That goal might be possible if you're really good at fighting crusades... (Or start at 769 so catholicism probably collapses)
How do you players play this game?
- Thread starter Greek Grapes
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My current game's goals starting as Khazaria in 769;
1. Create and merge all decision based bloodlines.
2. Merge all historical bloodlines into my family
3. Create an empire that has historical de jure Byzantine, all trade rout counties, and 12 strategically placed single county vassal merchant republics
4. Make the entire world feudal through conquest, settling as tribal, and adopting feudalism.
5. Place a historical ruling family into de jure kingdoms that once I conquered and grant them independence.
6. Create all remaining bloodlines except ancestor / saint and random event chain bloodlines.
7. Create as many of what were excepted in the above item 6.
8. Participate all Catholic Crusades.
9. Participate in warrior's lodge journey for all pagan religions that has its warrior's lodge
10. Reform all pagan religions that can be reformed.
Ultimately;
11. Have a demon child ruler who has 40+ bloodlines including ALL historical (769) and decision based bloodlines.
1. Create and merge all decision based bloodlines.
2. Merge all historical bloodlines into my family
3. Create an empire that has historical de jure Byzantine, all trade rout counties, and 12 strategically placed single county vassal merchant republics
4. Make the entire world feudal through conquest, settling as tribal, and adopting feudalism.
5. Place a historical ruling family into de jure kingdoms that once I conquered and grant them independence.
6. Create all remaining bloodlines except ancestor / saint and random event chain bloodlines.
7. Create as many of what were excepted in the above item 6.
8. Participate all Catholic Crusades.
9. Participate in warrior's lodge journey for all pagan religions that has its warrior's lodge
10. Reform all pagan religions that can be reformed.
Ultimately;
11. Have a demon child ruler who has 40+ bloodlines including ALL historical (769) and decision based bloodlines.
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So I started what is shaping up to be a real humdinger of a game.
1st PC - Founds Kingdom of Finland (from being a lowly Chief of Suomi), Reforms Pagan Faith, Becomes Legend of Warrior Lodge (generic Legend, not Duelist) [He also used almost all his Prestige to boost Retinue buildings in Demesne]
2nd PC - Founds Bloodthirsty Bloodline [That's helpful!]
3rd PC - Party Gal Holding Down the Throne for 5 Minutes [She served her purpose]
4th PC - Founds Scandanavian Empire, is poised to get Dueling Bloodline but...OH OH! He's a Master Seducer already! (NUTS!) Guess he's going to just get Veneration when he gives up the ghost as he's hurtling towards 10k Prestige and the dungeon keeps filling up with all these sacrificial lambs.
5th PC (Speculative) Will be mid 60s when the next Legendary Gathering happens. Already is part of the Lodge and already has 7 kids and is doing his duty in spite of fancying the lads.
It's not even 900 AD yet!
This game is not about getting to the destination as quickly as possible but enjoying the journey and the stories it's tells along the way. It's a medieval soup soap opera. I thought a game about characters would of given this away. It's not about winning as again it's about the stories its tells. If you wanna play a game were you just win then you should go play something else as it sounds this game is not for you.
You can have both "soap operas" and "winning" if you play non-Gavelkind successions.
Usually I make my own pagan Slavic/Norse dynasty somewhere in Poland/Rus/Scandinavia/England, conquer my way at least into kingdom, then either reform the faith or convert (I prefer to convert into non-catholic christian branches, if possible). Furthermore, I try to gain at least three forged (at this time, it's easy as I have quite developed dynasty, so I can just elect another branch as my heir) bloodlines and finally, I set distant aim to fulfill (reach "natural borders", destroy BYZ, unite vikings "from Ireland to Novgorod", build as much great works as possible, convert Europe to my faith etc.).
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Some people like speedruns and find them highly entertaining, i am sometimes one of them
I tend to have both long-term goals that define the whole campaign, while finding shorter, mini-goals that sustain my interest throughout.
For example, my current campaign is a run for the Iron Crown Achievement (Be Lombard Culture and have a King or Emperor Tier Title in the year 1300). I ended up starting in 769, just because I like the alt-history of maintaining the old Lombard Kingdom against the wiles of Karl Karling (who never becomes the Charlemagne known to history if you mess up his event chain); this led me to adding on the goal to complete a Seven Centuries run.
Well, that goal makes this campaign essentially an endurance one, which means that I need some micro-goals to keep going. First was forming the Empire of Italia (which came quicker than anticipated), then kicking the Ummayads out of France, etc. Mixing up the conquest goals with some building projects, depending on the ruler I'm playing as. One Cynical Scholar started building the University great work, to establish a seat of learning independent of the Church. That led to an inter-generational struggle with the Pope, until I had enough power in my own lands to have some sway over the cardinals. My current ruler is a Lesbian Empress, who survived a turbulent 15-year regency, and is basically going whole hog on bringing in as many nubile lovers as she can, to stick it to the man, as it were.
