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1 - Narrative Beginning

stnylan

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Aug 1, 2002
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Form-bound, attend.

How long have I rested? How long have I been idle? I asked these questions of my mentor, but Stharin’Ble sent me a thought of amusement and nothing more. For my mentor has given me space to acquire self again. It is not dissimilar to being an infant, only this time I come to awareness through memory. Of what went before … snatches, only. If Loketral haunts my thoughts then Kanem Bornu lurks in my dreams.

Did I tell you that we dream? Or experience a state form-life might call dreaming.

But now I am on my own. Well, not entirely on my own. Stharin’Ble tells me I am watched, and I can feel it. The sense of being observed. For my protection, of course. In case a second attempt is made, or perhaps in case I do something to myself.

And my mentor has given me a … diversion. A new world copy, with a nation of its own devising. I do wonder if there is other motive here. I trust my mentor’s stated reason, but is that its only reason? Form-bound, I doubt it.

I am not yet fully myself, I can feel that. But I am recovered enough to be bored. So form-bound, let us see what my mentor has for me.

Belgium?

Where is Belgium?

UluOhoi.jpg



WdWf4Fi.jpg



Oh.
 
Game Notes
Welcome to my next AAR. As I mentioned in a recent post in Entering the First Court, for reasons personal I have decided to discontinue that AAR. However I very much wanted to continue using this conceit I have developed. Whilst I do not think myself currently up to much narrative, I hope a more gameplay focused AAR should distract myself from current issues in a positive way. However, I suppose it is only fair to say current issues may well overwrite, as it were, my intentions. Time will tell.

For any new readers the narrator in the above segment is one Lisan la Metemes, an adolescent of a race of beings of thought who call themselves the unbound, who have “contests” in games. Only Lisan has discovered that sometimes the games are not just games, hence why he is convalescing at the now.

So Belgium.

I must confess I have had an idea for a Belgium custom nation game for a while, and been tinkering around with the design. This is what I have come up with.

I had a bit of a backstory idea for the nation itself. If I was writing this AAR under different circumstances I might have included that, but instead I will give a brief precis.

Fifty years ago the cities of Belgium were still fettered by the chains of Feudalism, a decrepit and bankrupt idea of society that had moved beyond the three classes. Those who work, fight and pray had consigned no place to those who traded. So they made a place for themselves. The struggle was long and hard, and often disjointed at first. But it was in the wars between Burgundy, England, and France in which they finally found their chance. Now a confederation of cities has banded together and asserted their independence. Their existence has been supported by the Emperor, and forced on an unwilling Burgundy. Rather than totally upset the applecart they have appointed a Duchess from a home-grown aristocratic line. They think they have appointed a weak-willed child.

A few words about my nation setup, and then a question.

Given the brief backstory above I choose English Monarchy as I thought this would best represent the more limited monarchy the cities envisioned placing themselves under. Whilst in the HRE a Duchy level nation made more sense as well than a King level. Likewise I chose -1 Unrest to reflect people generally being happier in a less feudal state. The Global Trade tradition is meant to represent the large commercial history of this area.

I choose Idea reduction as much as an homage to Erasmus as anything else. The intellectual life of this part of Europe in the late 15th century was an effervescence of ideas, so whilst it could be argued as gamey I feel idea reduction is justified. The second is trade efficiency again as a nod to the commercial powerhouse this region was.

Then we get to a trio of military ideas. For me these represent the likelihood the nation will have to fight, and that it will fight to its strengths. The city militias have in their discipline defeated the armies of feudalism once before - they can do so again. I have an idea the general soldiery might be treated as more than just scum, justifying the higher morale; and almost as a corollary the cities are better able to harness their manpower due to being less rural.

Moving towards the end of the list, this is meant to represent a nation that was once a trade nation beginning to industrialise, the development ambition capping off this line of thought.

