I'll likely make complete and detailed suggestions later on, because Mission Trees is an unique and amazing tool that we can really help to expand.
I promised it, here it is. I have done new unique missions for Savoy and Brittany, more missions for Burgundy and some things tweaked so that they make more sense (imo), and a gigantic French mission tree, even bigger and more OP than the British one. Nothing for Provence, they got gobbled very quickly and things wouldn't make more sense (reclaim Naples, reclaim Aragon, reclaim Jerusalem, connect holdings are all obvious, but that would be insanely OP and ahistorical, because Provence had these ambitions but was nowhere near fulfilling any of these).
I used the standards of the Scottish and British trees, so that's very strong and not always historical, but that follows realistic outcomes or historical ambitions.
I also stole the idea of Paland0 to make it clearer, that took time but I hope that helps. Especially for the convoluted French tree.
1. Savoy/Sardinia-Piedmont
First off, the Savoyard tree, which was extremely easy to do because they were alive for the entirety of the time period and have an obvious historical path to recreate. Sardinia-Piedmont retains that tree.
They have one main tree for their historical expansion that would replace the "conquest" tree in game, but I guess they would keep the "diplomacy/trade" and the "buildings" default trees.
But let's start with two small flavor missions:
- Acquire the "Shroud of Turin":
Originally displayed in a small church in Champagne, a mysterious shroud was brought to our duchy to protect it from the chaos of the Hundred Years' War. It bears the face of a man looking like the Christ, which lead many people to believe it is the Holy Shroud on which the face of Jesus would miraculously have appeared after his death. Even if we do not know where it actually comes from and despite the fact the Church questions its authenticity, it would bring immense prestige to our Duchy to purchase the Shroud and display it in a church built for this occasion.
Success condition: Have a church.
Reward: 30 prestige
Historically, the shroud was purchased by the Duke of Savoy in 1452 and displayed in several places before finding its place in Turin. Despite being highly controversial and seemingly a faux, it is still a subject of devotion for believers, and of debate for historians.
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The expedition in Cyprus:
Through our marriage with the house of Lusignan, we have a legitimate claim on the Kingdom of Cyprus, the last of the Crusader Kingdoms. Pressing that claim would be a great way of increasing the renown of our house, even if success in such an expedition is unlikely.
Success condition: Have 30 prestige and build the army up to Force Limit, Cyprus does exist.
Reward: Savoy gets a subjugation casus belli on Cyprus and +1 yearly legitimacy for 25 years.
Historically, Anne of Lusignan, sister of the King of Cyprus on gamestart, married the Duke Louis/Ludovico I of Savoy (duke on gamestart) and controlled the state with a very influential Cypriot court, as Louis was not interested in the administration of the state. She seemingly tried extremely expensive and complicated plots to extend the influence of the house of Savoy towards Cyprus, but Cyprus still fell in 1463. The player can use that as a stepping stone which might spice things up, and I just find that anecdote too funny, and the AI won't do anything with it anyway.
And then, the big conquest tree:
- Fortify the border:
France is a looming threat on our borders, and we need to protect from our neighbors if we are to survive.
Success condition: Have at least 2 forts, or have a total fort level of at least 5.
Reward: Savoy gains 20% Fort Defense and -20% Fort Maintenance for 25 years.
Savoy already has 20% Fort Defense from their first idea, "Repel the French", so that may overlap and be too much, maybe tune it down. But reading about Savoyard history is literally reading "gets invaded by France" or "supports France to avoid getting invaded" every page.
- Move the court to Turin:
Despite all our efforts, our capital is still vulnerable if we keep it on the French side of the Alps. It would be wiser to move it to the Italian side.
Success condition: Savoy has at least 100 development, Savoy owns Piedmont.
Reward: Capital moves to Piedmont, Piedmont gains +1 tax, +1 production and +1 manpower, Savoy gains a permanent claim on the Piedmont area.
Historically, capital was moved to Turin for that very reason in 1563. Currently, you can move capital by forming Sardinia-Piedmont, but historically this happened a lot earlier. 100 dev seems a fair moment to make sure this doesn't happen too early either but that the AI can still do it from time to time.
