Parmesan Cheese - The Rise (or fall) of the di Parma dynasty

[morningSIDEr]

Thus Oberto begins clawing his way up the ranks! It is good to see the di Parma family gaining the recognition they so rightly deserve, the chronicles for their family understandably prompting the Pope to declare a new Crusade. When you can beat so vicious a foe as thousands of Pomeranians, you deserve such recognition.

 

[naggy]

Looks like Matilda died pretty early. When I play as Matilda she tends to lead a long life which is awesome because she is such a great character. However for you're sake I hope she had lots of sons....

Duke of Modena or Toscana has a nice ring to it.....

She had at least two, because the duchies split.

I'm really enjoying this! I'm quite keen to see if you can climb up the royal ladder. Also, this is a good way for me to get away from the stresses of my terminally ill dad, and the fact that he may have just broken his jaw today to add to the fun.

One odd thing for me when I played the same game as you. I had heirs in place, but as soon as the first Oberto croaked, my game immediately ended. I have no idea why. Although strangely, it had refused to allow me to marry off my heir.

Glad I can help you deal with hard times...been there last year with my mother in law.

Did you do a Matrilineal Marriage? That will cause that.

as ever brilliant stuff ... full of useful tips and humour ... thank you

Good!

So, what's the Tuscan inheritance – and more importantly, what's in it for Oberto...

The duchies split, and now I'm stronger than they are.

Thus Oberto begins clawing his way up the ranks! It is good to see the di Parma family gaining the recognition they so rightly deserve, the chronicles for their family understandably prompting the Pope to declare a new Crusade. When you can beat so vicious a foe as thousands of Pomeranians, you deserve such recognition.

Exactly. Woof!

 

[naggy]

Chapter 10 - Emerging from the Shadow of Toscana

August 8, 1090: The new Duke of Toscana wastes no time in reaching out to his most powerful vassal.

With Matilda gone, little Oberto is brought home to study with Daddy on August 8th. The first question: "Daddy, why does every single noble child look exactly like me?"

Little Oberto is also betrothed to a Norwegian Queen, which will result in an alliance once it's finalized. The marriage system in CKII is excellent, but like matrilineal marriages, betrothal is hit or miss. It's not easy to keep track of when a targeted nation has a son or daughter available for betrothal.

Little Oberto turns 16 on August 19th, having learned everything Daddy knows. He also picked up an illness somewhere (it goes away), and a few sins along the way (gluttony, pride, deceitfulness). Good stewardship, though, and he's learned to rock the Palpatine.

Oberto's niece also comes of age as well. A diplomatic ass-kicker.

With everyone back home and everything prepped, I go to declare independence from my liege, Ciro, Duke of Toscana. I get shocked by the warning that he might execute my family, and go frantically searching the family tree...

...oh wait...that's me, his steward. Never mind that. Anyway, declaring independence from a duke just means that winning puts you under the Emperor. This mechanic seems kinda...weird.

Anyway, war is declared, and I hire some mercenaries. For some reason I don't get, the Catalan band goes to Salermo, rather than my capital, Parma. It is a general rule of thumb that hiring mercenaries results in them showing up wherever would be least convenient.

Ruler: "I'd like to hire you to fight in Jerusalem."
Mercenary: "Great! We'll show up in Newark."

While the armies start to coalesce, little Oberto marries his betrothed. Since I'm at war and need money, I take the 58.81 gold from the Royal Aid Duty.

Ghiberto, a relative, comes of age in November, and is quickly married off to a Georgian Princess. (cue redneck jokes)

Meanwhile, I realize that little Oberto has the highest stewardship in the realm, and has the ambition to become Steward. A free +1 Stewardship for my heir? Hell yeah!

In March 1091, I get more good news. I think we all know my next target...

In June, the Duke's forces are routed at La Spezia, and a noble by the name of Alamanno distinguishes himself in the battle. He joins Oberto's court, never to be heard from again.

On August 18th, 1091, after the first siege is done, Duke Ciro begs for peace...with 37% war score. Oberto tells Ciro that when he's rich and famous, Ciro can tell all his friends that he was the first rung on Oberto's climb to greatness.

 

[Melrick]

Glad I can help you deal with hard times...been there last year with my mother in law.

Did you do a Matrilineal Marriage? That will cause that.

I didn't think I did (at least, I don't remember having any matrilineal marriage) but I can't guarantee that I didn't, so that's something for me to keep an eye on next time.

Anyway, another good post! I'm not very good when starting as a count, so it's good to see you doing well so far.

 

[loki100]

so mercenaries are the builders of CK2 ... turn up in the wrong place with the wrong stuff and then charge you for them to spend time arriving where you need them?

