FERTing on the Enemy - The House of Savoy Fights the Overwhelming Omega

[InvisibleSandwi]

Episode 11: Iberian Gambit, Part 1​

Malta is next. Malta is just next. Malta's next, right?

While we wait for that to resolve in our favor, you'll be interested to note that I'm going to follow bbqftw's two major bits of advice:


1. Emphasizing the quality of my land army by *gasp* taking quality ideas. I immediately have enough military power to unlock the first infantry combat idea.
2. Taking over Spain (and possibly Portugal's) centers of trade. I've got an idea on how to do this and more, so bear with me for a bit.

First, we converge on Palermo in order to shorten the naval portion of this trip.

That's not the way to Palermo! "Sorry, but we're going to Tradefest 1570 and you can't stop us!"​

Needless to say, that's rather quick and easy, so we declare war on Aragon immediately afterwards. Aragon literally has nothing with which to defend itself.

Resist at your own risk.​

We are nothing if not completely without mercy. It seems that Portugal (Aragon's only ally of real significance) doesn't have much of a fleet!

Suddenly, I find that I am the Papal controller. On one hand, "Duh", but on the other I usually find my Catholic playthroughs abusing the the small bonuses from Papal influence and not actively seeking the Curia, at least when I don't immediately embrace the Reformation.

"No, John. I am the Counterreformation." And then John was a trinitarian...​

That's probably a mistake, since the curia controller gains a couple of rather useful bonuses. Furthermore, since it's before 1650, we can potentially excommunicate and crusade as needed, and I can certainly think of some ways to put that to use.

Apparently this is what we need for the Omega to acknowledge us for the first time in the game, as they promptly declare us to be their rival.

Uh, celebrate?
​

That's definitely going to make things more interesting and fun, and it might be what sets off the inevitable wars. They follow this up with an embargo, which makes the pivot to Seville even more necessary.

Fine! We didn't even like Alexandria anyways! Which reminds me - if it weren't for the whole 'demoniac' thing, this Omega could've declared itself the new Roman Empire a long time ago.​

I kick Portugal out of the war early because, to be honest, I need them intact.

I hope this doesn't bankrupt their sorry country.​

They have a dominant presence in the Caribbean; if that nation breaks away, Portugal will lose a decent amount of tradepower in that node, Seville will eventually be impoverished, and that's just not good. Aragon is available for peace soon afterwards, and instead of simply conquering Malta, I decide on something rather more ambitious...

Radical like Radical Rex!​

Aragon will be restored just like Naples, and for the very same reason - an existent Aragon will give me plenty ways to weaken Castile and prevent them from doing anything about our local imperialism. I'd like to immediately follow up Aragon's vassalization with the restoration of their territories, but because of what we did to Venice, we still have 8 years of truce with them.

Instead, I'm going back to consolidating, and beginning the construction of one of my most important resources for the lategame - heavy ships!

Dude, that's heavy.​

My naval forcelimit is somewhat underwhelming, so I need to make every single ship count, especially when it's against someone as spammy as the Omega. I also start building shipyards where the infrastructure's advanced enough, because carracks are expensive to maintain, and that's pretty lame.

One ship at a time might be what we needed.​

Castille promptly joins the Protestant League, placing the entirety of Iberia in its evil grasp. I'll have you know that I find this absolutely hilarious.

I don't even NEED to come up with a joke relating to this, that's how funny it is!​

Anyways, I need something to keep myself (but not my territories) occupied while we count down to the annexation of Naples, and our glorious war with Castille. That opportunity arises from Holland annexing Utrecht while not having any significant allies to protect themselves.

Mainz is an elector, but they'll get over it.​

France, presumably being the folks who would find this most relevant, do the important stuff. If I remember correctly, I hunted down a small stack and killed it for the heck of it.

Unlike most games, France is perfectly happy to respect the integrity of the Holy Roman Empire.
​

The war only takes about 2-3 minutes of actual real-life time, and that's with me pausing the game to write updates! This is how I usually write an AAR, although for The Australia Project, I simply took notes during gameplay and expanded them later when I could focus more on writing the voice of Liam Jacobson.

This war earned me a decent bit of imperial authority, which I then promptly lost from some electors going Protestant.​

In preparation for the upcoming war, I excommunicate the king of Castille. I kind of doubt this is going to do a lot, and I figure the king might not take it well. It turns out I was right, as Castille promptly declares themselves defenders of Catholicism.

Is THAT why they want a heretic to rule the Holy Roman Empire? That's realpolitik as &%#@.​

Apparently, the game is trying to make me laugh, because a one province Netherlands then declares independence from Great Britain. They are almost immediately reconquered.