Finally my house rules for the campaign:
1) No colonisation. So many of my EU games have been about colonisation. Time to have one that isn’t.
2) Stay as Duchy unless I become an elector, in which case Kingdom.
3) Stay English Monarchy or Constitutional Monarchy.
4) Only militarily annex provinces that are Flemish, Dutch, or Walloon; or within the Low Countries region.
5) No diplo-annex nations with no territory within the above. If they have territory outwith the above, to give away if possible without giving away “legit” territory.
6) Personal Union inheritances, should any occur, are an exception to the above.
7) Convert during the Reformation. I have played the EU series of games for nearly sixteen years now, and I have never converted to Protestant or Reformed. Time to change that.
8) My first Idea Group will be either Humanism or Innovativeness. My third Idea group will be whichever I didn’t pick first time around.
9) Lucky Nations has been set to random.
10) I am playing with a Fantasy New World, just for fun.
11) Speaking of which, having fun.

I am more than open to any advice along the way. This will be my first serious game within the HRE in EU4 as well, so I am sure that will be interesting in and of itself.

I haven’t played any game-time yet, and probably won’t until after the weekend (daughter’s birthday party this weekend so I am kinda busy). What that does mean though is that if anyone has any ideas of aims, ambitions, improvements to the setup (by which I mean rp improvements rather than gamey ones) please let me know.

That was rather more text that I was expecting to write. Assuming I have not put everyone to sleep right now if you will please excuse me to beg an indulgence of all you all.

Be kind to all those you meet, even online. Because if you are people will be kind to you when you need it most. In the last few weeks I have seen the truth of that.

Thank you.
 
Subbed.

That took me by surprise. Seeing "goods produced modifiers" i predicted you would be colonizing. And then you tease us with Random New World.
I love the narrative setup with the city league theme. Cant wait to see how you tie in EU4 gameplay into narrative
This won't be a full treatment, alas. That said, for when things get a bit better on the personal front I have plans :D
 
Glad to see you back in action, stnylan :)

Certainly an unconventional setup here, and an intriguing set of goals and limitations. I look forward to seeing what you make of it :)

Unfortunately I'm not as familiar with EU4 as certain other Paradox titles, so I'm afraid my advice will be rather limited to the two perennial generalities of AARland: Go with your gut, and pick what might make for the more interesting story.
 
So good to see you're "well enough" to do some AARing, my friend! Best of luck, and always remember rl comes first!
 
Well, I'll definitely be reading.
 
Glad to see you back in action, stnylan :)

Certainly an unconventional setup here, and an intriguing set of goals and limitations. I look forward to seeing what you make of it :)

Unfortunately I'm not as familiar with EU4 as certain other Paradox titles, so I'm afraid my advice will be rather limited to the two perennial generalities of AARland: Go with your gut, and pick what might make for the more interesting story.
Good advice, when all is said and done :)

So good to see you're "well enough" to do some AARing, my friend! Best of luck, and always remember rl comes first!
Well, I hope it will not be cast aside. We shall see.

Well, I'll definitely be reading.
That makes me happy :)
 
1444.11.11 - Start
So let us look around and see how things are, before I actually unpause the game.

First thing I will need to do is accept Walloon culture.

4rAoi38.jpg


The second thing will be to choose a debate for Parliament. This is a new mechanic for me. Looking at the possibilities I am thinking of Appropriating land for the State or Expanding the Bureaucracy, but am undecided. Parliament right now consists of just one seat in Brussels.

RMZnQw9.jpg


As to my ambitions, here is a map with the Low Countries region marked. As one can see I have lots of northward territory to consider, and as Flemish primary culture I shouldn’t need to worry about the Dutch revolt.

4lGOoMU.jpg


Whilst only Luxembourg is to the south of me in this area, my rules would allow me to expand into Walloon land. That includes four further provinces - highlighted here.

EiCNqfD.jpg


The question is whether these four are worth the hassle of French enmity that acquiring them would probably bring. I imagine I could acquire all but Calais easily enough - my creation has weakened Burgundy sufficiently and should find a ready enough ally in France for that. I am leaning towards discretion being the better part of valour though, especially early on.

Speaking of Burgundy they remain my immediate threat and foe. Belgium may have left them weakened, but they still surround me in a not-so loving embrace.

TVuQjua.jpg


Now my diplomacy game in EU4 is … well let us be charitable and call it underdeveloped. So I took a bit of time to look at what was shaping up around me diplomatically at game start.

mFr8ldV.jpg


I haven’t included every nation, but I hope it gives an idea. My rivals are Denmark, Hungary and Burgundy. As to Hungary … I intend to ignore that for the moment. Denmark I am mostly going to ignore too to begin with, but certainly they will be watching. Burgundy’s hostility is entirely reasonable and I aim to return it straight away.