- Unify Piedmont:
Now that the center of our Duchy is located in Italy, we should expand our possessions on this side of the Alps.
Success condition: All provinces in the Piedmont area are owned by Savoy or its subjects.
Reward: Gains permanent claims on Western Mediterranean Islands and Liguria.
The only province not owned on game start is Novara, owned by Milan. Savoy claimed Novara during the Italian Wars, and it was actually offered to them by both Austria-Spain and France in order to get Savoyard support during the wars for the Duchy of Milan.
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Claim Sardinia:
The main European powers granted us Sardinia, it is time for us to take what is rightfully ours.
Success condition: Sassari and Cagliari are owned by Savoy or its subjects.
Reward: Gains permanent claims on Sicily.
After the War of the Spanish succession, Savoy was granted Sicily, and they almost immediately traded it with Austria for Sardinia. Such things can not happen in game, so without any event, the best option is to do as if they had claims on Sardinia in the first place. The previous missions gave them claims on the whole area, that includes Corsica, but I did not make it required, because they never had it. It's just another extra option. Giving a mission for Sardinia will hopefully lead to more Sardinia Piedmont, and it leads the country towards its historical successor (even if it is still hard to conquer if Spain is strong).
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Claim Sicily: We had to renounce any pretention to Sicily in order to be granted Sardinia, but do we really have to fulfill our part of the deal?
Success condition: Sicily is owned by Savoy (or Sardinia-Piedmont) or its subjects.
Reward: Gains 10% Trade Efficiency and 10% Galley Combat Ability for 25 years.
This way, seizing Sicily is also a possibility. The rewards are there to represent the growth of the Mediterranean influence.
That's the end of the historical part of the tree, the left one. The right one is about the Italian ambitions of the House of Savoy, who is the one to unite Italy. Even if it is way out of the timeframe, I think the Savoyard mission tree needs to include that possibility. After all, GB has claims on Egypt.
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Conquer Genoa:
We have never been a major power on the seas, and that has set our economy back. We must conquer the rich city of Genoa to open new trade opportunities and expand towards the rest of Italy.
Success condition: Liguria is owned by Savoy (or SP) or its subjects.
Reward: +20% Trade power in the Genoa node for 25 years, gains permanent claims on Lombardy.
This the logical expansion of Savoy, who already owns Nice.
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Conquer Milan: To keep on expanding in Italy, we need to be the uncontested power of the Po valley. The lands of the Duchy of Milan stand in our way.
Success condition: Lombardy is owned by Savoy (or SP) or its subjects.
Reward: -10% Aggressive Expansion for 25 years.
This is the real beginning of the Italian ambitions of Savoy, so less AE will always be useful.
- An Italian Ambition:
We became a very powerful state in Northern Italy, but we need to prove rival nations that we have the power to subjugate them and that they should unite under our Italian banner.
Success condition: Has a standing army of over 50k men and is a kingdom.
Reward: Gains permanent claims on the Italy region.
Well, that's OP. But they did unite Italy after all, just later. This is not unrealistic to see it happen earlier if they have 300 dev and/or already formed Sardinia-Piedmont, and have a very decent FL.
- Form Italy: After centuries of infighting between numerous minor countries, we finally have the legitimacy and power to unite all the various Italian states into one nation. We should fulfill that destiny.
Success condition: Is Italy.
Reward: Gains 50 prestige, 50 legitimacy and 100 admin.
The Savoyard mission tree is done. That was a small and easy one. Even if it is very powerful in the end, I think it is realistic and it will hopefully help with the formation of SP, and maybe even Italy, without railroading it too hard. For the player, it will make Savoy a very interesting and powerful country, as it should be. Savoy should be the primary choice of anyone wanting to form Italy because they were the ones to form it, and Milan is for instance far more frequent. Missions are an excellent way to make a formation by Savoy more likely without making Savoy more powerful than they were in 1444.
I use that to advocate for my Savoyard achievement I suggested in the achievement compilation thread:
Transalpine Kingdom: As Savoy, form both France and Italy in the same campaign.
