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As per feudalism, yes the timer should have reset so you can go full feudalism when and where you want now if you change to max tribal. Might want to build a loyal council or a big fortune to bribe them with first cos you're going to have to start backpeleddling on their powers ASAP.
 
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1) They'll reduce taxes and supply limits, and can reduce the prosperity of provinces. They can cause characters to become ill, and can trigger event chains if you choose to seclude your court from the disease.
2) In the list of possible people to join the plot, look for ones with a yellow symbol. They'll join if you give them money to boost their opinion. Beyond that, I don't know and good methods to boost it.
3) I'm pretty sure you're correct. It's the result I would expect.
4) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
5) I think? Not too sure.
6) Do you have the main building in your capital built up all the way? I recall that was required.
 
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6) Do you have the main building in your capital built up all the way? I recall that was required.
Quick response: yes, I do, built quite some time back now (max level stone fort).

All: the special bonus chronicle review of Eilif's reign will be up shortly, as a companion to the last chapter.
 
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Chapter 112: The Rurikid Chronicle: The Reign of Fylkir Eilif (889 to 934 AD)
Chapter 112: The Rurikid Chronicle: The Reign of Fylkir Eilif (889 to 934 AD)

AuthAAR’s Note. This is a ‘special edition’, based on the official contemporaneous Rurikid Court Chronicle. Eilif, the first Germanic Fylkir and founder of the Norse Russian Empire, ruled for over 44 years. The whole chronicle is reproduced below, but key events have been highlighted and some supplementary material added to expand on the original material, part of the Rurikid Scroll Trove first uncovered by modern scholars in 2017.


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Early Years: 889-899 AD

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The founder of the Rurikid Dynasty and first King of the Petty Kingdom of Holmgarðr (in 867 AD) – later the Kingdom of Garðariki - died on 6 December 889. He had been predeceased by his first son Helgi by just four months. Thus, almost by accident, it was Eilif and his branch of the dynasty that came to power under the elective gavelkind succession laws that then applied.

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Eilif’s brother Jarl Dyre was at that time his heir, but the two were arch-rivals: they would fight duels and their feud would continue until Dyre’s death in exile years later.

Eilif inherited a losing war that Rurik had launched earlier in 889 against High Chief Tuure of Karelia, who summoned tribal defensive armies to overwhelm the ostensibly stronger Garðarikians. Eilif made peace in 890, but vowed to one day redeem Garðarikian honour against the Karelians. His reign would begin and end with fighting against the Karelians, with raids and wars between the two neighbours a regular feature. It was in 890 that Eilif’s work administering the laws of the realm brought him the nickname ‘the Just’ – as had his father before him had been known.


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When Eilif took power, the (old) Germanic faith was only established in the ‘core’ Rurikid counties of the Jarldom of Holmgarðr. Expanding the influence of the faith and reforming it would become a life long pursuit for the new King.

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The Kingdom of Garðariki in 890 AD, with the realm still bankrupt after the humiliating loss to Karelia.

The period 891-895 was one of consolidation and only sporadic fighting as Garðariki recovered and Eilif established his reign.

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Revenge against Karelia came in a successful major raid in 896. The same year, Jarl Dyre married Elin – with whom Eilif would later have an affair and sire an unacknowledged son while Dyre was in exile. Eilif’s first son Styrkar was born that year also: he would survive to his majority (just), but died of illness when only 16 years old.

In 897, the feud between the two brothers came to a head, with Dyre thrown into prison – he would later be stripped of his titles and exiled, ending up in Britannia.

A series of successful small claim wars were fought from 897 to 899, the largest being against Curonia (898-99).


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Subjugation of Sweden and Wars of Expansion: 899-911 AD

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The first of the great achievements of Eilif’s reign was the ambitious plan to subjugate the powerful Kingdom of Sviþjod, then ruled by King Eirikr, which began in 899.

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The Swedish War continued until 902, when Eirikr (by then known as ‘the Depraved’ due to his cruelty during the war) was forced to bend the knee. Now king of two Norse realms, this victory greatly increased Rurikid power and wealth, adding Flanders to the realm and gaining access to two Germanic Holy Sites. The latter were key to Rurikid ambitions to reform the Germanic faith, while Flanders would prove an excellent raiding base in the West and a source of strong feudal levies.

This campaign rolled straight into a war with another powerful Norse realm, Noregr, in 902 AD. It was purely fought to secure Naumadal and the Holy Site it contained at the Temple of Mære., but winning it required King Olafr to be fully defeated before he would concede the county.


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Victory over Noregr came in 904, with Naumadal brought under Rurikid control and a Great Blot held to help celebrate these two key wars of expansion. Further smaller claim wars and raid battles were fought in Ireland (906-7) and then against Murom, Karelia, rebels in Memel and then Dymin from 907 to 911.

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The last of these was fought to try to lure a legendary order of Norse-Germanic knights to establish themselves in Werle, but none had appeared by the end of Eilif’s reign.

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Germanicism Reformed and the First Great Germanic Holy War: 911-919 AD

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The second great achievement of Eilif’s reign was the reform of the Germanic Faith in 911 AD, which was followed by a campaign of religious conversion within the realm and a series of purges against those who would not convert, from the Old Religion or other infidel faiths.

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The religious reform process went on and the Memelian peasants continued to be rebellious throughout these years and were capable of raising large forces, sometimes taking considerable effort to subdue.

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The next large event came in 913, when an attempt to imprison the realm’s most powerful vassal, the heathen Mordvin Jarl Virdyan of Yaroslavl, led to a deliberately provoked civil war, designed to remove a growing potential internal threat. During this war, Eilif’s nephew and heir Jarl Buðli Helgisson died ‘under suspicious circumstances’ in July 915, while serving as Spymaster.

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Later that year, the war against Virdyan was won, his lands broken up and distributed, some kept for the Royal Demesne. The process of religious conversion also continued. Little time was wasted undertaking the next great war of expansion: the first Germanic Great Holy War was declared 915 on the feared and (to that point) invincible Tengri High Chief Barsbek ‘the Liberator’ of Chernigov, ostensibly for Konugarðr.

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The Great Holy War was won by 917, Barsbek being fatally weakened and his realm severely shrunken. He would later die insane and his realm finally snuffed out under the reign of unfortunate son. There followed more small wars, both under Eilif’s orders and those of his ambitious vassals.

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919 AD marked the beginning of the interesting career of Jarl Kezhevat of Yaroslavl as a loyal Germanic vassal and one-time ‘guardian’ of the future Russian Emperor Stybjörn, captured after an internal claim war. It also marked the beginning of another civil war, this time against Jarl Gandalfr, a disaffected Swedish Catholic grandee who had long refused to convert and rose in revolt when Eilif finally pressed the issue.

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Consolidation and the Drive to Empire 920-29 AD

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Gandalfr’s revolt was defeated in 920, the man imprisoned and his titles stripped and handed out to help boost the loyalty of Eilif’s Germanic vassals.

The large defensive pacts (principally Pagan and Christian) that were now in being required careful management, with opportunities taken where prudent to keep adding de jure Russian territory until enough could be won for an Empire to be credibly proclaimed. The next major step began in 925, when Ugra was attacked in a holy war.