The other people of the Low Countries had better things to do than destroy themselves, but Bruges doesn't even have trade! Remember what happened to the Scheldt?​

In 1577, a comet actually increases our stability! That's pretty sweet.

Sacrifice a human heart to appease the astronomer.​

Naples is incorporated into our lands at the end of 1578. Things have not been too eventful recently, but they've been in our favor, so that's fine by me. I keep gradually building up infrastructure (mostly constables and workshops) for the remainder of our truce with Castille and promptly declare war on them when it expires. A few nations jump to their aid, most notably Great Britain. Personally, I think it's a pointless gesture.

It looks equal, but the important parts are all in my favor. Except for artillery. That could be annoying if Britain actually uses its army on the continent.​

Whether Castille's long running Italian ambitions turn on them like I'm trying to ensure, or something horrible happens (like a treacherous surprise attack from the Omega) is a debate to be settled tomorrow.

A map update for 1580 follows.

It seems like the Omega decided to focus on Central Asia. Actually getting a land connection (or at least a sea connection) is apparently below them, but they aren't suffering a distance/overseas penalty for those provinces, so I guess it's a moot point. It's kind of odd that Portugal and Castile have swapped typical colonies, but in the long run I don't think it's too important. Overall, things seem fairly normal wherever the Omega has not broken everything.

P.S: It seems that at some point, I decided that the unrest penalty from "Fighting the Omega" should apply at normal difficulty. This will certainly make things more interesting in a few decades.

 

[Michaelangelo]

The Omega is drawing awfully close. Is that it even in South Africa and Taiwan?

It's like the Europeans don't want you to join them together in opposition to the Omega. Such foolishness.

 

[bbqftw]

I actually greatly prefer quantity as first military idea, right now quantity outclasses pretty much all other ideas except defensive (and defensive is niche, for either... well, defensive, or mass fort assault gameplay). It's really the key enabler to being able to fight 3-5 multifront wars at once. It also doubles as a moneymaking idea group in a pinch due to double maintenance reduction bonuses and force limit increase (if you're playing a poor high-autonomy empire).

It's hard to underestimate just how ridiculous the first two ideas of quantity are...

quality isn't bad but where it really shines is the economic + quality disc policy and the religious + quality disc/morale policy. Combined with religious / quantity and or economic / offensive and you've got an extremely deadly set of morale + discipline boosts that will let you laugh at Elan.

 

[InvisibleSandwi]

The Omega is drawing awfully close. Is that it even in South Africa and Taiwan?

It's like the Europeans don't want you to join them together in opposition to the Omega. Such foolishness.

Yep, the Omega has colonized a bunch of provinces in the Old World. Recently, they've been establishing a presence in Indonesia. As a corollary, I think Europe's lack of interest in the Omega is due to its lack of invasions of Christendom.

I actually greatly prefer quantity as first military idea, right now quantity outclasses pretty much all other ideas except defensive (and defensive is niche, for either... well, defensive, or mass fort assault gameplay). It's really the key enabler to being able to fight 3-5 multifront wars at once. It also doubles as a moneymaking idea group in a pinch due to double maintenance reduction bonuses and force limit increase (if you're playing a poor high-autonomy empire).

It's hard to underestimate just how ridiculous the first two ideas of quantity are...

quality isn't bad but where it really shines is the economic + quality disc policy and the religious + quality disc/morale policy. Combined with religious / quantity and or economic / offensive and you've got an extremely deadly set of morale + discipline boosts that will let you laugh at Elan.

Elan doesn't like it when you laugh at him.

I am planning to pick up Economic Ideas next. The 30% total artillery combat ability boost may well come in handy if I have to obliterate Omegan stacks instead of just running around and spam sieging.

 

[Athalcor]

I know I am failing miserably to keep up with the story (two chapters behind and counting) but that's Elan from Order of the Stick! Woot!

 

[InvisibleSandwi]

I know I am failing miserably to keep up with the story (two chapters behind and counting) but that's Elan from Order of the Stick! Woot!

It sure is. The joke has to be made occasionally, especially where the French are involved.

Episode 12: Iberian Gambit, Part 2​

As the Romans conquered Hispania, so shall we, their successors, conquer their successors. At least the good parts. Our enemies are mostly concentrated, for better or worse, to our west. There is one major exception, though.

Our first battle of significance is with the Venetians, who seem rather more diminished than before we took much of their land. I don't blame them; it was a decent chunk of basetax.