2. Brittany
A quick and easy tree too, this time divided in two. One branch replacing the "Conquest" tree, and one branch replacing the "Diplomatic/Trade" tree, even if I included diplomacy in the conquest tree. The "Buildings" generic tree would therefore stay.
So, on the left, a small tree focused on territorial expansion.
- Territorial Ambitions: If our small nation is to expand despite its powerful neighbors, we have to build an army as big as we can afford.
Success condition: Is at FL.
Reward: +25% FL for 25 years.
This is basically the standard starting mission of every nation, but here is the reward is here to make up for their small size compared to their neighbours and give the player real opportunities if he wants to expand.
Then, there are two options, but this is worth noting they are not exclusive at all. Brittany always played a dangerous game of shifting allegiance between France and England to preserve its independence, so I wanted to represent that.
- Placate France: We should never ignore the threat of the English. As they are their natural enemy, being in France's good graces would ensure our protection. This may even offer us opportunities to expand...
Success condition: France has +100 opinion of Brittany.
Reward: +1 diplomatic reputation for 20 years, gains permanent claims on Normandy.
- Placate England: France is clearly a looming threat to our independence. As they are their natural enemy, being in England's good graces would ensure our protection. This may even offer us opportunities to expand...
Success condition: England has +100 opinion of Brittany.
Reward: +1 diplomatic reputation for 20 years, gains permanent claims on Poitou.
I'm not sure if the +1 diprep should stack. I find it funny to reward you for playing the multidimensional chess as Brittany tried to do, but I don't know if that's acceptable.
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Claim Normandy:
Our bonds with France have given us the opportunity to claim Normandy for ourselves. The French likely won't be pleased, but this is an unique opportunity.
Success condition: Normandy is owned by Brittany or a subject.
Reward: Norman becomes an accepted culture, Cotentin, Caen and Caux each gain 1 base tax.
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Claim Poitou:
Our bonds with England have given us the opportunity to claim Poitou for ourselves. The English likely won't be pleased, but this is an unique opportunity.
Success condition: Poitou is owned by Brittany or a subject.
Reward: Francien becomes an accepted culture, Saintonge gains 1 base tax, Bas-Poitou gains 1 base tax and 1 base production.
If Brittany successfully both of these missions, they get access to an extra two. I wondered if I should lock these two behind the possibility to get both France and England to 100 relation early, but it is part of the idea of the missions, and the rewards of these last missions are not that impactful.
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Rising Power:
With our new conquests, we have proved that no one should underestimate the strength of Brittany.
Success condition: Have 150 development, have an army of 20k men.
Reward: Brittany gets -10% construction and dev cost for 25 years. Brittany gains a permanent claim on Aquitaine.
With all those conquests and the rewards of the missions, the development of Brittany should be over 150, which makes it relatively easy. The Force Limit should also be 20.
Control the Estuaries:
We now stand in position to control the estuaries of Loire and Gironde, which will give you a complete control of the Atlantic coast of France.
Success condition: Nantes and Aquitaine owned by Brittany or a subject.
Reward: +10% Trade Efficiency for 25 years.
Basically, this is the final reward for controlling the coastline.
Now that we dealt with the conquest tree, there is the trade and colonial tree to consider. Brittany historically being well known for its connections to the sea, it is obviously a very important part of the tree. AI Brittany, when it survives, is often a successful colonizer if left alone.
Dominate the Atlantic Trade:
We have always relied on the Atlantic Ocean to trade with other nations. We need to strengthen our control of the local trade.
Success condition: Brittany is the strongest power in the Bordeaux node.
Reward: +1 tax, production and manpower in Nantes, +15% local trade power for 25 years.
Brittany starts out with the second highest share of the node, and some lightships or a marketplace in Nantes should be enough to dominate it.
Expand the Navy: Fishing is a primary part of our industry, our trade is almost exclusively done by sea, and our huge coastline needs to be defended. We have the need of a strong, modern, and polyvalent navy.
Success condition: Brittany has at least 20 ships.