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That campaign was quickly wrapped up in the same year, followed by another campaign to seize Pinsk from High Chief Venceslav of Turov (925-26), bringing Eilif closer to an imperial crown. That chance came later in 926, when Khan Uzluk of the great steppe realm of Cumania left the Pagan defensive pact.

Fighting against Uzluk and his allies, plus the Anglo-Saxon adventurer Leofric, consumed the years of 927 and 928.


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Leofric was defeated and imprisoned in 929, allowing Eilif to concentrate on the formidable and resilient Cumanians, who by then had rolled back many of the Garðarikian gains from earlier in the war after a series of defeats as attrition and wily tactics seemed to see Eilif’s ambitions slipping away.

But finally, Eilif’s leading general Hroðgar, the ‘Hero of Perm’ won the decisive battle of the war there in September 929, stealing victory from seeming certain defeat, capturing the Cumanian hier and bringing the war to a sudden end against High Chief Etrek II, who had succeeded Uzluk shortly before.

The Empire of Russia was soon declared and another Great Blot held to celebrate this historic achievement – the third and final great feat of Eilif’s reign.


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Final Years: 930-34 AD

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His life’s work basically done and the succession secured, now under an Imperial non-elective gavelkind system, raids and a short war against an ambitious adventurer rounded out the final years of Fylkir and Emperor Eilif’s reign. He was finally free to return to the field himself, in 923 fighting some small battles and sieges against the ancestral foe of Karelia – always a tonic to Rurikid rulers of the time. He then commanded a great shipborne raid whose first stop was in Georgian Abkhazia (on the Black Sea) in 933.

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Eilif finished his reign besieging Beirut in early 934. It was there that Eilif left this world for the next on 21 January 934 AD. The reunion with his father in Valhalla would be sung about and described in sagas for years and indeed centuries to come. Eilif’s long struggle was now history. Germanicism had spread throughout much of the Empire and Norse culture had firmly taken root in the 'home counties' of Holmgarðr. It would be up to his son Styrbjörn to guide the realm forward and to write the next page in the Rurikid Chronicle.
 
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I note with interest the reports on occasional dragons. :)
 
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This reminds me that the chronicle exists. Must use at some point.
 
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What a reign! How unfortunate it started and how successful it turned out to be!
 
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A nice summary of Eilif's reign. (On a side note, using the chronicle was mostly made possible by Eilif not personally leading his armies, or most of it would have looked like the last page. :rolleyes:)

Once we feudalize, since we're an organized religion and they're not they'll slowly turn germanic. Then we can ask them to be our vassals successfully. I'm copying below from wiki how our neighbors hopefully will turn Germanic:
Sadly, no. That's a HF feature. They'll need to be brought to heel with the sword. As Norse pagans are aggressive pagans, vassals will do most of the attacking against weaker neighbours while an emperor better concentrates on big conquests due to threat.
 
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Sadly, no. That's a HF feature. They'll need to be brought to heel with the sword. As Norse pagans are aggressive pagans, vassals will do most of the attacking against weaker neighbours while an emperor better concentrates on big conquests due to threat.
Aarrghh of course it is so...
 
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My thought, when I read Holmfrid's murder, was that Eilif had lived a good life. He outlived all ancestors, siblings and three children. He formed a religion and an empire. One of the two will make you a legend. Russian children will sing his praises as the father of the country for centuries. Not bad for a man branded "dull" as a child. I think that the community overrates the effects of the traits. The odds of passing on a genetic trait is less than one in five. In my current game, I had an imbecile chancellor (dip 16, other stats totaled 3). If the AI can overcome handicapping traits, a player can turn a deficit into a well-rounded character. The underrated part of stats, in my view, is the base value. What is Styrbjorn's goal? Will his childhood imprisonment, influence his treatment of children and his willingness to imprison people?
 
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My thought, when I read Holmfrid's murder, was that Eilif had lived a good life. He outlived all ancestors, siblings and three children. He formed a religion and an empire. One of the two will make you a legend. Russian children will sing his praises as the father of the country for centuries. Not bad for a man branded "dull" as a child. I think that the community overrates the effects of the traits. The odds of passing on a genetic trait is less than one in five. In my current game, I had an imbecile chancellor (dip 16, other stats totaled 3). If the AI can overcome handicapping traits, a player can turn a deficit into a well-rounded character. The underrated part of stats, in my view, is the base value. What is Styrbjorn's goal? Will his childhood imprisonment, influence his treatment of children and his willingness to imprison people?
great comment! I've been feeling ashamed for months about how much I felt disappointed when Eilif became the ruler. It's the person that matters, not that much the traits! In my last game I had 2 children, and the elder one was a genius while the younger was not. I was feeling smug about the heir being the better one. The other one turned out with much better stats as an adult.
 
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The First Þing of Styrbjörn’s Reign – February 934
The First Þing of Styrbjörn’s Reign – February 934

So, what I am going to do from now on is keep the Þing simply for answering posed questions. All other general comments I’ll just respond to in a ‘normal AAR’ way – either as we go along or, as this time, gathered together but in a separate post. Also, CK3 is imminent and perhaps the ‘learning’ aspect of the AAR is now a little less relevant than when it started three years ago (how time flies!). Plus I had to stop updating DLC with Holy Fury to keep the game going.

So from here, while the basic format and nature of the AAR will remain pretty much the same, I’ll be keeping questions more select and otherwise will just welcome the usual comments and advice/suggestions one might hope to receive on any AAR. And I will need to start culling out a bit more of the detail day-to-day stuff to get the story moving more quickly. I still want to finish the whole play through to the end (1453 if we get that far) and we’re still just at the beginning of 934, with now a whole empire to report about!

But I hope the flavour will still be the same and my loyal readership will continue to support the AAR.

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Ch111 Q1: Epidemics. The screen shot shows one effect I’d captured later, after the epidemic had spread to Breda. Any other population or other effects from these epidemics and are some worse than others? So far, Garðariki/Russia have been hardly affected by them.
So far, as a tribal realm, the Fylkirate has been spared by any epidemics - these only spread through feudal/iqta/monastic feudal/theocratic/republican lands. Once the Rurikids start living in keeps, that will change for them as well.

In any case, the effects of the epidemic depend on how severe and long they've been raging in the provinces. After some time, depopulation starts hitting the counties, and it lowers basically everything from that county. (Don't march your army into depopulated provinces, they'll fall like flies as the supply limit can be reduced to a mere 100.)

As you'd expect, there are differences between the diseases in how long it takes them to reap. There are also different outbreak sizes. The first plague outbreak is nearly guaranteed to hit everything hard, while other outbreaks can vary in intensity.

And naturally, being in a county with the outbreak increases a character's chance to fall ill quite a lot.
Thanks, very useful info. And so epidemic susceptibility is another ‘con’ for going feudal, then. Fair enough. Ah well, onwards and upwards, damn the corona virus! I’ll have to avoid those counties like the, er, plague when possible! :D
The ruler of those lands get a decision to lock themselves up in the castle or keep living as normal. Both options have its pros and cons (starvation can even lead to cannibalism when locked in a castle but low chance of catching disease and vice versa)
Yes, have noted those events in other AARs but have not yet had the ‘pleasure’ of dealing with them in this one. I suspect that will soon change.
1) They'll reduce taxes and supply limits, and can reduce the prosperity of provinces. They can cause characters to become ill, and can trigger event chains if you choose to seclude your court from the disease.
Thanks – very clear and succinct. It will be part of the learning experience!

