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Avindian

People's Commissar of the Navy
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Jan 3, 2010
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Hello!

This is a continuation of my completed The rise of the Hohenzollerns, 1192-1399: A mega campaign beginning CK2 AAR. In that AAR, I started as the Hohenzollerns, who become Count of Nürnberg in 1192. My original goal was to recreate the circumstances that led to Prussia; the alt-history wasn't supposed to come until this AAR. Imagine my surprise when I ended up sticking around in Bavaria! I never got so much as a whiff of Berlin; still, that doesn't mean I won't in EU3.

The title of the AAR refers to the motto of the Hohenzollerns in my timeline: Pro deo et familia, or "For God and the family." In this chapter of game, I intend to dominate the Holy Roman Empire, for forming Germany either late this game or early in Vicky 2.



I'm not at all sure I'll get there, but that's my objective, at any rate. Here are the house rules:

1. No cheating.
2. No reloading unless due to technical error.
3. No DOWs without a valid CB.
4. No DOWs, with or without a CB, outside the HRE unless I leave the HRE, I am the Emperor, or a mission demands it.
5. No colonizing of any kind.
6. No Reformation (for me). If I do get close to forming Germany, I will edit the requirements so a Catholic country can form Germany.
7. No cancelling missions.

Here are my goals:

1. Dominate both the Curia and the HRE voting. I could probably use help with the Papacy; it's been a long time since I've played a Catholic country!
2. Become Emperor.
3. Pass as many HRE reforms as possible; I do reserve the right to unify the HRE in this game, but that doesn't mean something more interesting won't happen in the next installment. :)
4. Bring as much of central Europe under my direct control as possible, with the above restrictions.
5. Spread the Hohenzollerns.
6. Become a Republic. I will do this organically, but my goal is, if possible, to have a genuine Democracy going into Vicky 2.

I'm not certain what settings the game is on (since I'm playing from a save). Special thanks to razriot for the converter! I am playing with the latest 5.2 beta.

Also, like the CKII AAR, I'm going to be holding regular contests to introduce a character into the game! Contest winners, I need a name, birthplace, birthdate, and additional relevant details as you see fit. Approved by Mr. Capiatlist

Contest winners
Gen. Marshall: Brünnhilde Neferet
varetta: Miguel de Vivar
generalolaf: Othon de Châteaugris
Brian Shanahan: Brian von Smallhausen
captainktainer: Odo III Askanien
Duke of Britain: Joseph Gabrieles de Bragança
SirktheMonkey: Otakar von Erz
varetta (2): Stefan Urkelopopoulos
Cataphractoi: Frans de Vries
Vrael_1492: Gottlieb von Erlangen
EtzelHoveri: Albrecht von Ungern
bwill: Maxicatl
oskar-kar: Gottfried von Habsburg
The Arch Mede: Csilla Dracova
Michaelangelo: Abdul Bahar
SirktheMonkey (2): Maximillian I von Sponheim
Sakura_F: Louisa von Ulrich
jeeshadow: Alarice von Hohenzollern
oskar-kar (2): Ulrich von Hohenzollern
varetta (3): Javier de la Rosa
SirktheMonkey {3): Bruno Lanze
EtzelHoveri (2): Friedrich von Ungern
Warlord Skorr: Andrew Napier
Athalcor: Adelheid von Babenberg
Michaelangelo (2): Geoffrey von Vandenburg
Gen. Marshall (2): Vito de Frizi
Davout: Katrina Rosenberg
Sakura_F (2): Anastasia Petrova
SirktheMonkey (4): Karl Lanze
varetta (4): Rene Picard
Chieron: Paul Henneberger
Warlord Skorr (2): Anneke Blevault
The Chalk: Ferdinand von Luxemburg
oskar-kar (3): Friedrich von Hohenstaufen
bears197: Casey Braun
dodedo: McWhetty von Dengar
SirktheMonkey (5): Salvatore di Monferatto
bwill (2): Eneko Mendoza
EtzelHoveri (3): Bernhard von Ungern
ZebraMinge: Steffen Shuster
drSandworm: Urist McHeath
varetta (5): Jose Fernandez de Leon


Pre-pause stuff will be put up Sunday or Monday; the first proper update will come a bit later.
 