Your opinions on the proper sovereignty of Treviso are noted, and will be ignored.​

Back in the more interesting parts of the war, I have the sneaking suspicion that I might be able to put the new war navy to use, and resolve to check on a small fleet of Portuguese traders suddenly impressed into service.

No leadership necessary. ​

Castile does not like this in the slightest, so they crash the party and I have to run away for obvious reasons.

Hey! That's my Carrack! You can't have it! Come back, you brutes!​

The land front was where I expected to win this war, anyways. Zaragoza is, as the wargoal might lead you to suggest, where the first real battles occur. The usual notes of "France does most of the work" and "superior numbers win the day" ring out.

Well, at least our cannons are doing something. ​

Portugal does the stupid AI thing where it launches a small amphibious assault behind enemy lines in a game without any simulation of supply lines. They even throw in a mediocre conquistador in the name of leadership. I'm going to make fun of them, as you might expect.

Unfortunately, my style of humor involves... massive casualties.​

I take my wargoal in May 8th of 1582, but needless to say we won't stop there.

Alright, who's the sucker who thinks they're better than us? ... it's probably the Omega.​

I intend to pick up at least Aragon's cores and Barcelona, which turns out to require at least 58% warscore. If I want to throw in Andalucia, I'll need a staggering 87%, but I think I can get my hands on that much... although Castile might have to burn.

Sometimes you have to break a few Castilians to make an omelet... of death.​

In the middle of 1583, I reach the important military tech 15, and switch to the well rounded, offense-oriented Maurician Infantry, which will at least help me acquire warscore from battles. At least early on, that's my main source of score, since it takes a while to siege down provinces and I can't really carpet with the risk of Britain landing in Spain and inconveniencing me.

Anyways, this war is going to take a while, so why not watch some TV or something? I've heard good things about The Legend of Korra.

By 1585, almost all of the Iberian peninsula has been occupied, with only a few miniscule holdouts, and I start getting a "Call for Peace" request from my populace.

You're green with it!​

Great Britain decides to not liberate an inch of Spanish territory and yet again attack the French coast. They've been vacillating pretty close to accepting a concession of defeat for a while, but we manage to annihilate them, and it pushes them over the edge. The thing is, however, that it also pushes Castile over the edge, thus rendering that treaty pointless in favor of a rather better one.

​

Aragon is nicely restored, and I'll be annexing them once I can get the spare points. I need to eventually move my primary trade port to Sevilla, and I need to get back on track with my diplotech. In the meantime, I rename Andalucia to something rather more Italian. Needless to say, the colonization of the Spaniards is underway.

"I hate it when the soliders take my lunch money."
​

In more good news, Hesse has lost the support of the French. However, I do not yet have a CB to take advantage of this, but I might pick up one in the future. They have not seen fit to attack anyone I particularly like - I would describe this as cruel, but that's the exact opposite of what it is.

Then, in 1587, the Religious Wars end - not without a proper war, but with the lack of one.

Let's just ignore the Tuscan church for a moment...​

A sad irony is that there are literally no Catholic electors at this point, so I need to redefine them, and quickly.

Oh god, how did this happen? Alternatively, "How come so many Protestants were willing to let themselves be yoked by Catholics?"​

Luckily, a lot of people are willing to embrace Catholicism, so we won't have to worry too much about this. Furthermore, since we are now officially a Catholic empire, we just so happen to benefit from our Catholicism.

That's actually pretty helpful given that fighting the Omega saps your legitimacy.​

In fact, this might've bugged things up a bit, since we supposedly have hereditary rule all of a sudden. I don't know if that's working as designed or not.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the new electors. They're mostly the same as the old electors, but these fortunate souls are going to help me consolidate the empire.

All the cool kids are under direct Italian rule. Except the Swiss. They're kind of cool, I guess.​

Our first step towards that... is to break up Austria. I've been excommunicating people left and right like the messages in the UI say I can't, and in the process the poor Austrians have been punched pretty hard. I intend to make it worse.

Austria did not respond to their excommunication by proclaiming themselves the defenders of the Catholic Faith. They will regret this act of reason.​

...this season of warfare also sees a return of "Stacks Gone Wild", but that's not news. It's comedy!

I feel like this is a poor decision on their part.​

I also learn that we cannot pass reforms while at war, so it looks like we're in a race against time to simply pass as many as possible.

You'll notice that I've ended up in a lot of curb stomp wars during this AAR, so I took the liberty of not overdocumenting this one too much. I did get a ton of extra cash from occupying the Schwaz mine in Tirol for the duration, though.