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Ch111 Q2: Kill Vlad. Anything else much Eilif could have done here to take retribution on Vladimir or aid the plot?
Not really, which is annoying. You know that this guy was responsible for your close relative's death, but you can't imprison him (nor worse). The best I can think of is to appoint him a commander, then send him on an extensive boat trip and let him die of scurvy.
If Styrbjörn ever gets the chance at retribution, he’ll sure leap at it! Or perhaps put him in command of 10 troops and send him to a plague county!

2) In the list of possible people to join the plot, look for ones with a yellow symbol. They'll join if you give them money to boost their opinion. Beyond that, I don't know and good methods to boost it.
Yeah, I got everyone to join who I could, but there was just the one taker ☹

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Ch111 Q3: Law Change Technicality. I’m guessing that I should have waited for the approval to go through before proclaiming the empire, and that the change was therefore limited to the Kingdom or Garðariki rather than carrying through to the empire. Though I was partly afraid that Eilif might suddenly die in between calling the change and it being approved, and then would I have done a face-palm. And I didn’t think to check later, until now in the game. This isn’t such a big setback or delay in the broad sweep of things I guess, but if I’m right as to what happened here, then it is a good lesson for inexperienced players.
That's it. Only after the law is changed does it affect the new title. It can be seen as a setback though, lowering the (already impressive) number of accomplishments of Eilif - he could have feudalized in his lifetime, too.

That way at least, Styrbjörn's reign will be remembered for something.
True enough!
oh god I hate this kind of technicalities! it was still the good thing to do with the king so old. It's only 10 more years before feudalism, not a big deal but this probably means it will be Eilif's heir to feudalize the empire.
I’m hoping I can feudalise ASAP, as the empire is almost there. And for these laws, I think the edelay is only five years between changes.
3) I'm pretty sure you're correct. It's the result I would expect.
Thanks.

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Ch111 Q4: A Coincidence? This seems to be an extraordinary coincidence: after all this time, war is declared the very next day!? Is there some mechanic at play here that might have affected the calculus, or just an outlandish coincidence?
Coincidence. Without taking their vassals into account, Tryggve's far stronger and has probably been planning this for a while, just thought that now was a good chance to strike. Additional benefit of confusing chroniclers, I guess :p.
Heh, I’m sure you’re right, Occam’s Razor and all, but … ;)
I think coincidence, but who knows? I'm curious to read what @alscon has to say about this
As always, I’ll go with @alscon ‘s expert view ... but will harbour suspicions :confused:
4) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Me too! o_O

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Ch111 Q5: Ship Command Transfer. So I’m assuming (hoping, anyway) those ships stay under Styrbjörn’s command until they are dismissed, at which time they revert to his brothers’ control? So If I want to keep raiding, and can’t grab any new shipyards, I’d need to keep them continuously mustered?
Yeah, they'll remain until you dismiss them (but you'll also keep paying for them). Once you've feudalized, you can have vassal fleet levies - and you don't need to pay them. ;)
But will I still be able to raid? Or is that only for tribals? Wiki the Red seems to say that even reformed and feudalised pagans can still raid, as long as the religion doesn’t have a ‘Peaceful nature’? I’d assume that even reformed Germanic would not be peaceful in nature (a literal anathema, one would think), but the wiki seemed not to be specific about reformed Germanic (unreformed seemed to be warmongering).
5) I think? Not too sure.
I’ll just try to hang on to them for as long as I can and is necessary and see how it goes.

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Ch111 Q6: Feudalism – Timing. Something we’ve discussed before. In general terms, I think I want to implement it as soon as I can, plus any consequent legal changes. I’m assuming it will be one of those processes that would require support within the Council and/or the vassals as a whole before it and/or primogeniture inheritance (for example) could be enforced. Any more general advice or reminders on timing and precursors would be appreciated, in case decisions come up in the next session.
Doing it now actually is a good idea. Feudalizing weakens your realm short-term, so it's best done while you don't plan any big war. Also, Styrbjörn has inherited good opinion modifiers from Eilif, so many of his vassals are probably on good terms with him, most importantly his brothers, the possible pretenders. The raised army is also still around raiding, so the vassals will need to take these numbers into account when judging strength. This army is also bigger than anything Styrbjörn himself could raise due to Eilif's higher martial stat. Reasons not to feudalize are the same as at any other time, possibly also waiting for buildings to finish.

As there are quite a few advantages to do it now, I'd advise to act. To feudalize, all you need is a fully fortified tribal capital/a castle capital and absolute tribal organization. Further centralizing gives them more power, so the council of a reformed faith doesn't oppose it.

All vassals who can follow that decision will eventually do so. They can if their capital's faith is their own.
I’ll keep an eye on buildings, or one where I want to raise them to an ‘even’ level for conversion, but otherwise intend to feudalise as soon as I can. Just to see what happens, if nothing else!
I always push for any progress, but that's not a calculated thing and just an impulse. About the inheritance, I'm not really sure but I think it'll be elective feudal or seniority (oldest member of the dynasty) as starters though I'm not really a good source of info on this.
The succession will be another ‘bite it and see what it tastes like’ experiment!
As per feudalism, yes the timer should have reset so you can go full feudalism when and where you want now if you change to max tribal. Might want to build a loyal council or a big fortune to bribe them with first cos you're going to have to start backpeleddling on their powers ASAP.
OK, I’ll certainly test it ASAP, even if the button isn’t pressed immediately. The Council is about as loyal as it’s getting for now (which is ‘not very’), but time and treasure will hopefully fix that. The current raid is almost done, so that should bring in a good haul, but I may want to keep the ships on for another one to keep the funds coming in (and also build up prestige, which should also help).
6) Do you have the main building in your capital built up all the way? I recall that was required.
Quick response: yes, I do, built quite some time back now (max level stone fort).

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OK, so that’s Styrbjörn’s first Þing done. I’ll do general comment responses next, then sit down to play out the next session. And see how many obvious mistakes I can make!
 
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The Fylkir is dead, long live the Fylkir!

Far from being a mere dullard, Eilif has managed to carve himself an empire, reform the Germanic faith - his achievements will be the stuff of legends, definitely.