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Table of contents

Pre-pause stuff

The reign of Barbara I, Königin von Bayern und Aachen
Chapter 1: What is God's will? (1399-1409)
Chapter 2: The warrior queen (1409-1430)

The reign of Karl I, König von Bayern
Chapter 3: Chasing the past (1430-1438)
Chapter 4: If you live by the sword... (1438-1443)

The reign of Maximillian III, Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire and König von Bayern
Chapter 5: A disappointing peace (1443-1449)
Fifty year update: 1449
Chapter 6: The ducat and the dagger (1449-1464)
Chapter 7: The politics of revenge (1464-1478)
Chapter 8: Letters from a Prinz to his mother (1478-1486)

The reign of Wilhelm I, Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire and König von Bayern
Chapter 9, part 1: For the defense of the Empire (1486-1495)
Chapter 9, part 2: The Empire's darkest hour (1495-1501)
Fifty year update: 1501
Chapter 10: The dissolution of the Empire? (1501-1508)
Chapter 11: The warriors of God (1508-1511)
Chapter 12: The betrayal of a lion (1511-1528)
Chapter 13: A birth and a death (1528-1538)

The reign of Clemens I von Hohenzollern, Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire und König von Bayern
Chapter 14: The shifting tides of politics (1538-1549)
Chapter 15: Pedigree or merit (1549-1552)
Fifty year update (1552)
Chapter 16: A kingdom turned upside down (1552-1563)

The reign of Alois I von Hohenzollern, Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire und König von Bayern
Chapter 17: The curse of blood (1563-1576)

The reign of Ernst I von Hohenzollern, Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire und König von Bayern
Chapter 18: The rise and fall of regencies (1576-1590)
Chapter 19, part 1: The lion and the eagle (1590-1594)
Chapter 19, part 2: A new golden age for Bayern (1594-1599)
50 year update: 1599
Chapter 20: The succession secured (1599-1612)

The reign of Joseph I, Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire und König von Bayern
Chapter 21: A different kind of Kaiser (1612-1618)
Chapter 22: A Prinz matures (1618-1630)
Chapter 23: Innocence shattered (1630-1640)

The reign of Joseph II, Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire und König von Bayern
Chapter 24, part 1: Convergences and divergences (1640-1648)
Chapter 24, part 2: Breaking down the Byzantines (1648-1651)
50 year update: 1651
Chapter 25: A confrontation (1652-1666)
Chapter 26, part 1: Clash of the Titans (1666-1667)
Chapter 26, part 2: Revenge (1667-1670)

The reign of Friedrich IV, Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire
Chapter 27: The son or the father? (1670-1680)
Chapter 28: To honor a compact (1680-1687)
Chapter 29: The war of the Imperial Succession (1687-1694)
Chapter 30: Revolution from above (1694-1699)
Chapter 31: The price of maintaining order (1699-1706)
Chapter 32: A miscalculation (1706-1714)

The reign of the Lord Protector of the Holy Roman Empire Leopold Johann von Werl
Chapter 33: An uncomfortable moment (1714-1729)
Chapter 34: A revolution within a revolution (1729-1747)

The administration of Consul Wilhelm Rainer
Chapter 35: Securing the republic (1747-1750)
1750 update

The adminstration of Consul Joseph Wecker
Chapter 36: The first Imperial election (1750-1752)

The administrations of Consul Wecker, Ruprecht Koch, and Joachim Hector Linder
Chapter 37: A splendid little war (1752-1761)

The administrations of Joachim Hector Linder and Leopold Johann von Franken
Chapter 38: A crisis resolved (1761-1773)

The administrations of Leopold Johann von Franken, Wilhelm Friedrich Edelman, Leopold Arndt, and Leopold Johann von Höhn
Chapter 39: The end of an Empire (1773-1798)

Chapter 40: The end of an icon (1798-1821)
 
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The Holy Roman Empire. A democratic republic.:confused:
I can't decide whether that is a semi-logical evolution of the idea of electors choosing their Emperor, or if you just want to give yourself some challenge going into Victoria II.