Well, Tirol and pretty much all their Germanic heartlands...​

I released Augsburg, Baden, and Tirol in the peace - mostly arbitrary except for Tirol, since all that gold can't help but fuel Austrian greed. I'm thinking I'll eventually vassalize and annex Tirol; since I'm getting economic ideas I think I can handle the inevitable inflation. Importantly, this gives me enough authority to ram through the Reichsregiment, which will help me retain the imperial titles even if further centralizing the empire proves difficult.

Next time: Don't be surprised if we conquer more Spanish provinces.

 

[Michaelangelo]

The Protestants in the Empire were clearly slacking if they controlled all the electors and didn't dispute Catholic rule.

Good to see that the French continue to answer your beck and call every time.

 

[Attalus]

You are lucky to still have the BBB on your side after all this time

 

[InvisibleSandwi]

The Protestants in the Empire were clearly slacking if they controlled all the electors and didn't dispute Catholic rule.

Good to see that the French continue to answer your beck and call every time.

They must've been scared off by the constant beatings each member of the Protestant League was receiving... well, except for Muscovy, but nobody really cares about Muscovy.

You are lucky to still have the BBB on your side after all this time

Luck helps, but loyalty is also pretty handy. I believe I've helped the French enough to earn a decent amount of trust, and because I keep calling them into my own wars, they rarely have time to take territory on their own.

 

[InvisibleSandwi]

Episode 13: The Great Pivot Towards the West​

We can finally announce our enmity towards the Omega, for better or worse.

Funny how the Omega has yet to attack its rivals.
​

But we're starved for CBs, so I think this is going to be a rather quiet episode. If you guys have any ideas on how to acquire them against, let's say, Hesse, I'd greatly appreciate hearing about them. I also need to break Pomerania's alliance with France, which is going to be pain unless I decide to break France as well. I think I reach the point where I could do that during this episode, assuming I haven't already.

I quickly notice that Bavaria trying to have their way with Augsburg after I freed them from the Austrian yoke.

We can't have that! It would mildly reduce the amount of manpower we can pull upon!​

They're allied with a newly independent Bohemia (whom I believe broke free from the PU with Austria after said nation's prestige tanked), but Bohemia refuses to join the war and get stomped... probably because they have a truce. Anyways, I don't have much to gain from extending this war (since Bavaria hasn't actually annexed Augsburg and therefore cannot release them), so I simply beat up on them for a bit, take some money, and wander off.

Savoyard peace traditions!​

We get a claim on the Algarve, which we might use to accelerate a war with Portugal when the time comes, but I don't want to make any sweeping assumptions about what I'll be doing before I actually get around to it, even during the relatively short timeframes of my gameplay sessions In the same theater, I'm also considering taking Tangier, but such a province would potentially be extremely vulnerable to the Omega if they decide to consolidate in the Maghreb (such as conquering Fez or actually, finally assaulting the Iberians). Plus, it would cost more to core.

By annexing Aragon, I've made the Catalan people an accepted and integral part of Italy, with 14.30% of my cores; I have room to expand quite far without losing this nice bonus.

Catalans go "Meow". Alternatively: "More like Catalitalians!"​

Aragonese people proper, though, are getting oppressed. Taking them into my empire also gives me more access to booze, which (shockingly) stabilizes my country to some degree.

Enough wine to get sloshed. Remember when excessive amounts of Islamic provinces reduced the value of wine?​

As promised, Tirol will replace Aragon as my vassal, and eventual gold farm. The Schwaz is pretty great, since it allows the Tyroleans to field an army almost as large as Switzerland without even being a march. The slight forcelimit boost is helpful too, but whatever.

No chance of a treasure caravan? Oh well.​

Castile decides to be Defender of the Faith a second time. I'd like to excommunicate them for their audacity, but surprisingly, being the Defender of the Faith protects you from excommunication, even though the opposite is clearly not the case.

"Haha! You can't stop us from defending Catholicism!" They're probably just mad they don't have a Protestant league to support.​

I'd like to excommunicate someone else in order to teach them a lesson, but then a Swede takes over the Papacy. Well, it was nice while it lasted.

Believe me, the next pope will probably be named Johan.​

Anyways, in October 1599, it's time to take another treaty port from the Iberians. This time, I declare war on Portugal for the creatively named city of Porto, which I foolishly forgot to screenshot. My wars have knit Portugal, Castile, and Great Britain together for better or worse. In this case, it means I can easily move troops in Catalonia and Andalucia throughout the important parts of the theatre. I quickly assault Porto just to claim it, but in order to accumulate ticking warscore, I need to take over the Algarve, which is also easy.