Reward: +2 production in Finistère, +20% ship durability for 25 years.
This is very obvious that a Brittany tree should focus on the navy. The increase of production in Finistère is because the province has naval supplies, it can represent the growth of the port of Brest, even under Breton influence.
Expand cod fishery:
Our fishermen should sail further west in order to find new opportunities.
Success condition: Brittany has discovered at least one province in Northern America.
Reward: +1 tax, production and manpower in Vannetais.
Historically, a major part of Breton development during the time frame and later on in the 19th century came from new fishing opportunities, especially in the North Atlantic. As Vannetais produces fish in game, it is fitting that it is developed, and it includes Lorient which is is the second biggest French fishing port today. Finistère also developed thanks to that, but the naval industry is what's represented there in game, and it already received a boost.
Control the Grand Banks: Securing the Grand Banks of Newfoundland is the key to expand our activities in the North Atlantic.
Success condition: Brittany owns a province in Newfoundland.
Reward: +15 global settler increase and +5% settler chance for 25 years.
Expand our colonies: We should develop our colonies to carve ourselves a real Empire.
Success condition: Brittany is the overlord of a colonial nation with at least 10 provinces.
Reward: +10% tariff efficiency for 25 years.
And the end of the colonial tree, with more usual rewards.
Brittany has a much more modest tree, but it can't include much given that Brittany historically disappeared almost immediately. Nonetheless, it has a strong identity and it is fairly easy to imagine which direction Brittany could take, focusing on the control of the French coastline and the birth of a naval and colonial power.
This is also the perfect opportunity for me to complain about the lack of a Breton achievement. It's not like there are tons of very funny and interesting opportunities, like, for a start,
Great Brittany: As Brittany, own all of Britain as core provinces. You could also add the requirement to wipe out the British culture group and replace it with Breton culture to spice things up.
3. Burgundy
We now get into a "major" tree which is a complete overhaul and not just some extra missions. The missions of the current Burgundian tree are nice and realistic, but I think there should be more and that their order should be slightly changed. Generally speaking, I think everyone should have more missions, at least medium/major countries, because as it stands right now, this is far too quick to complete a mission tree. The more missions you have, the more you take the risk of making the game too easy for a player that can quickly complete it and claim all the rewards, but well. The player can always find a way to do things, and the English tree stands proof that Paradox is not opposed to player powerplays with a mission tree.
As you can see, it has 4 main chains, and some small missions in the fifth column focused on internal buildup.
The 4 main chains are focused on four of the challenges of Burgundy on game start: the integration and assimilation of the subjects, the rivalry with France, the rivalry with England, and other expansion paths against smaller states.
We will immediately start with the strengthening of Burgundy and the birth of an unified nation, on the left.
Placate subjects: It is already there in game, I would not change the mission and its requirements, but I think the rewards should be changed based on the new follow-up mission.
Reward: +100 dip
The reason is that Burgundy will need A LOT of dip to complete that path, and placating the subjects is definitely a display of diplomacy, so that makes sense.
Integrate Nevers: Once again, it is in game, and the flavor text is excellent, but I would change the rewards.
Reward: -15% diplomatic annexation cost for 25 years
The generic mission tree includes some reduced dip annexation cost if you have two subjects, Burgundy needs access to that too. The player can obviously delay completing the mission before he integrates his PUs, similarly to the way we use the generic mission tree.
Integrate the Unions: It is time for us to unify our possessions by integrating our personal unions. The Low Countries are rightful Burgundian land.
Success condition: Burgundy owns and have cores on all the starting provinces of Brabant, Flanders and Holland.
Reward: -25% Culture Conversion Cost for 25 years.
The rewards are clearly here to give other options than gamey things to prevent the Dutch revolts. This will help to culture convert the Low Countries to Burgundian culture.
Assimilate new subjects: Our new subjects in the Low Countries prove rather unruly, we should make them understand that they are a part of Burgundy and avoid any revolt.
Success condition: All provinces in the Low Countries owned by Burgundy are of Burgundian culture, or the year is after 1650.