On that subject, is this AAR going to be your first Heart of Darkness game?
 
I guess the Hohenzollerns have found themselves a little bit farther south than usual. Although can you truly call it a Bavarian AAR without our good old friends the Wittelsbach? :p

Nevertheless, I look forward as always to your exceptional AARs. :)
 
Hail Hohenzollern!
 
Subscribed, of course. Did you modified output save a little? I mean, something like better looking borders, or have you just converted save and you will play without any changes?
 
The Holy Roman Empire. A democratic republic.:confused:
I can't decide whether that is a semi-logical evolution of the idea of electors choosing their Emperor, or if you just want to give yourself some challenge going into Victoria II.

On that subject, is this AAR going to be your first Heart of Darkness game?

That's a really good question; a) I'm not sure if I'll have the money for it on release and b) I might do a shorter test AAR with HOD before I get to the megacampaign. If this takes anywhere as long to write as Novum Romanum Imperium did, Vicky 3 might be out by then!

Ah, isn't it impossible for the HRE to become a Republic?

Technically, yes. That's why I've given myself the out of leaving the HRE instead of unifying. :)

I guess the Hohenzollerns have found themselves a little bit farther south than usual. Although can you truly call it a Bavarian AAR without our good old friends the Wittelsbach? :p

Nevertheless, I look forward as always to your exceptional AARs. :)

Glad to have you along!

I am going to follow this again. :) being a 'full' democracy in Vicky 2-times seems really like a tough goal, gut you'd surpass reality once again. :)

That's my hope!

I'm really looking forward to this AAR, The rise of the Hohenzollerns was really well done, it's good to see it continuing. Andrew goal of becoming a republic should make this very interesting as well. I look forward to reading this.

Thanks for the kind words!

Hail Hohenzollern!

Indeed. :)

Subscribed, of course. Did you modified output save a little? I mean, something like better looking borders, or have you just converted save and you will play without any changes?

It is 100% unaltered apart from the conversion process.
 
Looking forward to this (as always) though admittedly I kinda skimmed over part 1 (caught it right at the end and didn't have the time to read it fully).
But I do always love a Megacampaign.

Out of curiosity, why are you not going to do any reforming, is it just a difficulty thing or something I'm not thinking of?
 
I return to subscribe to this excellent AAR!
I grant your Hohenzollerns a few fitting words from the Psalmist:
'Nisi Dominus ædificaverit domum, in vanum laboraverunt qui ædificant eam'
("Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain who build it")
Let us hope God is with the young Queen, and the Bavarian line :D
It'll be interesting to see the maps from the conversion.
My, how long it has been since I have posted here!
 
Very good, Avindian! Interesting that the family got stuck in southern Germany.

Will look forward to seeing how this turns out! I'd read parts of your CK2 one, and found it very well done and interest-keeping!

Rensslaer
 
Which converter did you use?
 
Yay for part 2!!

I'm glad you're excited!

Looking forward to this (as always) though admittedly I kinda skimmed over part 1 (caught it right at the end and didn't have the time to read it fully).
But I do always love a Megacampaign.

Out of curiosity, why are you not going to do any reforming, is it just a difficulty thing or something I'm not thinking of?

Roleplay.

I return to subscribe to this excellent AAR!
I grant your Hohenzollerns a few fitting words from the Psalmist:
'Nisi Dominus ædificaverit domum, in vanum laboraverunt qui ædificant eam'
("Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain who build it")
Let us hope God is with the young Queen, and the Bavarian line :D
It'll be interesting to see the maps from the conversion.
My, how long it has been since I have posted here!

A lovely poem and I'm glad to have you along!

Very good, Avindian! Interesting that the family got stuck in southern Germany.

Will look forward to seeing how this turns out! I'd read parts of your CK2 one, and found it very well done and interest-keeping!