 

[Axe27]

I always love those "A noble distinguishes himself" events, because the vast majority of the time, the noble in question either hates my guts or has the ambitious modifier. Really, the only character producing decision I use is "Present debutante". My ruler needs some hot young booty too.

 

[aldriq]

...oh wait...that's me, his steward. Never mind that. Anyway, declaring independence from a duke just means that winning puts you under the Emperor. This mechanic seems kinda...weird.

Why, you are inside the feudal structure, it makes sense that you have to break away from each of the lieges in the ladder. Then again I guess you didn't get an insta-dukedom for it, did you?

Did you resign the stewardship before declaring independence? Or we'll never know if some hidden dice roll could have had Oberto executed?

 

[naggy]

I didn't think I did (at least, I don't remember having any matrilineal marriage) but I can't guarantee that I didn't, so that's something for me to keep an eye on next time.

Anyway, another good post! I'm not very good when starting as a count, so it's good to see you doing well so far.

I've accidentally accepted matrilineal marriages before for my males. I was sorely tempted for the wife to have an accident, but I decided to let it go.

so mercenaries are the builders of CK2 ... turn up in the wrong place with the wrong stuff and then charge you for them to spend time arriving where you need them?

Yup. Luckily, I've played Dwarf Fortress, which has prepared me for dealing with vassals.

Why, you are inside the feudal structure, it makes sense that you have to break away from each of the lieges in the ladder. Then again I guess you didn't get an insta-dukedom for it, did you?

Did you resign the stewardship before declaring independence? Or we'll never know if some hidden dice roll could have had Oberto executed?

The problem is that while you're fighting your duke, the emperor (or king) pretty much has to sit around and watch. They don't really have a way to join in on either side. If I'm a king and a count rises up against a favored duke, you can bet I'd want to crush the upstart count...or I might send gifts to a count fighting a duke that has angered me.

I did not resign - I'm not sure if you can.

 

[naggy]

Chapter 11 - Duchy of Lombardia

First order of business as a Count directly under the Kaiser is to become a duke directly under the Kaiser. Duke Ugo has the misfortune of being smaller than me, next door, and me having a claim. On September 21, 1091, our declaration is delivered.

In December, the Duke's army is crushed, paving the way for sieges.

While I'm kicking down the doors in Lombardia, rebels rise up in Malta. In March, they capture the mayor of Mdina and slay him. Thankfully, he wasn't important to me.

My son (and steward) gets attacked by a mob while collecting taxes in Genoa in mid-October. Hopefully the wound heals...

I follow that up by getting myself wounded in a battle in January, 1093...while leading 2300 men against against 4 people. But I'm not bitter.

One nice thing about the rebels in CKII is that they tend to disperse after a while. Usually after sacking buildings and offing some mayors, barons, and bishops, but eventually.

On October 19th, Duke Ugo gives in to the inevitable, and surrenders. Oberto gains the Counties of Pavia and Lombardia, the Barony of Lodi, and the Duchy of Lombardia. My demense is now 10 (max of 11).

In the meantime, I can take care of a rival that I hate so much, I've never heard of them. I send a letter to my Kaiser.

Sending that letter felt really good...now I can pick up women by showing off my scar.

2 weeks later, I learn that news of my letter has gotten out.

Oh...my liege is going to fight heathens? Guess I better go "help"

 

[loki100]

nice set of moves ... all you need do is avoid peasants with pointy sticks and you're well made

 

[morningSIDEr]

Exactly. Woof!

I suppose you can almost call them dogs of war?

Really rather impressed with mercenary mechanics in CK2, they happily take your money whilst relaxing miles away!

My son (and steward) gets attacked by a mob while collecting taxes in Genoa in mid-October. Hopefully the wound heals...

Clearly the peasants in Genoa are hugely courageous in daring to take on a Palpatine!

Really good stuff on the whole, even a hideous scar does not seem able to stop Oberto's meteoric rise.

 

[Dadarian]

Very nice, I'm glad to see the di Parma family doing something better then making cheese ^_^.

Otherwise great AAR, keep it up.



Side note, why stop the Canada AAR, it's soooooo good

 

[naggy]

nice set of moves ... all you need do is avoid peasants with pointy sticks and you're well made

I need to remember to send annoying vassals with a stewardship of 1 off to collect taxes. That should keep them from coming at me with pointy sticks.

I suppose you can almost call them dogs of war?

Really rather impressed with mercenary mechanics in CK2, they happily take your money whilst relaxing miles away!

Clearly the peasants in Genoa are hugely courageous in daring to take on a Palpatine!