As for my other rivals … I am less certain. The options are:

p96I1UR.jpg


I am tempted to select Gelre as my second rival, as that would naturally probably allow me to develop a couple of other allies on my borders. The third rival … I am hesitant to select England. Perhaps I should return Denmark’s rivalry on that front.

I note that England has rivalled France, Castille, and Aragon. I guess that means a Anglo-Burgundian alliance is quite likely. My own alliance strategy will involve initially allying with France to take down Burgundy. Beyond that I could currently get an alliance with Austria, another enemy of Burguny and also (from my reading) useful for advancing within the Empire. Of course France and Austria are natural enemies so I suppose I might be forced to choose at some point. But as France has not rivalled Austria right now, perhaps not yet. Then perhaps one other ally - my gut feeling says Cleves, if only because Cleves is not a theocracy unlike so many other states in this corner of the HRE.

Moving on - the default Trade situation looks like this:

qTTrtma.jpg


Brussels is my trade city right now, in the Champagne node. My gut feeling is that it will make sense to shift my trade city to Antwerp, and then direct trade to it from Lubeck and Champagne.

I have had some further thoughts about Idea groups moving forward as well. My thinking is this:

1 - Humanism. Given my earlier rp reasoning regarding Erasmus it seems a better conceptual fit than Innovation.

2 - Diplomatic. I figure my constraints in this game make a good opportunity to explore the diplomatic game more than I often do, and no doubt these ideas will aid that.

3. Innovativness, for the rp I have set out for myself.

4. A Military idea. No idea which, except not Aristocratic.

5. Economic, again for the rp.

6-8. My gut feeling is either 2 military and another diplomatic idea group, or three military. I don’t see the need for any of the other admin groups.

I am also very undecided to go Protestant or Reformed.

Anyway, I still haven’t played any of the game yet. I may or may not play any later tonight, but this appears to be the situation at game start.

I, I forgot to mention earlier many thanks to @Tom D. who commented on an early version of this setup in a PM.
 
Great setup.
I would keep at least one open rival slot, until you know who you are attacking first. Then remember to set them as rival before you attack. Maybe even keep 2 rival slots open at start.
My gut feeling is that it will make sense to shift my trade city to Antwerp, and then direct trade to it from Lubeck and Champagne.
Your gut feeling is very correct. I suspect best setup is to have home node in Channel, use a merchant to collect in channel as well ( gives you a +10% efficiency to collecting there) and use other merchant to steer from Champagne ( gives a 10% boost to Channel power ) or collect in Champagne ( you will have to try it out- the two options will be close, but I suspect steering will win because you get that extra caravan power in Champagne). Use ships to protect in channel . And if you have Brittannia, I would pick the naval doctrine for trade ships , goes well with role play as well.

Economic, again for the rp.
You may want to go earlier with economic. The low countries were an economic powerhouse, and the Bourgeoisie was all about the economy, so would not break rp. When not blobbing, you will have excess Mana points, which you will spend on developing, and the 20% Dev discount finisher on Economic really shines. The earlier you get it the better. I learned that from Tom .

Of your idea groups, I think Humanist is the least helpful game-play wise, because you will not be dealing with rebels much (accepted culture everywhere). I see how it fits role play, but maybe innovative would fit better ( to be honest, I have NEVER taken innovative before, but I hear it has a great policy with Quality for +20% infantry combat ability which is huge).

Main use for Humanist is weathering the Reformation, but if you go Protestant early and nab a Center of Reformation for yourself, you would be able to convert all your provinces before you lose the +10% conversion power from switching.

good luck
 
Very interesting AAR, and funny to know I "teached" someone about EU4 knowing that you are much better at this game than I am @mackwolfe :D. But he's right: taking Economic early might be best, you don't want to waste your points by having to pay more to develop: all those sweet Farmland provinces should have at least 35/40 development by the end of the game! And he's probably also right about Humanism-Innovative, though I have never taken even BOTH, I think Innovative will be better than Humanism, especially with that sweet policy! You'll be mostly playing tall, so you can use everything you can to pull yourself above your weight.
 