Press one button and everyone dies. Well, more likely they get wounded or run away or something.​

I sure hope the Portuguese don't think that's our actual wargoal, since that would be bad for their idealistic thought processes or something...

Because I've now got a larger galleon fleet to do things with, I hire my first admiral of the game! With his help, I'm able to bring the heavy ships I've built to some victories (which, due to the way naval combat works these days, means entire fleets are being destroyed).

"Haha. The Mediterranean's got wood. And cannons!"​

While the Anglo-Iberian alliance can only muster a small portion of the resources that the Omega can for its navy, this is still a crucial milestone.

By the way, Great Britain, who was more than willing to play naval invasion with us last war... they're not too helpful this time. Our demands are technically rather less onerous than last time, but that can't possibly hope to be the explanation.

​

In 1601, our incompetent monarch dies and is replaced with someone far better.

It turns out the empire isn't hereditary yet.​

Like his predecessor, he oversees the signing of a peace treaty for a war he had little involvement in, and Porto becomes our newest and shiniest port(o). Yet again, an Iberian province is given a more suitable name.

Well, I don't think the Pope is going to move here, but good enough.​

The Catalan people should consider themselves lucky to retain their linguistic rights.

Hilariously, we can take a mission to build an army as large as the Omega - I like how the AI suggests this, but it's NOT happening.

Nope, couldn't keep a straight face.​

I take the mission to improve relations with Brabant instead, since it'll earn me some extra imperial authority. This is a very easy mission, with my diplomatic fiat, and the extra few points of authority are pretty great.

With four years to go before I can attack Austria again, the next step is to take over Friuli through the Imperial Ban. I declare war on Venice, and Castile is dumb enough to destabilize their country by trying to help; I say 'destabilize', but most likely they're just going to trade manpower for war exhaustion.

Since I'm going to move my primary trade collection to Seville, the importance of protecting our trade bonus in the Venice node has kind of diminished. Anyways, this is not the sort of war to take very long. Merely fighting against Castile, though, has impressed upon me how many mercenaries they raise in a desperate attempt to defeat us. It's not exactly relevant to us, since I quickly sign a peace treaty with Venice and gain the province I wanted. I also take some gold, which with a loan becomes enough to raise ten more heavy ships.

"And that inflation was the straw that broke the camel's back-" Curse you, Castile! You're not the narrator in this AAR!​

I notice that the Pommeranians have accrued a small coalition for their aggression. I'll have to pay more attention to these in the future; they kind of slipped my mind after I became large enough to simply ignore them in my own lands.

With the help of Italy, this could have become a very large coalition.​

Now is when I finally move my primary tradeport to Sevilla. My trade income almost immediately jumps from 25/month to 35/month, and to almost 40 once Porto (Nuevo Roma) cores.

So my appraisal that this might be a quiet episode was partially true, but we've still made appreciable gains. Everything is growing - our army, our navy, our income, our imperial authority! The hour of reckoning isn't for another 45 years, still, and there is plenty of time to make further gains.

Next time: We beat up Austria again, at the very least.

The next update will be on June 1st, 2015. I may have to rush through the first half of the 17th century to give the Omegan war the attention I feel it deserves.

 

[Michaelangelo]

The Omega only has 512 regiments? Pffft, you can handle that.

 

[Athalcor]

So it is actually Castile, not Castille?

 

[Attalus]

The missions from the engine

It seems you will be able to secure yourself quite a good position before 1650, that is if the Omega does not attack you before

 

[InvisibleSandwi]

The Omega only has 512 regiments? Pffft, you can handle that.

Well, they'll certainly get a lot of attrition if they're too heavy handed with their army.

So it is actually Castile, not Castille?

I swear, it keeps changing, and we might end up declaring war on the Castillians in order to change it... or perhaps more accurately, sink their local ships and gain a greater portion of the trade in Seville.

The missions from the engine

It seems you will be able to secure yourself quite a good position before 1650, that is if the Omega does not attack you before

The Omega doesn't seem to care very much about Europe. Maybe that's because the good bits are upstream of Constantinople?

 

[InvisibleSandwi]

Episode 14: Procrastination Time​

As I previously promised, I'm going to be accelerating the pace until 1650, because I've achieved most of my goals in forming Italy. I'd like to have more of a trade empire in the Indian Ocean, but the Omega kind of mooted that as a possibility early on. Still, I have a strong heartland in a unified Italy, something like a colonial empire in Iberia, and I am certainly the toughest kid on Europe Street.

So it's definitely time to go after the Austrians again. I take some time to demand the return of unlawful territory from Pommerania in the hopes of inconveniencing them first, though.