Reward: If it still owns the starting provinces of Brabant, Flanders and Holland, Burgundy gains a permanent claim on the Low Countries.
1650 is the end of the Dutch revolts, and culture conversion prevents them. The mission is basically "prevent Dutch revolts"
Unify Low Countries: Now that we proved that we can rule over the Low Countries, we should expand in this rich area and complete its unification.
Success condition: All provinces in the Low Countries region are owned by Burgundy or one of its subjects.
Reward: +10% production efficiency for 25 years.
This is the logical ending of that path. After firmly controlling the land of Brabant, Flanders and Holland, Burgundy should now focus on expanding in the region.
As it opens the Channel this branch is very close to the one focusing on the rivalry with England.
Seize Calais: The English have used Calais as a key port to control France and connect the two parts of their Kingdom, but we surround it entirely. If we were to seize it in a decisive move, we would significantly weaken their control of their French holdings and make them easy to invade.
Success condition: Calais is owned by Burgundy or one of its subjects.
Reward: Gain a permanent claim on Normandy.
Conquer Normandy: With the seizure of Calais, Normandy is ripe for the taking. We should invade these rich lands and strengthen our control of the trade in the Channel.
Success condition: All provinces in Normandy are owned by Burgundy or one of its subjects.
Reward: +15% trade power in the English Channel for 25 years.
This is something even the Burgundian AI can do from time to time, and this is not unrealistic to imagine Burgundy could have taken advantage of the situation if both England and France were to decline. There was definitely time in the Hundred Years' War where that was a realistic ambition.
Dominate the Channel:
Between our subjects and our newly conquered lands, we have gained access to a lot of the trade flowing in the English Channel. Even if Burgundy proper lies far away from the seas, we should take advantage of that unexpected situation.
Success condition: Is the strongest trade power in the English Channel.
Reward: +15% trade efficiency for 25 years.
With Normandy and integrated PUs, this should be very easy so long as the trading capital is moved in the Channel.
Build a warfleet: The expansion of our naval trade has made us realize the importance of a strong navy to protect our shores.
Success condition: Has 10 heavy ships.
Reward: +10% morale of navies for 25 years, gains a permanent claim on London.
Time to cross the Channel, I guess. To complete the next mission, both this one and "assimilate new subjects" should be completed.
Conquer London:
With a firm control on all of the Southern shore and a strong navy, our ambitions should now carry us on the other side of the Channel.
Success condition: London is owned by Burgundy or one of its subjects.
Reward: +1 yearly navy tradition for 25 years.
There is definitely an element of fantasy in that, but I don't think that's very impactful. The Burgundian player wants London to control the Channel, mission or not, and the AI will never be able to land anyway unless some serious improvements of the AI are made.
We will immediately go to the fourth column, focused on France.
Conquer Champagne:
Weakened by its constant wars with England, France is wounded but we should not let them recover or we will always be threatened by our neighbor. We should strike as soon as possible and conquer the rich area of Champagne to control the local trade and ensure France remains weak.
Success condition: All provinces in the Champagne area are owned by Burgundy or its subjects.
Reward: Gain a permanent claim on Dauphiné.
With the new French map, this means conquering Reims and Troyes, as Rethélois is already owned by Nevers, and taking another CoT in Champagne, Reims. This is the logical first area you want to take away from France, as it also connects the Burgundian holdings.
Conquer Dauphiné:
To further weaken France, we need to deprive them of even more of their richest provinces. The city of Lyon is the second biggest in France and the crossroad between France, Germany and Italy. We need to control it and to conquer the nearby domains.
Success condition: Lyonnais and Dauphiné are owned by Burgundy or its subjects, France does not own Savoy.
Reward: Gain a permanent claim on Île-de-France
Burgundy keeps on consolidating and on weakening France, basically.
Triumph in Paris: France is the mere shadow of a Kingdom, and we will not suffer their very existence any longer. We stand at the gates of Paris, we should strike a decisive blow and make sure everyone knows that Burgundy is the most powerful of the two nations.
Success condition: Burgundy owns Paris, Burgundy has more total development than France.