Great setup.
I would keep at least one open rival slot, until you know who you are attacking first. Then remember to set them as rival before you attack. Maybe even keep 2 rival slots open at start.

Your gut feeling is very correct. I suspect best setup is to have home node in Channel, use a merchant to collect in channel as well ( gives you a +10% efficiency to collecting there) and use other merchant to steer from Champagne ( gives a 10% boost to Channel power ) or collect in Champagne ( you will have to try it out- the two options will be close, but I suspect steering will win because you get that extra caravan power in Champagne). Use ships to protect in channel . And if you have Brittannia, I would pick the naval doctrine for trade ships , goes well with role play as well.

You may want to go earlier with economic. The low countries were an economic powerhouse, and the Bourgeoisie was all about the economy, so would not break rp. When not blobbing, you will have excess Mana points, which you will spend on developing, and the 20% Dev discount finisher on Economic really shines. The earlier you get it the better. I learned that from Tom .

Of your idea groups, I think Humanist is the least helpful game-play wise, because you will not be dealing with rebels much (accepted culture everywhere). I see how it fits role play, but maybe innovative would fit better ( to be honest, I have NEVER taken innovative before, but I hear it has a great policy with Quality for +20% infantry combat ability which is huge).

Main use for Humanist is weathering the Reformation, but if you go Protestant early and nab a Center of Reformation for yourself, you would be able to convert all your provinces before you lose the +10% conversion power from switching.

good luck
I have followed your suggestion about the rival slots, as you will see. I should have mentioned by I do have all the DLC. I can't set a Naval policy yet as my Naval Force limit is below 20 (it is actually 19). Once done I definitely intend to do as you suggest there.

Very interesting AAR, and funny to know I "teached" someone about EU4 knowing that you are much better at this game than I am @mackwolfe :D. But he's right: taking Economic early might be best, you don't want to waste your points by having to pay more to develop: all those sweet Farmland provinces should have at least 35/40 development by the end of the game! And he's probably also right about Humanism-Innovative, though I have never taken even BOTH, I think Innovative will be better than Humanism, especially with that sweet policy! You'll be mostly playing tall, so you can use everything you can to pull yourself above your weight.
I am leaning towards Innovativeness now, and both yours and @mackwolfe 's commentary is feeding into that.
 
1444-1464
So starting moves are pretty simple. Accept Walloon as a culture, rival Burgundy, and ally France. I also Fund Expansion of the Bureaucracy (-10% advisor costs) for my first debate, which immediately passes. I create a general to start drilling troops - though he is quite lacklustre being a 1/0/0/1 affair. Burgundy allies Münster (and Ferrara). Münster allies Trier, and so I opt to ally Cleves as well. Looking through the Age objectives getting a Large City and Embracing the Renaissance will be easy enough. Humiliating a rival should be possible as well - but maybe not against Burgundy as the restrictions won’t work. For that I may well choose Gelre … but right now that probably isn’t viable. I select three +1 advisors (Tax +10%, Spy Network +25%, Land Maintenance -10%). A few months into the game England and France are at war, from the Surrender of Maine event.

EIglXDy.jpg


I take my army and move to besiege Calais. That remains the only thing I do in this war, which is essentially a snoozefest. France occupies all the other English land in France. Bar a few naval skirmishes I do not get involved in. It is mostly just waiting for warscore to tick up. I do manage to lay a claim on Luxembourg in this time, but otherwise it is just waiting. My ruler does get her second trait, which is a negative one (though also currently immaterial).

Tb6l7zh.jpg


Shortly after that I build my army up to force limit of 18 - 4 cavalry and the rest infantry. I get an event making Gent come up the control of the Burghers, which I allow. The warscore continues its interminable ticking.

nlPlHGo.jpg


Then in 1448 I get a lovely event, which gives me a 100 traditional general. Call me a happy camper.

0eZ8jqN.jpg


The war ticks on. The Renaissance launches in Ferrara. My three Flemish area provinces (Vlaanderen, Gent, and Antwerpen) should all get the Renaissance in the 1456-61, so getting Renaissance will be easy enough. That said I still plan to develop Brussels at some point for the Age objective as well. I do research Admin 4 (I had focused on Admin btw). Diplomatic 4 follows, and then finally in November 1450 the war ends (though I fail to get screenshot of the peace, below shot of France rivalling Austria shows the end result in northern France. France also got the whole of Gascony.