"Ha ha! Your income is slightly reduced!"​

Thusly do we meet the Habsburgs in battle again. I think. I forget whether the Habsburgs still rule over Austria.

Funny enough, Lithuania is turning out to be the Italy of Eastern Europe. Even the Omega doesn't hassle them!​

HRE politics are turning into a question of north vs south. Not sure how I feel about that, but whatever.

Austria's allies come from further and further away, as a brigade of Circassians finds its way into the Italian Alps.

"If you two don't shut up, I'm turning this army around and going back to Winnipeg!" ​

The Circassians promptly go insane and run down to Salento, which goes about as disastrously as you might expect.

Meanwhile, France is unable to really help me, because they're too busy trying to prevent the entire northern half of the HRE from punishing the Pomeranians.

The anti-Pomeranian coalition got pretty large after a while.​

It's getting their men slaughtered, and when they decide to help us in our war, it means France is overrun with angry Germans and Czechs.

It's things like this that keep the French dependent on our patronage.​

In 1608, I pick up Economic ideas like I promised I would, and quickly unlock the first idea.

Italy has some pretty sweet basetax, but it's in Europe, which also is quite rich as a rule. ​

Furthermore, my emperor produces an heir. Apparently the pregnancy of his wife was too stressful for him, as he immediately drops dead. Luckily, the regency is somewhat competent, so all we have to do for the next 15 years is avoid an interregnum.

Well, at least the Holy Roman Empire is ruled from Rome.​

Austria is pretty distraught over the results of this war, so they offer a peace after a few years. This peace does not resemble what we want (this time, the release of Ulm and Salzburg), but it does tip us off that they have a fairly large treasury.

Oh, you want to bribe us now? Well... we might need to take out a ton of loans eventually.​

We make sure to clean it out before we end the war, in addition to releasing the countries we wished to release, and we end up with enough imperial authority to reform the Hofgericht. We really need to Italianize the names of these reforms, now that I think about it.

Another jewel in our crown.​

Thus follows a period of quiet. I work to establish more trade power in Sevilla (primarily by building up my trade fleet), quickly integrate Tirol into Italian territory in order to take advantage of the immense gold income, and repeatedly take missions to strengthen my diplomatic position in the empire. Improving relations with X, making Y vote for us, etc; it overloads us with diplomatic power and that's supposed to make it okay.

Meanwhile, Ming begins to collapse without the help of the Omega. This isn't exactly uncommon, but I was expecting the Ming to last a bit longer, since they managed to expand pretty deep into Indochina for some reason.

And just on time! I highly doubt, however, that we will see a historic Qing conquest of the area, though.​

Maximum length regencies are pretty great. I'd go into more detail, but as I've said, I want to get to the "good stuff" (I.E the cataclysmic battle with the Omega). However, I do get an event I've never gotten before (probably because I haven't played a lot in the HRE in recent years) that gives me some extra imperial authority; enough to technically pass the next Imperial reform but for my inability to convince all the electors that it isn't just Catholic propaganda. To be honest, I don't believe it myself.

But Catholicism must be the one true religion! That must be why Austria lost the war!
​

When we wake up from this enforced slumber, we understandably end up in a changed world. The Pomeranian empire has collapsed, China is collapsing, and our navy has expanded dramatically. Also, Castile is privateering Genoa for some reason. Let's beat up a minor nation!

"Feels like my lands contain... nothing at all! Nothing at all! NOTHING AT ALL!" "Stupid expansionist Flanders!"​

I've had an Imperial Ban on Flanders for a while. This goes fairly predictably... then I notice I can't free Holland from their bondage. It turns out the Dutch have escaped to a precarious position in the New World.

Beware the giant alligators of Bayougoula! Those guys can snap an entire town in half with their jaws.​

But this gives me an interesting idea... I seize Zeeland for myself, and I can now actually get a CB upon Hesse! I could also try to collect trade income in the English Channel, but that might be a bit much even for me. With my claim fabricated on Breda, I return Zeeland back to Flanders, having made no attempt to core it. I can take it back later if I really want it, since Flanders probably isn't leaving the Empire any time soon.

The Flemish thusly labeled this the "War of Confusion".​

And now, it looks like Hesse's little desecration of the empire is coming to an end this episode.

A century in the making! First they lost their allies, and then we found a way to make it look less like a land grab.​

Since I've accumulated most of the authority cap, I try to make this a relatively and painless war for the Hessians... as painless as using France to beat them up can be, anyways. I still ravage a large portion of their country before forcing them to release Cleves and Anhalt.