Really good stuff on the whole, even a hideous scar does not seem able to stop Oberto's meteoric rise.

If you plan on using mercs a lot, make sure your capital is on/near the coast, so you can just ship them wherever they need to go. As for the peasants, I hear that little Oberto has shipped a lot of them to some province named Endor to work on a side project of his...

Very nice, I'm glad to see the di Parma family doing something better then making cheese ^_^.

Otherwise great AAR, keep it up.

Side note, why stop the Canada AAR, it's soooooo good

Thank you! Canada died due to my work exploding into 60 hour weeks for an extended period. That only recently ended.

My hope is to get a bit further with the Ottomans, and maybe restart Canada in a few months with AHD.

 

[naggy]

Chapter 12 - Duchies of Genoa, Salerno, and Sicily

December 2, 1093 - Fresh off the "liberation" of Lombardia, Duke Oberto "joined" his liege in war against the Emir of Cyrenaica to retake Sicily.

On January 12th, Oberto fulfilled his ambition to Amass Wealth and increase Stewardship. To celebrate, he created the Duchy of Salerno and usurped the Duchy of Genoa from the Prince-Bishop of Nice.

With that ambition fulfilled, he decided to plot against a zealous heathen...but that goes awry. Tip: Don't include the guy who gets drunk and passes out in alleys.

The Count of Monferatto decides to fabricate a claim against me...the AI does this quite often, even if you can stomp them into a puddle.

While fighting in Sicily, I capture a Muslim mayor. In my experience, you seem to capture heathens more often during battle, but it could just be luck. The 25 gold ransom per minor character is nice.

Also, you'll notice that the battles in CK2 take their names from random holdings within a province or the province name. This helps avoid the endless "Battle of <province>" that you see in EU3 and Victoria.

As you see, I chose to chase down the enemy armies and beat them down. Because a liege in Crusader Kings can't take 100% of a levy, it results in fighting waves of enemies when you destroy units. Once a holding's levy is destroyed, then the liege is free to raise it again. If the levy had time to reinforce before it was destroyed, it may well be at near full strength again. What makes this more annoying with heathens is that vassals get +30 opinion when defending against heathens, which increases the % of levies that may be raised by the liege.

If you have an overwhelmingly large army, then this whack-a-mole gives you more chances to capture important people and gain ransom money, or even end the war quickly by capturing the enemy ruler. If you are fighting near parity, then you don't want to destroy an army, lest the replacement rise up and crush your weakened army. This is also why it helps to assassinate an older leader before invading, to drastically reduce what he can raise from his vassals.

In this case, the Emir surrenders on October 7, 1095.

With peace, I now own 3 of the 5 provinces in Sicily, and can usurp it. Duchies with odd numbers of de jure provinces are much easier to manage than those with even numbers. Even duchies (especially 2 province duchies) often end up split halfway, which can result in the title bouncing back and forth.

 

[Omen]

Next up, King of Sicily?

 

[naggy]

Next up, King of Sicily?

Not yet. I only own 4 or 5 counties in Sicily (Salerno, Girgenti, Trapani, Malta, and possibly Capua).

That said, I probably should at this point have sought an invasion of Sicily and took it outright. Alas, I went a different direction.

 

[Melrick]

Your games are certainly more interesting than mine are. I guess I should learn to be more adventurous and try to kill more people!

 

[loki100]

am I alone in finding Oberto's fashion choices worrying - moustache (ok if you must), faintly Soviet military uniform (ok if you must) but the gold alice band just looks ... well wrong

did like the revealing of the plot, to play this well you really do have spend quite a lot of time on the character screens checking things out (& that to me is a good thing, it gives the game such a unique aspect)

 

[aldriq]

Duke, finally, though you had to work every step of it. And your Italian real estate is growing nicely too.

Nice little touch for the battles to be named after towns rather than provinces, it adds a lot more flavour.

The problem is that while you're fighting your duke, the emperor (or king) pretty much has to sit around and watch. They don't really have a way to join in on either side. If I'm a king and a count rises up against a favored duke, you can bet I'd want to crush the upstart count...or I might send gifts to a count fighting a duke that has angered me.

On the other hand, wouldn't such intervention break some feudal code of honour? If a duke can't keep his unruly counts in place then he doesn't deserve his position – calling papa Kaiser for help would only add to the humiliation. But I agree that some form of covert help should be available.

 

[morningSIDEr]

Doubtless Oberto has greatly aided the crusade of his liege, his selflessly taking Sicily should bring about the fall of Cyrenaica soon after! You are certainly hoovering up the Ducal titles and interesting that you are nearing holding enough counties to become King of Sicily but you went in another direction. I look forward to finding out what directon!