LohvTnX.jpg


Military 4 is completed and I start building my first Church in Antwerpen. I get an event to have a daughter as an heir … but I reject it ultimately. A 2/0/2 Heir … I would still rather take my chances.

Hrmt86I.jpg


In 1453 I finally get around to moving my Trade City to Antwerpen. After some mucking around the best combination seems to be collect in English Channel with one merchant, and redirect Trade from Champagne with the other. In 1454 I also get an alliance with Austria. I also decide to take the plunge and attack Burgundy, with the Conquest CB for Luxembourg. I can get France in for Land, but not Cleves who apparently likes Burgundy too much (and not Austria, but as a recent ally I was not expecting them).

NbwP1kN.jpg


However, I make what proves to be an error: I don’t really check the state of France. I notice from the tooltips (not screenshotted) that France has 179 gold debt. Precisely how I don’t know, but I should have looked further.

My first move is to try and take the war target, Luxembourg. And this is when I first notice France only has three small stacks, whilst enemy forces seem to be rather better organised.

eS9kjr4.jpg


It turns into a siege race between myself in Luxembourg and Holland in Antwerpen … one that I lose. Meanwhile Paris also falls.

sghMvWj.jpg


I go to retake Antwerpen, and defeat a couple of small armies on the way, wiping one of them. But it takes a long time to siege down. I do split off ⅔ of my force to attack a lone enemy stack at one point, wiping that as well. I do love my general. I adopt Admin Tech 5. In the winter Burgundy’s main army tries to dislodge me but I send them packing in my first truly major battle of the war. Northern France, however, continues to fall under Burgundian forces.

lcWZJ1r.jpg


The battle gives my general the Glory Seeker trait … which is nice enough I guess. Finally Antwerpen is retaken, but the situation in France is looking bad. The entire remaining France troops are now in a futile siege of Holland.

4WDaUYU.jpg


I choose to take Picardie. I have to take either Picardie or Rethélois to be able to march into France due to the forts. I choose Picardie as I am thinking warscore against Burgundy might be more important than against their vassal. Northern France has, for all intents and purposes, fallen. But I still can catch wandering enemy forces when the opportunity presents.

Ex8t6nI.jpg


Picardie eventually falls, and to be honest the overall warscore isn’t too bad.

941yNRC.jpg


Of course, overall not too bad equals very bad for France, and shortly thereafter they bow out - with the consequence the warscore now looks very positive for me! :D

UEGJcM1.jpg


I may have the single largest army in this war, but I do not fancy my chances alone however. France, although a disappointment, was a marvellous distraction. Also I get a mad thought: could this be how I get those French-Walloonian provinces? Food for thought. To the matter at hand, I could get Luxembourg with money right now, but I want to see if I can wangle War reparations. To that end I manage to wipe a small stack in Rethélois, taking me to 40% warscore.

1FD7OuQ.jpg


Then make peace before I get swamped by enemy troops.

3HQgdei.jpg


It is only after the peace that I realise Burgundy had researched Military 5 during the war … so I count myself lucky indeed. My next goal, I decide, is to get the Large City objective. My next debate in Parliament was Land Reform, which now passes giving me -10% development. I am not quite ready yet though. As I wait for more monarch points I get a claim on Artois via a Boundary Dispute, the Last Jousting Tournament fires, and the Emperor enacts the First Reform (another -5% development). I also go head and make Denmark a rival.

1qo0K0J.jpg


I finally get Military 5. In 1460 I give Antwerpen to the Burghers, and Luik (Liege) to the Clergy. I set Brabant to have the development State Edict, and therefore stack up my development bonuses, and develop up to 30 (turning Brussels into a 12/13/5 province). Now I wait again, and my ruler gets her final trait as a Bold Fighter. I also ally Provence.

In 1463 I Embrace the Renaissance and get Dip Tech 5 immediately thereafter. In February 1464 I get Admin 6 ahead of schedule. My intention is now to get some Ideas. I haven’t actually selected the group yet. I remain torn between Innovativeness and Humanism. Despite the more rp appropriate name of Humanism, the more I look at the actual modifiers the idea set of Innovativeness works better rp-wise.