As to his last years, these were well-spent in enjoyment of his work. Even leading raids himself. Though of course, the murders of his daughters are black marks of that period. Those poor women, didn't even get their chance for a good marriage.
Eilif really did turn out pretty well - and his various abilities did improve as time went by with some good hard focus work. As for the new Emperor's beloved and brilliant sisters - be sure that he will harbour a deep grudge there. In my headcanon, Vladimir he knows all about, but 'Uncle Helgi' is a dark family secret that may one day come out.
As for Styrbjörn, consolidating his father's gains is fully in-character. He doesn't look the conquering sort.
Certainly not yet anyway. And if the feudalisation trigger is pulled, there'll even more consolidation to be done!
A new Ruler. Always fun. And a Holy Crusade for Italy. That sees to happen a lot in AARs.....
It will be interesting - new ruler, new empire, perhaps whole new system of government. There could be plenty of turmoil, I guess.
Eilif went out on a high at least. And he did very well by his father. Will Eilif's son be able to claim the same when his time comes? We shall have to wait and see.
Indeed he did and we will. :) I hope Styrbjörn is given the time to achieve something grand as well.
The old king built the empire but the new one has to forge it tightly together. Generally speaking if the son or grandson can't do the conversion to feudalism, all the claims and inheritances will be too split out/gone for a reclamation. So they have to get this right within the next few decades.
This is his big challenge. Keeping the new empire in one piece, the crown on his head, the Faith strong and Russia dragged into the 'modern' (by the standards of the time) world. Then dodging Mongols and Aztecs! :eek:
Russia looks plenty mighty though with its name, crest and huge tracts of land.

The family remains bound in one dynasty but only close family members get opinion bonuses/kinslayer traits for convenience.
Honestly, part of me toyed (briefly) with the idea of calling the game here, with Germanicism reformed and the Empire founded. But I will forge on.
If the counter will reset once we become an empire, can we go max centralization right away? That means we can feudalize right away if I'm not mistaken? That would be awesome!
I'm hoping so.
badass, huh? :D
Yeah, I liked it a lot. :cool:
Even him getting blotted wasn't punishment enough for that bloody mosquito
Where's the Blood eagle option when you need it? ;)
reminder: Just remember to upgrade them until they're either level II or IV before feudalizing
Yes, Styrbjörn will do a survey of infrastructure in the four Home Counties before the trigger is pulled. Just so long as he doesn't die from assassination or illness in the interim! Though I guess things shouldn't really fragment any more than they have already if that happens.
Maybe we can recruit him? He had really good stats for a future councillor position.
It's a long time to the next blot so we'll see how it goes. I was very tempted to let him have Celle, if not for the negative modifiers.
I'm so sad now. I remember being sad for a whole different reason when Eilif became the king, I found him dull and useless after his eccentric father, but he turned out to be such a great ruler. He modernized the religion and founded an empire! He'll probably be go down in history books as the most influential ruler of the dynasty. Now I really feel attached to him. May his soul rest in Valhalla, spending all his time drinking mead and eating meat with his forefathers. May Heimdall guide the new ruler and make him as wise as his father.
We saw Eilf grow all the way through from a rather troublesome and underwhelming youngster and mercenary captain, surprise King when his older brother Helgi died prematurely, early troubles but then ascendancy from there. I thought he thoroughly deserved his tribute Chronicle Chapter.
I always begin with business focus to go for either the tower or maze event chain first thing, and then family or ruling but this is a good start as well, especially given the circumstances.
I'll see how this one goes, if just to see some different event chains, and might try the other later, depending on priorities at the time.
He was really great. And the timing of the victory of Perm couldn't have been any better.
It was perfect - otherwise it might have dragged on for many months.
What an episode! Full of everything. The Great Fylkir Eilif will always be remembered. Thanks for turning the Saturday evening into a real feast!
Thank you! The first two Rurikid rulers will be hard for successors to live up to.
I note with interest the reports on occasional dragons. :)
Yes, I like the little 'flavour' events thrown in when not much is happening otherwise.
This reminds me that the chronicle exists. Must use at some point.
It looks quite nice and, in retrospect, provided quite a neat vehicle for reviewing the main events of a long and momentous reign.
What a reign! How unfortunate it started and how successful it turned out to be!
I was rather pleased with him and how it all went, given it's still the only CK2 game I've ever played. Greatly helped by all the assistance the CommentAARiat has given and the deliberation to playing it in slow time as an AAR base. :)
A nice summary of Eilif's reign. (On a side note, using the chronicle was mostly made possible by Eilif not personally leading his armies, or most of it would have looked like the last page. :rolleyes:)
Yes, I fortunate by-product. Otherwise, there may have been a fair bit of laborious cutting and deleting!
My thought, when I read Holmfrid's murder, was that Eilif had lived a good life. He outlived all ancestors, siblings and three children. He formed a religion and an empire. One of the two will make you a legend. Russian children will sing his praises as the father of the country for centuries. Not bad for a man branded "dull" as a child. I think that the community overrates the effects of the traits. The odds of passing on a genetic trait is less than one in five. In my current game, I had an imbecile chancellor (dip 16, other stats totaled 3). If the AI can overcome handicapping traits, a player can turn a deficit into a well-rounded character. The underrated part of stats, in my view, is the base value. What is Styrbjorn's goal? Will his childhood imprisonment, influence his treatment of children and his willingness to imprison people?
I mentioned earlier my current view on the two murders - they will definitely play a part. Helgi, because he didn't get the kinslayer trait, there was no 'consequence animus' and he has hign intrigue himself, I'm currently playing as "we know, but only a few close to him do in this story". But it will be lurking there, ready to come out if circumstances lead that way.

I agree re the traits - hard work and dedication can make up for and surpass the naturally talented but lazy or uninterested.

For Styrbjörn, I think to start with his goal is consolidating both the new empire and his rulership of it. Especially when he is then looking to feudalise and modernise Russia. Just like Eilif inherited to Reformation ambition of Rurik, then added the forging of an empire to it, so too does Styrbjörn inherit this one. If he beds those down, he may come up with new ambitions of his own.

On the character stuff for role-playing, his formative years were (in canon) not traumatic. He was just a child when his father (inadvisedly) made him a Chief, so he never really understood what he lost as the time. His captivity was a friendly one, as a child he was just basically kept as a ward, to a chief who ended up converting to Germanicism, becoming a loyal and very useful vassal to his father, and taking very good care of the young prince entrusted to his care. If anything, it will open his eyes to the diversity of his new realm and the importance of uniting the various ethnicities that comprise it.

His big trauma is actually the death of his sisters at the hands of assassins. He wants vengeance, but is probably also somewhat apprehensive of the dark forces that lurk in the shadows, rather than those out in the open. But all this will be shaped by life and game events as we go along.
great comment! I've been feeling ashamed for months about how much I felt disappointed when Eilif became the ruler. It's the person that matters, not that much the traits! In my last game I had 2 children, and the elder one was a genius while the younger was not. I was feeling smug about the heir being the better one. The other one turned out with much better stats as an adult.
Here's hoping Styrbjörn will do the same in time! I'm looking forward to finding out.

All: Many thanks for your support and comments! They are what keeps this story going as it approaches its third birthday!

OK, now off to fire up the game, take stock again, and move forward. Note, the first few weeks past Styrbjörn's succession were played through, so any recent advice will apply after that little period is over.
 
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Chapter 113: New Blood – and Battle (11 February 934 to 18 October 936)
Chapter 113: New Blood – and Battle (11 February 934 to 18 October 936)

AuthAAR’s Note:
While I’m trying to move the story along, so have not screenshot or even reported a few of the more routine or repetitive events, it is the time Styrbjörn is establishing his rule, so I won’t short-change him too much ;)

ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

Previously, on Blut und Schlacht Eilif, founding Emperor of the Russian Empire and first Fylkir of the Reformed Germanic Faith, died on 21 January 934. His 26-year-old son Styrbjörn took over, establishing a new Council and seeking their approval for a legal change to absolute tribal centralisation; his two younger brothers remained very well disposed to their sibling and new Emperor, but that was largely from residual affection for their father Eilif and his historic legacy – this would not last forever. The new Fylkir now had to establish his own rule over a a restive and sceptical vassal base as he worked towards feudalising the new Empire.

ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

February 934

After receiving useful advice from his first Þing, Styrbjörn was ready to continue to bed down his new reign. Of his 16 most powerful vassals, his staunchest supporters were currently his two brothers Gorm and Tolir, Chancellor Grimr, his one-time captor/tutor Kezhevat, his Uncle Helgi (the as yet undiscovered murderer of his sister Holmfrid) and Tryggve de Normandie of Ryazan. But the two most powerful – Jarls Bertil and Bragi – were unimpressed to varying degrees, the former still imprisoned in Britannia and the latter an Advisor on the Council. The remainder were sitting not far from either side of the fence, with residual goodwill for Eilif balanced against the newness of his son's reign.

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The Fylkir soon decided on a major building campaign in the four home counties of the Jarldom of Holmgarðr, based on longstanding advice from the Þing to best prepare his core family holdings for an eventual conversion to a feudal system of government. Ladoga needed nothing further done, but the capital in particular needed significant work. But he had neither the funds nor prestige to initiate any of these projects yet.

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There had been talk of using the recently captured adventurer Eskild as a possible Councillor, but his zealous heresy stood in the way of easy employment and the money required to ‘persuade’ him to convert if released did not seem worth it. Especially when more talented candidates of the 'right' culture and religion could normally be invited to court for free.

<02-14a>
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On 22 February, Jarl Þorfinn of Austergautland completed his conquest of Gdansk, renaming it Danzig as it was brought under his ownership and within the Empire’s borders. During the period that followed, many of Styrbjörn’s vassals would be similarly active, able to do what he could not without risking massive interventions by defensive pacts. At that time, the moral authority of Germanicism under its new Fylkir remained high [90.0%], the main drag on this being a number of failed Holy Wars by subordinate rulers in recent years [-39%] which outpaced successful ones [+27%].

ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

March-June 934

The very martial High Chieftess Bodil of Lithuania was the next powerful noble to launch a war of conquest, this time for Polotsk, on 3 March. The next month, Chief Mstislav of Luki (19 April, subjugation) and Jarl Helgi ‘the Scholar’ of Belo Ozero (21 April, Holy War) would follow with competing claims for Polotsk.

Then on 5 March, King Rögnvaldr of Noregr lost his outpost of Bjarmia in the north to a peasant revolt. Styrbjörn was briefly tempted to make his own claim for it, but most of his forces were still raiding in Beirut, and it would have caused his ambition to see the realm prosper fail [Note: the lowering of global revolt risk plus the success bonus of +1 stewardship were at stake – and with the Empire formed, the value of Bjarmia was minimal].

The next day, the law change Styrbjörn sought was approved. From this time, a change to feudalism was now possible – but he held off for now as improvements were pursued and he bedded down his reign to ensure it would survive the likely turmoil that would follow such a major change.

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Even before the current raid had finished and returned with its loot, the Fylkir’s prestige had grown enough by 13 March that work to upgrade the practice range in Holmgarðr [to Level II, for 400 prestige] could commence. But a short time later, another problem that would typify this period of his reign reared its ugly head even higher: factionalism. This time, it was Chief Falki of Hlymrek starting an independence faction, adding to the two already in existence. With just 21 men to Falki's name, this was no threat, but if others were to join …

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Early April brought the Emperor’s impatience with the continued existence of Chief Vladimir – the murderer of his sister Holmfrid – to the boil. He determined to have the wretch killed, if possible. But like his father before him, he could only find one other plotter – Chief Jurva of Saamod – interested in aiding the plot, though he needed no encouragement to do so. But this [which brought it to only 24% plot power] would not be enough to see Vladimir taken down. Styrbjörn persisted anyway; it made him feel a little better.

On 5 May, Beirut fell to the Russian raiders with no friendly troop losses, adding almost 50 gold to the treasure fleet, which now carried around 360 of its 440 capacity. The city of Journie was next – and its far less imposing fortifications should mean it fell quickly enough. And they did on 28 June, yielding a massive 95 gold for the loss of 50 men (the band was now 3,697 strong). It was enough to completely fill the fleet with loot, so the men were soon loading themselves and preparing to sail back home to Ingria, via the Black Sea and Russian river network.

ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

July-December 934

Bodil won her conquest of Polotsk – now renamed Pallteskja – on 5 July, causing the lapse of the other two claimants’ wars for lack of a casus belli. As a quiet summer turned to autumn, in early September the Emperor was somewhat amused to hear his brother Tolir was now known as ‘the Chaste’! With only the one son, it made any more being born less likely. Though that did not worry the Emperor.

Then more significant news was brought at the start of October: the rather horrid (and ill-disposed to Styrbjörn) Jarl Rikulfr of Vestergautland inherited the Jarldom of Austergautland as well, and made it his primary title. His power grew to match his enmity to the Fylkir.

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But the news was far better later in the month: the treasure fleet returned, bringing a great haul of gold and prestige. It was soon sunk into two new upgrades in Toropets and Torzhok, while Steward Holmger was sent to speed up construction in Holmgarðr [which was further along than the bar on the screenshot indicates].

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Jarl Bragi of Sviþjod was the next vassal to look for conquest, declaring a Holy War for Pomerania on 24 October 934. Jarl Oddr ‘the Young’ would launch his own separate Holy War bid for Pomerania on 10 November. The Baltic shore in Germany was becoming a popular Viking 'permanent tourist' destination.

The newly powerful Jarl Rikulfr ‘Ironside’ soon made his unpleasant presence felt, when on 30 October he joined two factional plots simultaneously! He founded a ‘Jarl Gorm for Russia’ faction and also joined the existing ‘Jarl Tolir for Russia’ faction. Neither of the Emperor's brothers were active members of these factions, at that stage anyway. But Styrbjörn’s unease was growing.
Ch113 Q1: Competing Factions. Two factions at once – what a political harlot! Out of interest, does that mean if (assuming it’s possible) both factions were in rebellion at the same time, he would be in both? Or just the one that fired first? Would they be hostile to each other? Or can only one such revolt occur at any one time?
As this news sunk in, Chancellor Grimr gave the Fylkir an analysis of where his brothers currently stood politically. Both had strong desires and claims, but for now respect for their father held sway. But when that faded away in a couple of years, both could turn from strong supporters to opponents – with active claims.

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With a new raid still planned, the fleets had not been dismissed, because when they were most could not be recalled under current laws, following the Emperor’s loss of most of his father's shipyards on the succession. The raiders had also remained assembled, and had already taken on one draft of monthly reinforcements while recuperating in Ingria. A survey of current epidemics showed the next target would have to be chosen with care.

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But it was at least decided the next raid would be in the west this time. The raiders would sail to the Strait of Dover and then pick a target from there. They were off again for blood, battle and plunder, to help the ambitious pre-feudalisation building program.

A couple of days after the raiders left, Grimr had promising news from Uppland: relations with the powerful and restless Advisor Jarl Bragi had been improved. Grimr was told to continue his current mission.