Reward: Gain a permanent claim on the French region, except Brittany, Normandy, Provence and Lorraine.
This is basically the dream of Burgundy, to supplant France and claim all of its holdings. Normandy, Provence and Lorraine can be claimed by other missions, and there is no reason to claim Brittany by controlling Paris, given that France was likely not controlling Brittany, or just conquered it.
Assume leadership over the French:
Now that everyone recognizes our power, we must assume our role and take the place that is ours. France belongs to Burgundy.
Success condition: Loire, Poitou, Massif Central, Guyenne, Gascony and Languedoc are owned by Burgundy or its subjects.
Reward: Gain a permanent claim on Brittany, gain 50 prestige.
This time, I guess Brittany is a legitimate claim. Burgundy can now likely form France.
Finally, the last conquest path is towards more minor states, and it is already in the game for the most part.
Unite the Duchy: This is the "A kingdom divided" mission in game. Except Burgundy is still a Duchy .
Success condition: Same, holding Lorraine area.
Reward: The reward of "Integrate Nevers" in game because it leads to that path, so permanent claims on Savoie, Vaud, Wallis and Bern.
In game.
Reclaim Transjurania: In game.
Success condition: Same.
Reward: Instead of tons of claims, more modest ones as there are now more steps, so just permanent claims on Piedmont, Montferrat and Cuneo.
Pass the Alps:
We need to strengthen our control of our newly conquered mountainous holdings by controlling the Mountain passes. To do so, we need to control the Italian side of the Alps.
Success condition: Own or a have a subject own Piedmont, Montferrat and Cuneo.
Reward: Gain permanent claims on Provence and Nice.
This is the first part of the "Kingdom of the Arles" mission in game.
Reach the Sea: We should reach the Mediterranean to reunite the lands of the historical Kingdom of Burgundy. The rich cities of Provence should be ours.
Success condition: Own or have a subject own Provence area and Nice.
Reward: Gain 15% tradepower in Genoa node.
This is the second part. To complete the last part, one also needs Dauphiné from the French branch.
Restore the Kingdom of Arles: Completely unchanged. Except that it is the Kingdom of Arles, the Arlesian Kingdom, the Kingdom of Arelat, or anything except Kingdom of THE Arles. Arles is a city, the Arles is nothing. No idea where they found that, i literally find nowhere where it is called Kingdom of the Arles except in the game.
Finally, some additional missions a bit more disconnected and not focused on conquest.
Pick a Side:
Burgundy is surrounded by three powerful neighbours: France, England, and the Holy Roman Empire led by Austria. If we are to survive, we should find a strong ally.
Success condition: Is allied to either France, England or Austria.
Reward: Gains 1 diplomatic reputation for 25 years.
This should be a good first move anyway.
Gain a crown:
Burgundy was once a Kingdom, but this title has disappeared and we should try to recreate a modern Burgundian Kingdom.
Success condition: Is a Kingdom.
Reward: Gains 1 yearly legitimacy for 25 years.
And a small chain on industry.
Develop the textile industry:
Our lands are home to a thriving textile industry. We should develop it and modernize it to remain a relevant economic power.
Success condition: Has 10 textile manufactories, is the world's leading producer in Cloth.
Reward: Gains 20% goods produced for 25 years.
This is strong, but GB has the bonus all the time and Poland has 33% for an entire age. So not that much actually.
Early industrialization:
Our nation has always had a successful mining industry and has always heavily relied on the production of manufactured goods. This is only natural that we try to industrialize as soon as we can.
Success condition: The year is after 1750, owns Namur, Trois-Evêchés and Cambrésis.
Reward: Gains 1 tax, production and manpower in Namur, Trois-Evêchés and Cambrésis.
This puts Cambrésis at 15 dev, and Namur and Trois-Evêchés to 20 dev. This is similar to the Scottish and English missions giving free development in provinces with latent coal. I strongly believe Burgundy could have industrialized early too, with their more Germanic mentality than France and the importance of the early industry in their economy.
Reach new resources: The new resources we discovered should be exploited, and coal mining should become a central Burgundian industry.