Before then however my ally Austria has a little favour of me:

T1rfeFP.jpg


I choose to accept, and then save the game and end the session.

In retrospect I think these twenty years are a pretty good overviews of my capabilities as an EU4 player, both good and bad. When it came to the Burgundian War I should have been more aware of the state of France before declaring - it might well have been wiser to wait until everyone had MIL5 before starting it as well.

In terms of actually fighting - there were occasions I could have had one 6k stack sieging and a 12k stack hunting out the smaller enemy armies as they presented themselves. I probably should have chased Holland off Antwerpen early on, and I wonder if I shouldn’t have tried to knock Münster out of the war. ‘

I also feel like I don’t know what to do with my diplomats. This is not a new feeling for me - I don’t, as a general rule, feel confident in the diplomatic game.

My truce with Burgundy et al runs out in May 1465. I can re-ally France, should I choose, in October 1467. The question of France is interesting though. It is feasible that a weaker France is to my advantage That will require some thought. Of some concern is that I still have no heir. My Dynasty would change to de Valois, but (as far as I can tell) no succession war. I hope that doesn’t end up happening, but it is of course largely out of my hands.
 
I take my army and move to besiege Calais. That remains the only thing I do in this war, which is essentially a snoozefest. France occupies all the other English land in France. Bar a few naval skirmishes I do not get involved in. It is mostly just waiting for warscore to tick up. I do manage to lay a claim on Luxembourg in this time, but otherwise it is just waiting. My ruler does get her second trait, which is a negative one (though also currently immaterial).

Tb6l7zh.jpg
You should've let your army loot those juicy English-Norman provinces, to get some extra and free cash. It was surprising how France actually was weakened by that war, one way or another. I would definitely not worry about taking those French-cultured lands from Burgundy, maybe you could even have the opportunity to culture shift them. Whether it's good that they're weakened now, only the future will tell.
 
Know this: I would surely have lost if I was playing. :D I have little experience in EU4. :D
 
I also feel like I don’t know what to do with my diplomats. This is not a new feeling for me - I don’t, as a general rule, feel confident in the diplomatic game.

If you want more advice in an AAR, you may want to include whole-screen screenshots here and there. Experienced players can sometimes spot stuff that elicits commentary ( e.g idle diplomats, merchants in non-optimal places, which buildings are getting built, are you over diplo-relations , power projection, money situation etc ) from the outliner and from the banners on top of the screen. I know I have received such advice in my past AARs .

improving relations with neighbors is always a good idea , also potential future allies ( such as England) or potential diplo-vassalization targets . And of course, fabricate on everyone you can reach so you can have a CB when you need it . nothing more frustrating than finding an opportune time to attack a target with allied help, and then watch the opportunity disappear because you did not have a claim.

I can re-ally France, should I choose, in October 1467
Whether it's good that they're weakened now, only the future will tell.
I think having a weaker France is to your benefit, so you were lucky you did not have to give them land in that war. And re-allying them is a good idea, unless it upsets Austria too much. You may want to ally them just when you are ready to DOW Burgundy again, lest France declares first and then drags you along.

I think you position is a race between how soon you can annex the northern Netherlands , versus how soon France gets to your border and threatens you . A strong Austria is also good for you , so they protect you as HRE. But you cannot always count on it, e.g they could lose HRE to some weakling nation.

Burgundian inheritance firing - or not - would be the big event that affects your run the most. Looking forward to see if that happens or not, and how things change.


PS: any chance of swiping an OPM neighbor while allied with Austria in war, and then coring it during the war?
 
You should've let your army loot those juicy English-Norman provinces, to get some extra and free cash. It was surprising how France actually was weakened by that war, one way or another. I would definitely not worry about taking those French-cultured lands from Burgundy, maybe you could even have the opportunity to culture shift them. Whether it's good that they're weakened now, only the future will tell.
I rarely remember about looting. France was strange ... and whilst generally I am always in faovur of a weaker France since by my house rules I won't able to take more than just a few provinces it would be a more difficult gameplay achievement to manage here.