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Then as expected, Jarl Tryggve (the supposedly 'Unready') had readily enough defeated his brother Refil (the Drunkard), bringing the counties of Vladimir and Sursdalar into his now flourishing Jarldom of Ryazan. Tryggve was now clearly be the dominant de Normandie brother.

The cold of December brought a review of the prisoner lists. Apart from Eskild, there were three left from the last raid on Satakunta: a wife (10 gold) and two sons (46 gold each) of High Chief Pentti. But as Pentti was currently 16 gold in debt and had minimal monthly income, he would probably need to raid extensively to ever be able to pay for any of them. But they were kept captive for now. Mindful of his own experiences as a boy, the Fylkir ensured the young lads were well looked after, free to play and be educated with the other children at court.

ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

January-June 935

With the fleet approaching its rallying point off southern England (as it was now formally known), a review of the major powers of Western Europe was in order. Jorvik was a Norse Germanic (Reformed) realm, now a smaller power than it had once been. The Norse Catholic Sumarliði, who had twice defeated invasions by then Fylkir Eilif’s vassals, was now styled King of England. He would not make an attractive target either.

On the continent, the two largest kingdoms in the west were ruled by the Karling family. Both had large (and no doubt well-equipped) armies and significant lands. Louis IV ruled West Francia, which now held substantial territory in southern England, ruling them out as safe raiding targets as well. The other lands in southern England were currently ruled by Luxembourg, another fairly powerful Christian realm at that time. Meanwhile, young King Gelduin Karling of Aquitaine ruled a kingdom just as, if not more, powerful than West Francia. It would also be highly dangerous to raid any of their counties either.

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The fleet reached the Strait of Dover on 10 January and the raiders decided to return to an old hunting ground that had regenerated enough to be struck again: the small Kingdom of Briezh. Domnonia, its capital and richest province, would be targeted for a Norse working holiday. But just six days later, before they could even land, a small disaster struck when the raiders’ siege specialist, Ragnarr, died from scurvy! This would significantly slow down the loot-gathering from fortified locations. He was replaced by former Marshal Barid: a very accomplished leader, but alas not a siege specialist.

Jarl Bertil was finally released from his captivity on 18 January. And immediately began throwing his weight around as the owner of the rich and powerful Flanders counties, demanding a position on the Council his competence did not warrant, while the Advisor positions were already filled with political appointees.

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On 1 February, the raiders landed in Domnonia, completely surprising King Cadoc’s forces in his capital, thus emasculating any response he might muster. A replacement commander for Ragnarr was required and this time, Styrbjörn made a variation to the informal rule that only Germanic Norsemen were hired for new appointments, by inviting Mohkku Keite [Martial 23], a Sumonenusko Sami, to court, who arrived on 1 February. Even after his appointment as a commander, the Emperor’s short reign plus cultural and religious differences meant his opinion was somewhat unfavourable [-12]. It meant he would not convert, but that probably didn’t matter that much for an un-landed commander. Or so Styrbjörn hoped!

The very next day, the usually very competent Seer Kolbjörn completely messed up his sermon. Not wishing to hurt his feelings, the Fylkir fudged a response. Fortunately, this was enough to keep the man on side.

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On 21 March, King Cadoc had called out all his available levies. They would eventually concentrate in Naoned, but would never have the strength to threaten the raiders.

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It did not take long for Bertil’s pride and antipathy to make themselves felt: he joined the ‘Gorm for Russia’ faction on 28 March 935. Doing his best to ignore these distractions, Styrbjörn celebrated the completion of the practice range upgrade in Holmgarðr by immediately authorising the commencement of a large [Level IV] market city there (141 gold, 168 days to build).

April passed quietly – but not so May. The Emperor’s personal life was rocked to its core when his Empress Ulfhildr was discovered in an adulterous affair with none other than the lecherous Svörker of Lyubech! His wife was now openly known as ‘the Unfaithful’. And Styrbjörn’s rage towards her was consuming.

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Ch113 Q2: Infidelity. Though in this case, Svörker was not known (to the Emperor’s spies, anyway) to be Ulfhildr’s lover. Might she have been falsely accused by an event? Could she have been unfairly branded?

On 9 May, 600 peasant rebels rose in Jarl Gorm’s county of Votyaki. Let him worry about them, muttered Styrbjörn to himself. He’s got the troops to do it.

Steward Holmger was now free as May drew to a close for a new task and was shifted from Holmgarðr to the far larger and longer project of upgrading the weaponsmith in Toropets.

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But two days after this, another political blow fell: the Emperor’s brother Tolir formally joined his supporters in the faction putting him forward for the Imperial crown. The factions were gradually growing in strength.

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As Fylkir, Styrbjörn’s responsibilities extended beyond the realm. Word of spreading heresy in Denmark was enough for him to send a legate – but not to spend 100 precious gold on a full inquisition.

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ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

July-December 935

Monkontour in Domnonia fell on 29 July, yielding almost 44 gold, but 504 men had been lost in the over six months of siege. The remaining 3,272 raiders persisted with the next, hopefully less well defended, holding.

“Ah, Your Majesty,” said the strange Chancellor Grimr as he interrupted his liege’s afternoon leisure in late August. “I’m afraid I must report that Jarl Bertil is making even more of a pain in the arse.” He handed over a new document updating the threat of the factions proliferating in the realm.

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“By Loki’s putrid and festering ball-sack!” yelled a very frustrated Emperor. “My brothers and chief vassals are nothing but grasping ingrates and traitors!”

His greatest frustration was that, at present, he had few inducements in terms of money, titles or armies to throw at the problem, as his father had done once his reign was well established. My time will come, he confided to his personal diary. Whether that time would be triumphant or fatal was of course unknown to him.

Old Beata, Eilif’s former concubine and Gorm’s mother, died from gout complications on 12 September 935. Sad, but inevitable. Her only son had at least risen to high station. With even higher ambitions.

Mid-October saw another project completed – a market town in Torzhok. But Styrbjörn didn’t yet have the prestige to improve the practice range there [to Level II]. A week later, Chief Vagn of Möre was the latest vassal to expand the realm – into Stettin: he already held Möre itself and Värend.

It was some time between 28 October and 2 November that Steward Holmger quietly ‘disappeared’. Due to a mix-up at court [I didn’t notice the empty little chair icon and never got a notification that I can recall; perhaps I forgot to flag him as a character of interest], this wasn’t noticed until the following year! A few days later Paimpol was sacked in Domnonia, yielding a healthy 56.7 gold. But another 341 raiders had been lost, leaving 2,982. Then a day after that, Marshal Sverker uncovered a new and very loyal military talent for the realm. For now, he was held in reserve for the next vacancy, as the couple of less proficient current commanders were ‘political appointees’ and the Empire was at peace.

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In a busy little period, 354 raiders from Ååninen (in Karelia :mad:) appeared in Zaozerye on 7 November. The still building new Guard companies were on manoeuvres in neighbouring Ladoga at the time. Better armed and no doubt led than the raiders, though they only had 302 men at the time, the Guard moved to attack the despised Karelians.

While waiting for word of the battle, Styrbjörn was given disturbing news by his Spymaster, the secretly murderous Jarl Helgi Rurikid.

