far from Runemaster. (Oh, Baldur's Gate, if that counts.) I apologize in advance for any horrific errors.

I'm excited to see this begin!

And don't forget that after reforming the faith, you could release some of those far-flung counties, or transfer them to other rulers.

That's an excellent point, although if memory serves, most of those are in the Low Countries.

Good luck! I've played as Hvitserk twice before and both times Halfdan died in battle almost immediately after starting to expand, so hopefully that won't happen.

Well, if he dies in battle, I find that wholly suitable. Glad to have you along!

Following! I do like me some vikings!

Who doesn't? Well, maybe the victims of Viking raids.

BTW, I haven't played CKII in quite a long time, and I think some mechanics have changed significantly; I, as always, rely on my loyal readers to correct any heinous mistakes, or at least prevent me from making the same mistakes more than, oh, a dozen times. (So many dead Japanese sailors. :()
 
I will attribute this to the time difference between the US and Russia[...]

As you wish – though I'm in the UK, so the time difference between the US and Russia couldn't mean less to me. :D
 
If a megacampaign about a Norse Empire centered around England and France won't make Victoria 3 happen, what can?
 
For once I am going to have a front row seat on one of your AARs. Looking forward to it.
 
*takes front row seat and breaks out the popcorn* LET THE BLOOD OF THE WHITE CHRIST SPILL ON NORSE LAND!
 
Incidentally, I've just noticed: we have two pictures of Sigfrid and none of Rikulfr. Might want to have a look at that sometime. :)
 
A Norse Brittania is an excellent goal if I've ever seen one. Might I suggest you try to keep the Norse culture as well as its religion? I wouldn't want to see those filthy Anglo-Saxon proto-Germans ruling the Isles if I could help it. :happy:

That's an excellent point, although if memory serves, most of those are in the Low Countries.

One (Tholen) is in the Low Countries, three are in Scandinavia and one is somewhere in the HRE (ie East Francia) IIRC.
 
A Norse Brittania is an excellent goal if I've ever seen one. Might I suggest you try to keep the Norse culture as well as its religion? I wouldn't want to see those filthy Anglo-Saxon proto-Germans ruling the Isles if I could help it. :happy:



One (Tholen) is in the Low Countries, three are in Scandinavia and one is somewhere in the HRE (ie East Francia) IIRC.

It's Braunschweig.
 
As you wish – though I'm in the UK, so the time difference between the US and Russia couldn't mean less to me. :D

More a reference to Sakura_F than anyone else. :)

If a megacampaign about a Norse Empire centered around England and France won't make Victoria 3 happen, what can?

Victoria III is my most fevered dream for Paradox. I demand at least one PDS game that handles revolutions properly!

For once I am going to have a front row seat on one of your AARs. Looking forward to it.

Excellent!

*takes front row seat and breaks out the popcorn* LET THE BLOOD OF THE WHITE CHRIST SPILL ON NORSE LAND!

Make sure you don't get blood in the popcorn, now.

Incidentally, I've just noticed: we have two pictures of Sigfrid and none of Rikulfr. Might want to have a look at that sometime. :)

Fixed!

A Norse Brittania is an excellent goal if I've ever seen one. Might I suggest you try to keep the Norse culture as well as its religion? I wouldn't want to see those filthy Anglo-Saxon proto-Germans ruling the Isles if I could help it. :happy:



One (Tholen) is in the Low Countries, three are in Scandinavia and one is somewhere in the HRE (ie East Francia) IIRC.

I will definitely try to keep the culture too, but only if I remember to pay attention. No promises, though. ;)

It's Braunschweig.

Thanks for the clarification!

BTW, I have selected brides for both our hero and his heir; I will reveal them in the first proper update.
 
Not to nag here but you forgot to reply to my post. :D
 
You said extending to the Angevin Empire's borders, but what about Canute/Knut's empire? He ruled England, Denmark, and Norway at the height of his power, and that empire would put you in control of two out of five holy sites, with a chance of going after Holland or northern Germany for the third, all while having a nice looking empire.