Know this: I would surely have lost if I was playing. :D I have little experience in EU4. :D
Hehe - well there is only one cure for that: get more experience :D

If you want more advice in an AAR, you may want to include whole-screen screenshots here and there. Experienced players can sometimes spot stuff that elicits commentary ( e.g idle diplomats, merchants in non-optimal places, which buildings are getting built, are you over diplo-relations , power projection, money situation etc ) from the outliner and from the banners on top of the screen. I know I have received such advice in my past AARs .

improving relations with neighbors is always a good idea , also potential future allies ( such as England) or potential diplo-vassalization targets . And of course, fabricate on everyone you can reach so you can have a CB when you need it . nothing more frustrating than finding an opportune time to attack a target with allied help, and then watch the opportunity disappear because you did not have a claim.



I think having a weaker France is to your benefit, so you were lucky you did not have to give them land in that war. And re-allying them is a good idea, unless it upsets Austria too much. You may want to ally them just when you are ready to DOW Burgundy again, lest France declares first and then drags you along.

I think you position is a race between how soon you can annex the northern Netherlands , versus how soon France gets to your border and threatens you . A strong Austria is also good for you , so they protect you as HRE. But you cannot always count on it, e.g they could lose HRE to some weakling nation.

Burgundian inheritance firing - or not - would be the big event that affects your run the most. Looking forward to see if that happens or not, and how things change.


PS: any chance of swiping an OPM neighbor while allied with Austria in war, and then coring it during the war?
Good point about the screenshots. As for a OPM - well I concentrated on other things as will be seen in the new update I will be posting shortly. From that time there is a possibility, but AE may be an issue.

Speaking of which I have a couple of provinces not in the HRE. Should I add them?

I have been doing some thinking about keeping France weaker. Loosely my idea is to try and drag them into another war with Burgundy when this truce expires, to inhibit their action. Meanwhile ally with England, then break alliance with France, and then seek some justification for a war with France. Return some lands to England, and maybe release minor nations or something like that. Like with much about EU4 though whilst I can see what I think is the outline of a reasonable plan, I am not confident of executing such a plan.

Not a bad start, IMO. Certainly looked a bit rough after France capitulated against Burgundy, but Belgium came out ahead in the end, which is the key thing.
In some respects France surrendering was the best thing that could have happened for me in that war, and it was frankly a bit silly that the warscore jumped so massively. Although I didn't at all do so on purpose it feels a bit exploity, tbh.
 
1464-1476
So I am at war with Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Denmark’s other allies do not join. My essential plan in this war is to do as little as possible. Whilst I do that I get the National Epic event, and an Exceptional Year. My 3-star general also goes from Siege 1 to Siege 3 by 1466. The most important event during this period, though, was finally the birth of an heir, and a pretty reasonable one at that.

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I also complete the High Income mission to gain the Construction Cost reduction. Thinking about it now as I write I suppose the “best” use of this mission would be when one started to build manufactories. As it is it helps me build a fort at Vlaanderen. I deconstructed the fort in Liége/Luik. I will confess to not fully understanding fort ZOC mechanics, but this “feels” a lot better. I have also built a couple of churches/workshops, and in 1467 I finally take my first Idea. I opt for Innovative.

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My truce with Burgundy ran out in 1465, but I haven’t been able to re-ally France until October 1467 due to the peace treaty between France and Burgundy. Now I do so. I also note that Burgundy has lost its alliance with Münster, and that Burgundy is excommunicated. I think that had happened during my earlier war, when the English briefly became the Papal Controller. It is now 1468 and the Danish Army has actually taken up residency is one of my provinces - I cancelled my drilling and waited for morale to recovery before attacking.

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In 1469 I research Military 6, and then Gelre attacks Utrecht. Actually several HRE wars happen around now - I presume people taking advantage of the fact Austria is busy. Of note for me though is my ally Cleves is called into the war as an ally of Utrecht, but right from the start it looks poor from them. The next year sees me get a second Cardinal, and I also adopt the second Innovative Idea.

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The Danish war wraps up that summer, and I get news that Cleves is about to get attacked afresh.

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This could be an opportunity to do something to save Cleves … but I decide to dissolve my alliance before the war happens. I want to have another go at Burgundy. I pass a vote in Parliament about Quartering of Troops (-10% Land Maintenance, -5% Land Attrition). Gelre makes peace with Utrecht, and in the process Cleves is no more.