“Styrbjörn, the world is a dangerous place, and devious plots are everywhere,” he said with a straight face. “Rumours have reached me that people are are conspiring to kill your son Sigurðr.”

Sigurdr was the Emperor’s second son and nominal heir to the Kingdom of Sviþjod. The identity of the lead plotter was as yet unknown. But the Emperor resisted the temptation to put the young boy into hiding.

“This is worrying … but we’ll stare the bastards down and flush them out!”

The small Battle of Zaozerye lasted from 4 to 31 December 935. The raiders were well beaten, ensuring they would not be returning any time soon. They lost 82 warriors, with the Guardsmen, now blooded in their first action, losing 24 killed.

ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

January-May 936

The peasant revolt for Votyaki was won by Gorm on behalf of his brother the Emperor on 1 January 936, after the Jarl's army had pursued and finally defeated them in Veliky Ustug. The very next day, Jarl Bertil, long (and aptly) known as ‘the Devil’, declared a conquest war for West Friesland against King Bouchard the Fat of Luxembourg. Styrbjörn half hoped he’d lose or be killed. Later that week, a report arrived from Chancellor Grimr, still trying to further improve relations with Jarl Bragi, informing the Emperor that his diplomatic target was now known as ‘the Oppressor’. Colourful nicknames indeed, thought Styrbjörn, who was yet to earn one of his own.

On 10 January, Jarl Eilif of Smáland declared a Holy War for Pomerania, but Bragi was already well into his own campaign there. Then on 13 January, the next project was finished in Holmgarðr – but the last (upgrading the weaponsmith) was as yet out of reach. Styrbjörn wondered whether it was even worth it, given how long it was projected to take!

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Ch113 Q3: Weaponsmith IV Upgrade. Well, 600 prestige is a lot, but 1,332 days!? Even with a Steward assisting, that’s going to take more than two years to finish. Any views on whether it’s better on balance to just go for feudalisation and ‘waste’ a level on conversion, or make the effort to get that last upgrade done, perhaps also accruing more money and a eking out a longer reign before taking on the big government change?
In Domnonia, the fall of Sant-Brieg on 15 January brought around 81 gold into the fleet’s holds, which now contained 237.7 gold in total. With the county now scoured and over 1,000 enemy troops defending Naoned, the raiders themselves headed back to the ships on 29 January. From there, they would make the quick trip back to Flanders, where the epidemic had finally subsided, to drop off the treasure.

In early February, another very competent woman called into court seeking a job. Once more, the Emperor wanted to say yes, but the five years of quite negative vassal opinion that would have resulted was more than his precarious popularity could easily sustain. The ‘glass ceiling’ remained in place.

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[And still I didn’t twig to the fact the Steward post was now actually vacant.]

Later that month, Bragi won his Holy War to gain Pomerania – now renamed Wolgast. The other claimants had to walk away unsatisfied. With previous conquests, Russia now controlled almost the coast between Werle and the Vistula River.

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The raiding party returned Zeeland on 26 February. With the weaponsmith in Toropets nearly finished, this left the practice range upgrade for Torzhok as the next in line for funding. The ships were kept in service once more, while the raiders (also kept under arms) took the opportunity to rebuild numbers in friendly territory for a little while.

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It was at this point, when the Steward was going to be switched over to assist with the new building in Torzhok, that it was realised Holmger had disappeared some time back! [Next time I fire the game up I’ll see if I can work out what happened to him]. The search for a new steward was taken beyond the realm. A candidate was invited, arriving on 14 March to an immediate appointment and assignment to Torzhok as project overseer. Åve was a pragmatist, making three of those, with four glory hounds and the Emperor making up the rest of the Council. At least Bragi was no longer a malcontent and the Council was content overall. And it transpired Bragi had fully three of them beholden to him from called-in favours.

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A month later, a young peasant woman from the country came into the court of Nygarðr. She reputedly wielded the powerful magics of the sejdr. It had been some time since a Völva had resided in court – Iliana was invited to stay.

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Toropets was the next county to achieve a ‘full house’, with the upgrade of its weaponsmith on 17 April, meaning all five buildings were improved [to Level II]. Shortly afterwards, Bodil announced her next audacious enterprise, perhaps her boldest yet. This time, she was taking on the King of Poland for the county of Zemgale. A few weeks later the forces on both sides had begun to assemble.

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May passed quietly for the Emperor, though the war in Poland was slowly taking shape as forces gathered on both sides. everyone enjoying the spring weather.

ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

June-October 936

Bodil’s plans were boosted in early June, when none other than Jarl Helgi answered a call to arms to join her war – rather than the recent vassal habit of trying to jump the claims of others.

Over in Flanders, as the raiding army continued to gather strength, a small group of raiders was imprudent enough to land in Breda on 26 June. Desiring to give the troops a bit of exercise, Velmayka, with Rikulfr and Barid, marched across from Zeeland – with around 3,200 men, against 255 vagabonds. Only two days later, back at the capital, it was announced that Empress Ulfhildr was pregnant again – and for now anyway, there were no clear cut suspicions about the father being anyone other than Styrbjörn. His attitude towards her softened a little. Though he still considered her an ‘unfaithful harlot’.

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The battle in Breda began on 6 July and was all over in just 12 days, the enemy raiders all killed for the loss of only two Russian troops. Early in August, after a last draft of replacements was incorporated, the army of 3,307 set off once more for a new raid.

As August lengthened towards September, the three main armies in the Polish War were largely assembled. Helgi’s Belo Ozerans were finally making their way to the front, while the Lithuanian and Polish armies were besieging each other’s holds rather than fighting pitched battles, for now anyway.

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As the raiders set off in late August, they had new reports that the consumption epidemic in Spain had now dissipated. The decision was taken to make for another previous happy hunting ground – the Catholic kingdom of Asturias. This time, however, they were not at war, so a plan was needed to help avoid a confrontation with their rather large army.

A month later, another of Styrbjörn’s powerful lords – the victorious Jarl Tryggve of Ryazan – declared a Holy War for Sarkel on Queen Rosa of Bulgaria. These lords were now rivalling many small kingdoms in their power and were not afraid to take on large kingdoms, it seemed. In this case, the supposedly ‘Unready’ Tryggve had chose his target well, however. Rosa was fighting a massive revolt and would presumably be quite distracted for a while.

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The day Tryggve was launch the latest vassal Holy War, the Russian raiders landing in Asturias de Oviedo – King Silo III’s capital. On paper, the Visigoth Catholic (a mediocre looking ruler who was apparently insane and cowering in hiding) could call on levies of over 4,600 men. But spies had seen that the great majority of these troops were based in the capital county itself – so a direct landing there would immobilise them, trapping them within the four holdings of the county. The calculated risk was taken and the landing went ahead. Three weeks later, the only enemy forces spotted so far was a company of 300 men to the south. If necessary, Velmayka would head for the boats if a force large enough to challenge the Russians appeared.

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In early October, Spymaster Jarl Helgi finally confirmed who was behind the plot to kill young Sigurðr: none other than the wife of Styrbjörn’s half-brother, Jarl Gorm, with the assistance of some lower-down scumbag.