Rensslaer

Always glad to see you around. :)

Which converter did you use?

razriot's is the only one which currently produces a playable game.
 
The pre-pause stuff

So, this will be the only update not written in character; my goal is simply to familiarize you with the world as best I can. I'm leaving out the economic page for now; it'll take the game a bit to adjust to the new economic system. We start with a map of Europe.

worldmapintro.jpg


I guess Crete is sort of weird, but most countries are pretty close to their home territories. Note Poland and France; they'll be foes I'll have to come to grips with sooner or later. Bohemia is the nearest challenger. The purple country to the left of me -- Aachen -- is the ex-Duchy of Schwaben, who is in a PU with me. Obviously, I'd like to get that inherited ASAP. We'll get to know other parts of the world as we progress.

One of the unfortunate parts of the converter is that it tends to, well, cripple your heir. Note Barbara's abysmal stats.

theheir.jpg


This should be a one time thing, hopefully.

My first mission is a Royal Marriage with Austria (which is a tiny bit further south than IRL).

mission1.jpg


Here are my starting sliders:

slidersw.jpg


I'm definitely going to lean Land early on, since I have no ships (or coastline).

Here's the result of my first move.

movetowardland.jpg


diplomapmode.jpg

Here's the diplo map mode; it shows that I've got a CB on Tirol, but Schwaben is not cored.

diplomapmode.jpg


Here are my immediate neighbors a bit closer up.

neighborsg.jpg


My immediate neighbors are Tirol (the red), Aachen (the purple country to the west, my PU partner), Bohemia, Austria, and Ansbach (the country to my immediate east in purple). Hopefully, after a short while, some of the OPMs will disappear and make the map more manageable. :)

Here's the Holy Roman Empire's electors:

ineligibletobeemperor.jpg


The game currently insists I am not eligible to be Emperor; I'm not entirely sure why. Perhaps we'll have to play for a bit to see why. Electors are from left to right, Bulgaria, me, Bohemia, Brunswick, Austria, Cologne, Lorraine, Pisa, and Holland. Here's a map which shows you exactly who is in the HRE.

thehre.jpg


The lighter green are the electors. For the ones whose names aren't visible, Brunswick is the one that includes, well, Brunswick. I think it looks kind of like a ram's skull, if that helps. :) The bit of elector right next to France is part of Holland; the one to the east of that is part of Brunswick. Between Brunswick and Holland up north is Cologne. The one that looks kind of like an L and is also next to France is, helpfully, Lorraine; Lorraine also has a piece of England. Finally, Pisa is shockingly located in Pisa: it's the farthest south, apart from Bulgaria.

The Papacy:

cardinalsy.jpg


Polotsk is in southern Scandinavia; it's a 2PM that includes the province called Finland.

Finally, I close with two world maps, one of which includes just my territory (although you have to kind of squint to see it).

eu3mapbav139910141.jpg


eu3mapbav139910142.jpg


Now, I intend to update in the middle of next week, Wednesday probably. Before then, let's have our first contest, shall we? I will include three questions -- if you get the right answer, you get a character (a max of one per person).

1. Which tech has the highest level to start the game?
2. What level is it at?
3. By how much am I exceeding or undershooting my forcelimit (if I'm under, use -, if I've over, use +).

Post your answers in thread to one, two, or all three questions. Winners will be notified by PM; the contest will close Wednesday at 10 PM (-6 GMT).
 
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And so the story continues. Europe looks like a mess. Do France, England, and other fragmented nations have cores on lands that could/should be theirs?
 
And so the story continues. Europe looks like a mess. Do France, England, and other fragmented nations have cores on lands that could/should be theirs?

Great question, and that's a bit too big to answer. :) Let's check in 50 years and see if sorts itself out.
 
I'm going to guess that your government tech is the highest at game start at level 4, since you start with a national idea when Western tech nations usually don't, although that could be a result of the conversion. As for the force limit, I'm guessing that you are exceeding it by five (+5).

I can only hope that by the end of this AAR, that horrid mass in Germany will belong to the Hohenzollerns. :p