One thing I didn't expect, but which added some poignancy to the whole narrative arc, was the way that my demense counties continually flip to Italian, and the game always gives Lombard Characters the option to flip to that culture. So, the whole centuries-long campaign becomes the story of a struggle to maintain "the old ways" against a superficially more "civilized" culture. The University and Library I build become the repositories of cultural knowledge, to maintain the name and records of the Lombard people. It was a small tragedy, to me, when the throne was briefly held by an Occitan child, which switched the name of the Title "Kingdom of Lombardy" to "Kingdom of Italy." Entropy and progress are not indefinitely held at bay...
I also have things that I try to do on every run, such as landing my commanders after a successful Conquest. I always think that those who fight on the front lines deserve the spoils. Bonus points if they're lowborn, and I create a new dynasty and see them thrive through the centuries. Honestly, if I can just get my own court stable, I like to watch the rest of the world to see what interesting stuff happens. Highlights from my current campaign include the Shia rising in Bulgaria, conquering most of Eastern Europe, before collapsing after 150 years to a decadence revolt. Meanwhile, the Sunni Caliph is invaded, not by Seljuk or Gahznavid, but to a normal AI horde that successfully takes over Arabia and Africa, becoming a new great conqueror that's currently serving as my dynastic rival.
I guess my advice then would be to see what odd mechanics or things you've never played with before, and make one of those the goal of each of your rulers (great works, societies, religious politics, etc.) This is what I did to learn the ins and outs of the game. Second, take advantage of the funny AI things. Pick a widespread dynasty, and see if you can absolutely eliminate them. Usurp all holdings, murder all claimants, wipe them from the map and the history books.
For example, my current campaign is a run for the Iron Crown Achievement (Be Lombard Culture and have a King or Emperor Tier Title in the year 1300). I ended up starting in 769, just because I like the alt-history of maintaining the old Lombard Kingdom against the wiles of Karl Karling (who never becomes the Charlemagne known to history if you mess up his event chain); this led me to adding on the goal to complete a Seven Centuries run.
Well, that goal makes this campaign essentially an endurance one, which means that I need some micro-goals to keep going. First was forming the Empire of Italia (which came quicker than anticipated), then kicking the Ummayads out of France, etc. Mixing up the conquest goals with some building projects, depending on the ruler I'm playing as. One Cynical Scholar started building the University great work, to establish a seat of learning independent of the Church. That led to an inter-generational struggle with the Pope, until I had enough power in my own lands to have some sway over the cardinals. My current ruler is a Lesbian Empress, who survived a turbulent 15-year regency, and is basically going whole hog on bringing in as many nubile lovers as she can, to stick it to the man, as it were.
One thing I didn't expect, but which added some poignancy to the whole narrative arc, was the way that my demense counties continually flip to Italian, and the game always gives Lombard Characters the option to flip to that culture. So, the whole centuries-long campaign becomes the story of a struggle to maintain "the old ways" against a superficially more "civilized" culture. The University and Library I build become the repositories of cultural knowledge, to maintain the name and records of the Lombard people. It was a small tragedy, to me, when the throne was briefly held by an Occitan child, which switched the name of the Title "Kingdom of Lombardy" to "Kingdom of Italy." Entropy and progress are not indefinitely held at bay...
I also have things that I try to do on every run, such as landing my commanders after a successful Conquest. I always think that those who fight on the front lines deserve the spoils. Bonus points if they're lowborn, and I create a new dynasty and see them thrive through the centuries. Honestly, if I can just get my own court stable, I like to watch the rest of the world to see what interesting stuff happens. Highlights from my current campaign include the Shia rising in Bulgaria, conquering most of Eastern Europe, before collapsing after 150 years to a decadence revolt. Meanwhile, the Sunni Caliph is invaded, not by Seljuk or Gahznavid, but to a normal AI horde that successfully takes over Arabia and Africa, becoming a new great conqueror that's currently serving as my dynastic rival.
I guess my advice then would be to see what odd mechanics or things you've never played with before, and make one of those the goal of each of your rulers (great works, societies, religious politics, etc.) This is what I did to learn the ins and outs of the game. Second, take advantage of the funny AI things. Pick a widespread dynasty, and see if you can absolutely eliminate them. Usurp all holdings, murder all claimants, wipe them from the map and the history books.
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I personally seem to always play akin to the tortoise--I start out slow, playing conservatively and just building up my demesne until, one day, I'm a force without having to rely on vassals or mercenaries. (Part of that is because I'm just conservative [as in not taking risks] by nature, and I'm still really not good at war and basically have to rely on having superior numbers. Of course, that's also because I don't like losing wars; and when I lose wars, I tend to lose them HARD.)