Cherish these assisted wars while you still can.​

This pushes approval/authority to the point where I can enact the "Gemeiner Pfennig" (Remember? We need to italicize these terms!). I doubt I can get all the way to revoking the privileges, but with the long war coming up, this isn't a bad stopping point. I'll certainly try to get the next few and see what happens.

Don't mess with taxes. (Alternatively - the Holy Roman Empire - it's like a whole other country.)​

My goal of writing the entire 1605-1650 bloc in one go did not come to pass, but that may not have been such a great thing if it'd happened.

Next time: Nations keep getting verbed.

 

[Michaelangelo]

Wow, France nearly got overrun trying to help you. Such loyalty.

Passing two reforms isn't too bad. If only you could manage to revoke the Privilegia before battling the Omega so you can throw the entire HRE at it.

 

[Athalcor]

I've probably missed the point where you moved the capital to Rome.

 

[InvisibleSandwi]

Wow, France nearly got overrun trying to help you. Such loyalty.

Passing two reforms isn't too bad. If only you could manage to revoke the Privilegia before battling the Omega so you can throw the entire HRE at it.

I feel like the forcelimit contributions from revoking the privileges would outweigh the actual contributions of the Empire. Spoilers, though: I come pretty close.

I've probably missed the point where you moved the capital to Rome.

It happens automatically when you form Italy.

 

[InvisibleSandwi]

Episode 15: The Age of Green Stripes​

Honestly, titling these chapters can be kind of a cliche storm. I was going to call this one "The Calm Before The Storm" since I didn't expect too much warfare early on, but after looking at the warfare I kept engaging in, this one came to mind. Anyways, less than 25 years until the Omega will (hopefully) know my wrath. I'm hoping I can expand my navy in particular, but I guess we'll see whether that actually happens or not.

The first thing I'm going to do is take Gorizia from Austria. I expect this to be slightly less inconvenient than the last time we tangled, where we had to take the brunt of Austria's allies in Lithuania... and Circassia.

Italian soldiers still have nightmares about the impotence of the Circassian Legion. ​

Lithuania should be commended for how well they're doing. They've captured wide swathes of Russian territory and made a bid for the Caucasus, thus absorbing Genoa's old ambitions. Furthermore, they have maintained peace with the Omega, who would surely brush them away like a small gnat. But enough about them! They're not us, and they're not on our side, so the results should be predictable.

Actually, I just noticed that they, as well as Poland, are ruled by the house of Gonzaga - the former rulers of Mantua before we rightly intervened. I guess Italian greatness rubs off all over the place.

I'd say they went Gonzaga on the Russians!​

Lithuania manages to inconvenience us slightly by stackwiping some of our troops, but before they can parley this into an advantage, tens of thousands of Frenchmen slam into them and wipe THEM out. Meanwhile, I just build more troops. After all, I'm Italy and I'm the Emperor - I can expect to have enough manpower that I can get away with such careless play.

May the bigger men win.​

However, despite our nice boost to infantry combat, I need to finish my quality ideas, and fast. Still, I manage to win my own victories occasionally.

If this was Civilization, we would be way over our force-limit after this fight.

​

As merely taking over Gorizia doesn't require much warscore (and this is even before administrative efficiency really begins to kick in!), the war ends soon after the surrender of so much Austrian artillery. Then it's back to quiet development.

Hey, it's Italian territory in modern times, so it must be Italianized in an alternate past!​

I randomly get a basetax increase in the Balearic islands, which reminds me of how I eagerly await 1.12.

I guess not repressing people has its upsides, like loyalty and camaraderie.​

I'm also pushing even more Catholicism in the empire! Surely, the whole 'humanist' policy is serving us well. If I were roleplaying or writing more of a narrative/historical AAR, I probably wouldn't be doing this. I might've went for full religious ideas, too, but that's a bit different.

Reservatum Ecclesiaticum fires again, this time for Trier, but they apparently don't like the idea of being forced to convert. However, through the magic of horrific, bloody warfare, I think I can change their minds and help them see the light.

The sword is mightier than the book. It says so in this other book.​

This is also an opportunity to see what Sweden can do for us as an ally - we picked them up at some point in order to have more stable friends outside the empire, although we probably should've favored Finland, who recently won a devastating victory against them...

Our major enemy during this war is actually Bohemia, who while not particularly strong can still raise enough troops that most of ours can't just sun themselves in Nice. The French, who are probably resentful of the Paris incident, do everything in their power to hunt down Bohemians, but even within their land they can only find Germans. Meanwhile, we end up fighting the Czechs inside Trier's distended and bloated realm. Kind of weird, don't you think? I guess it's more important that we're winning overall than that one country in our alliance is responsible for specific victories in one place.