“Whether Gorm was unaware of this vile plot or simply sought some ‘plausible deniability’ is immaterial,” said the Emperor when informed. “For the sake of the wider family, instruct her in my name to stop, Helgi. Her motives are clear enough. It must end.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” replied Helgi more formally than when they were in private, as the Chancellor was present. “In the future, your position may be secure enough that more – stringent – measures may be available.”

Grimr’s mad but calculating eyes gleamed at that. Styrbjörn merely nodded without comment.

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The Crusade for Italy finished in early October 936. King Gacco Karling – still only 12 and with a much-diminished realm these days, though an eye-watering catalogue of claims – was forced out of the Kharjarite ways of his father, bringing that strange chapter of history to a close.

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Then on 18 October came momentous and very welcome news. There had been rumours of these formidable Germanic Viking holy warriors circulating for years now, ever since his father had conquered Werle and given it to Jarl Bragi. But now their existence was a proven reality. A powerful force to protect against the possible onslaught of Christian or other religious expansionism had settled in the new castle of Jomsborg in Werle. The age of the Jomsvikings had dawned!

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“At last!” cried the Emperor, his eyes shining with fervour. “If only my father had lived to see this day!”
“He is watching on now, from Valhalla, watching the Great Tree of Reformed Germanicism he planted now bearing this bountiful harvest of fruit,” replied Seer Kolbjörn, fondly recalling his ‘uncle’ and mentor. “May they be sweet to any true Norseman, and as bitter as death to all infidels and heretics!”

Fittingly, this capped off a period where the Germanic religion had continued to steadily expand within the borders of the Russian ‘Varangian’ Empire.

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ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ

Questions

Three specific questions this time, but any specific or general comments or advice about anything that has happened these last two and a half game years are most welcome, as always.

Ch113 Q1: Competing Factions. Two factions at once – what a political harlot! Out of interest, does that mean if (assuming it’s possible) both factions were in rebellion at the same time, he would be in both? Or just the one that fired first? Would they be hostile to each other? Or can only one such revolt occur at any one time?

Ch113 Q2: Infidelity. Though in this case, Svörker was not known (to the Emperor’s spies, anyway) to be Ulfhildr’s lover. Might she have been falsely accused by an event? Could she have been unfairly branded?

Ch113 Q3: Weaponsmith IV Upgrade. Well, 600 prestige is a lot, but 1,332 days!? Even with a Steward assisting, that’s going to take more than two years to finish. Any views on whether it’s better on balance to just go for feudalisation and ‘waste’ a level on conversion, or make the effort to get that last upgrade done, perhaps also accruing more money and a eking out a longer reign before taking on the big government change?
 
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I've only done a long-term tribal-feudalism once, and I managed to time it badly at that, so ... take this with a generous handful or three of salt, but I would say yes to the Weaponsmith upgrades.
“By Loki’s putrid and festering ball-sack!” yelled a very frustrated Emperor. “My brothers and chief vassals are nothing but grasping ingrates and traitors!”
It didn't take long for him to start feeling like a proper ruler I note :D
 
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Q1: Factions are more evil than gavelkind. Multiple factions can fire against you. He would only rebel in the first that fires. At that point, he is no longer a member of your realm and thus can not be in a faction against you. They are probably hostile to each other because one succeeding can end the other revolts. Advice: Turn off auto end plots and watch for righteous imprisonment opportunities. A small failed imprisonment revolt is easier to handle than a large faction revolt. Send Helgi to visit the hardliners and find their secrets. If one kills Helgi, shed a few tears and send the widow a fruit basket. Scum in the oubliette can not join factions but can be claimants. Revolters make wonderful honored guests at the next blot.
Q2: Possible. Ck2 lies. Check birthdates of her children. One wrong, send her to a regular jail cell. Half, of her wonderful stats, still help even if she is in jail. You have enough heirs and servants can heat rocks to keep your feet warm.
Q3: Never played tribal. But my instinct is wait to make yourself as strong as possible before toggling the button or Loki may laugh at you.
 
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There had been talk of using the recently captured adventurer Eskild as a possible Councillor, but his zealous heresy stood in the way of easy employment and the money required to ‘persuade’ him to convert if released did not seem worth it. Especially when more talented candidates of the 'right' culture and religion could normally be invited to court for free.
Good call, and his stats doesn't seem as good as I remember him to be, I assumed he was much better. For him, it's not worth.

Then on 5 March, King Rögnvaldr of Noregr lost his outpost of Bjarmia in the north to a peasant revolt. Styrbjörn was briefly tempted to make his own claim for it, but most of his forces were still raiding in Beirut, and it would have caused his ambition to see the realm prosper fail [Note: the lowering of global revolt risk plus the success bonus of +1 stewardship were at stake – and with the Empire formed, the value of Bjarmia was minimal].
Some Jarl in the north can do it for us anyway

But a short time later, another problem that would typify this period of his reign reared its ugly head even higher: factionalism. This time, it was Chief Falki of Hlymrek starting an independence faction, adding to the two already in existence. With just 21 men to Falki's name, this was no threat, but if others were to join …
Then more significant news was brought at the start of October: the rather horrid (and ill-disposed to Styrbjörn) Jarl Rikulfr of Vestergautland inherited the Jarldom of Austergautland as well, and made it his primary title. His power grew to match his enmity to the Fylkir.
Just before my laptop gave up his ghost, I had a newfound love for assassinating powerful vassals who are in independence factions. Might be useful.

“By Loki’s putrid and festering ball-sack!” yelled a very frustrated Emperor.
:D Like father like son

Ch113 Q3: Weaponsmith IV Upgrade. Well, 600 prestige is a lot, but 1,332 days!? Even with a Steward assisting, that’s going to take more than two years to finish. Any views on whether it’s better on balance to just go for feudalisation and ‘waste’ a level on conversion, or make the effort to get that last upgrade done, perhaps also accruing more money and a eking out a longer reign before taking on the big government change?
I think I'd wait but that's more like a gut decision than a calculated move

“At last!” cried the Emperor, his eyes shining with fervour. “If only my father had lived to see this day!”
My eyes rather shine at the 4400 Heavy Infantry!

Sorry I don't have much idea about the first two questions.

A very nice episode and I'm already warming up to the new Emperor! Let's see what the future holds for him. To repeat myself, try assassinating the troublesome Jarl (I forgot his name). My experience says when somebody is that powerful, for sure he stepped on the toes of some people who will be eager to join in the plot.
 
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1) As mentioned, if one faction starts a war all its members are no longer in your realm and are dropped from other factions. This tends to weaken them enough that only one fires at a time. But that's just a tendency. In a Byzantium game I once had three faction-based civil wars happening at once.
2) I'm not aware of any events that cause a false accusation. They might exist, I'm just not aware of any.
3) No opinion.
 
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1) As mentioned, if one faction starts a war all its members are no longer in your realm and are dropped from other factions. This tends to weaken them enough that only one fires at a time. But that's just a tendency. In a Byzantium game I once had three faction-based civil wars happening at once.
2) I'm not aware of any events that cause a false accusation. They might exist, I'm just not aware of any.
3) No opinion.

The larger an empire, the more civil wars you can have because the factions tend to get bigger/stronger and more varied. So russia does need to watch out for them.
 
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