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Ideally I would like Austria in on the war against Burgundy - they are almost ready to join, but require a little time to let their war exhaustion drop. Along the way I notice Aragon taking a big bite out of Castille. I wonder if this means France won’t have a firm rival on its southern border. I also have formed an alliance with Gelre - but I am not so sure I should have.

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Later that year my hopes of getting Austria involved in Burgundy are dashed when there is a Castillian Succession war between Hungary and Aragon, with Austria on Hungary’s side.

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On the plus side, I hadn’t noticed Burgundy had formed an alliance with Aragon, but Aragon now won’t join them in a defensive war for exactly the same reason. I can call Provence in with favours, and France in with Land. France seems certainly more up for conflict now, and I go for it with the Excommunication CB - which I think I have never used before.

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This war fights out very differently from the last one. To begin with I immediately turn my attention to Burgundy’s PUs north of me - though I help France stackwipe the Nevers army in Cambrésis first. Whilst waiting for the siege of Breda to tick down I adopt the third Innovative Idea - Scientific Revolution. Towards the end of the war my first Age ability unlocks, and I choose “Transfer Subject” - for the simple reason getting Holland as my own vassal seems like a good idea. A few days later Breda falls and I move into Holland.

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On another note Friesland now expands quite significantly at Münster’s expense. It looks like Gelre and Friesland are the two major powers in Dutch lands.

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The winter is mostly waiting for siege counters. France has done good work in reducing the Duchy of Burgundy proper, and Florence attacked Burgundy’s other ally Ferrara. In June 1474 Den Haag falls, by which time Burgundy has managed to take Caen but it feels too little too late. I quickly snag the two remaining (unfortified) provinces of Holland, and then intend to move to Picardie - taking Artois along the way. Of note in August 1474 Sweden declares a war of independence against Denmark, backed by Scotland and Poland. This is also when our beloved 3-star general finally passes away. Our new general is alright … just not as good.

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January 1476 sees Picardie fall, and February sees the French take the last Burgundian stronghold in Franché-Comte. The warscore now stands at 94%, and the remainder is located in Ferrara. So I want to ignore that, and given Burgundy’s state I am sure I can get a 100% peace should I choose.

The problem is what, exactly, should I aim for in a peace. I have thought out a number of options.

Option #1 - Expand South
Take the provinces of Rethélois, Cambriéses, Artois and Picardie; and return Le Caux to England. The idea would then be to give Picardie to England as well as it is Francien, rather than Walloon. Add in some War Reparations. Such a peace would put me on a collision-course with France. At some point it would also mean switching my alliance from France to England, and probably sooner rather than later I imagine.

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Option #2 - Expand North
Take Breda, and transfer Holland to be my own subject, take Breda, War Reparations, and every ducat they have. My trust with France would tank (it will tank regardless of which peace I pursue). This would make any future conflict with Burgundy far more one-dimensional. It would also put us in a situation more likely to be expand northward. There is a small risk of a coalition, as Friesland and Utrecht would tick over 50 aggressive expansion, but that should be manageable.

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Option #3a - Humiliation - South
After Humiliating Burgundy I could take the three provinces of Rethélois, Cambriéses and Artois, War Reparations, and some gold.

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Option #3b - Humiliation - North
The idea here is to Humiliate Burgundy to tick off the Age Objective. I could still take Holland as my own vassal and take Breda, but I would not be able to get War Reparations.

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Option #3c - Humiliation - Mixed
Again, Humiliate Burgundy. Then transfer Holland, and take one of the southern provinces, probably Rethélois. I could just add in War Reparations. A small coalition might form - Friesland and Utrecht as above.

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So in all these I aim not to give France any problems, and hope to manage the relations hit afterwards. This would hopefully keep France that much weaker for longer. My initial preference was for Option 3b - it allows expansion into my core area, whilst potentially preserving Burgundy proper for as long as possible. It holds out for another war, at truce end, where I could take all the land of the “southern” strategy. It would stick me over the relations limit, but I figure I can get my ties with either Provence or Gelre.

I am also thinking that my second Idea group - if I decide to follow a long-term plan to take those southern Walloon provinces - should be a military one. Because if I have to cross swords with France I can’t be too unprepared.

Anyway that is where I’ll leave it. Please anybody let me know your thoughts on which peace I should choose - or something I different entirely from what I have laid out here.