I told you there would be striped patterns.​

I pick up level 19 military technology near the end of the war, which means that I won't have to worry about a tactics disadvantage against the Omega until a few decades from now.

Swedes were useful for something besides software!​

Trier after the war is at least contiguous, although they are still Protestant. Not only did they have too many provinces to force convert, but they took some provinces from Hesse while we waited.

"No, Aachen, you are the enforcer of religious unity." And then Aachen was a Catholic...​

Freeing Aachen, Luxembourg, and the Palatinate (oddly enough, from their eastern territories and not the province of Pfalz) from them gives me enough authority to declare peace within the empire.

Praise the Sun! *cough* I mean the Son!​

While this is going to make accumulating further authority rather difficult, I'd rather not have to worry about the HRE consolidating too much while at war with the Omega.

After all, I wouldn't want to lose half a regiment of forcelimit just because Hesstrieraniandenburg wanted to expand a little.​

At this point, I decide to add the rest of my lands to the HRE in order to accumulate a bit more authority and have a better cushion against losing the election if my attention strays from the empire for too long.

Furthermore, I've upgraded my fighting fleet to 58 modern wargalleons. I intend to keep them mothballed until 1650, since they're annoyingly expensive.

Then, suddenly, disaster strikes, as Venice is no longer a merchant republic! The entire Adriatic (as well as the rest of the eastern Mediterranean) suffers a sudden economic downturn. On the other hand, I no longer feel obligated to allow them their life, so it's time for the last war before the big one - the removal of Venetian government from Italy.

They will regret their claims to any sort of throne in a moment or two.​

Because I've decided to mothball my wargalleon, it's clearly not available to protect the seas. That might've been a mistake, as Castile, Venice, Portugal, and so forth attempt a major blockade of Italy yet again.

The Castilian side was more successful in this regard, though.​

It's for naught as Castile is rapidly eliminated from the war and forced to pay immense reparations for sinking a small part of my trade fleet. Without even Castile's marginal strength, it's not long until the Venetians are expelled from their own home island. Much of the province's former uniqueness disappears as it is subsumed into Italian governmental structures, but it's hard to care for a Venice that abandons its republicanism.

Tyrolean miners celebrate our victory by dredging up immense quantities of gold. With this, I pay off the loans I used to afford the naval upgrade and invest further in infrastructure.

"It was all downhill from the first film." - Liam Jacobson on the Fraternity Rush films.​

Remember how I thought we wouldn't be able to enact further reforms in the Holy Roman Empire? That turned out to be... quite false. On a whim, I started improving relations with Bavaria after at one point they tried to convert to Protestantism, and I was somehow able to scrape together enough good relations for them to accept this.

And wool. Bavarians love wool but will accept Italian cotton cloth in a pinch.​

We are now hereditary! Hereditary in 1644, but still, pretty great.

Not much of interest happens during the next 6 years. I build a stock exchange in Tirol and vassalize Augsburg for a miniscule amount of extra income. Building tall is the name of the game here. I also unlock Absolute Monarchy, but since I feel income will be more important in the early stages of the war, I'm not going to reform my government just yet.

And like that, the time of preparation ends. It's time to declare war on the Omega! There's two strategic decisions I'm making in my declaration alone that you might note to be interesting.

1. I'm not asking Poland to help me. They are good for little more than a land corridor for the Omega to slam hundreds of divisions into.
2. I'm using the "Trade Dispute" CB. Imperialism isn't available yet, and relying on keeping any one province occupied for warscore is the sort of thing that would at best make merely keeping afloat far more difficult, and at worst completely destroy me.

For comparison's sake, see the Italian Empire versus the Omegan Empire.

The blue territories are owned by my buddies, but only France and Brandenburg were called, if I remember correctly. French Colombia doesn't even register, except where it is being actively expanded by the French.​

I expect my other allies to quickly peace out, no matter what happens, but they might come in handy in the earliest stages of our crisis. So onwards, to war! Now, I obviously hope to win, but there is the chance I screw up and get overrun by drones. We'll have to see what happens.

As for the tie vote - I'm going to try to achieve both goals one and two (occupy Gonder and annex the two Suez Canal provinces). I guess I'll consider it a partial victory if I manage to succeed at one, but I think I'm only going to take a partial victory if I'm on the verge of complete collapse.

 

[Michaelangelo]

Well at least you don't need to worry so much about HRE politics while you focus on the Omega.

Those are some random provinces the Omega controls. Hopefully they won't be able to march over land to you, although blockading the Bosphorus is always an option.