Success condition: Owns at least one furnace.
Reward: Gains 1 tax, 3 production and 1 manpower in Cambrésis.
This puts Cambrésis at 20 dev.
Ok, the Burgundian tree is dealt with. It was a lot bigger, but it is still significantly smaller than Great Britain, and just above Scotland, so that's not shocking me. It is powerful, but difficult, as Burgundy should be imo.
Burgundy's achievement is fine as it is, it's a very enjoyable one.
Now, let's have a look at the monster. The tree even bigger than the British one.
4. France
So, balancing the French tree, or France in general, is a very difficult task.
France was not the most successful state of the timeframe, it barely expanded outside its home region and fought countless expensive wars for minor gains or no gain at all. Their colonial empire looks big, but it was barely inhabited as opposed to the British one, which is why North America became British (that and the 7 Years' War, but this played a role in the 7 Years' War). Spain had a bigger Empire for most of the timeframe, and Great Britain ended the period with an uniquely powerful position which paved the way for their Victorian Empire. Yet, France was arguably the strongest state for most of the EU4 era. It kept on fighting on all fronts, generally without any meaningful ally and against several great powers. France against most of Europe is the story of the Napoleonic wars, but that's far from the only time this happened. The Italian wars and the conflict between François I and Charles/Karl/Carlos V saw France fight simultaneously England, Spain and Austria and most of the HRE and stand its ground. Yes, they had the Ottomans on their side, but this is real life, the Ottomans were not projecting 200k men in Austria to full occupy them in 1 year. They were precious, but mostly served in fighting the Spanish fleet in the Mediterranean (which is not to be underestimated, nonetheless). Louis XIV also managed to antagonize the entirety of Europe when he tried to invade the Netherlands. Well, plenty of similar examples.
Generally speaking, France's moderate success compared to their potential (the richest and most centralized of the European kingdoms, and by far the most populated one, Ottomans put aside) came down to poor diplomacy, and bad luck. We're not making alt history (well we kinda are with mission tress), but without the Habsburg controlling up to half of Burgundy, all of Iberia and most of Italy, diplomacy would definitely have been easier. France found themselves surrounded by their arch-enemy England and the Habsburgs on all fronts.
I'm not saying that France would have performed significantly better without those things, but it's certain that France had
a lot of ambitions in the timeline, and missions are here to represent these ambitions. Some of the most powerful ones are locked behind difficult prerequisites, and the AI won't get anywhere near completing them, but I am perfectly aware that a player can go on an Ottoman-like rampage with them, and that they may be even stronger than the British ones (even if it's hard to compete with PU France as a mission).
Without further ado:
So. That's a bit overwhelming I guess, but I'll try to explain what that includes.
Basically, there are two gigantic branches, and three small ones for Religion, Army, and Infrastructure/architecture/centralization. Those three small ones are quite easy to understand, the other two are a lot more complex.
Each one of them starts with one of the pressing issues France faces on game start: the Hundred Years' War, and the need to unify France.
On the right, the tree starts by dealing with Provence and then turns on expansion towards Italy and in the Mediterranean, with a special bonus completely insane tree that represents the massive ambitions of Charles VIII.
On the left, the end of the struggle with England opens the way to the consolidation of French region, as it was historically the case, with the conquest of Burgundy and the subjugation of Brittany amongst other things. The tree leads towards colonization (I doubt France would have been a major colonial player without unifying their region and acquiring a much bigger Atlantic coastline through the subjugation of Brittany, and things would at least have been a lot slower), and further expansion towards modern-day France, to culminate with the dream of landing in the British Isles and conquering England.
Everything included in the tree is either things France did, or things France tried to do, with maybe one or two exceptions that just make sense in the context. Yet, the end result is pretty scary.
I suggest to open the tree in another tab to be able to keep the connections while reading that. If anyone reads it until the end.
Let's start with the small stuff.
The eldest daughter of the Church:
France is known as the eldest daughter of the Catholic church. As any child, we have duties and we are both the sword that led most of the Crusades and the shield that protected the righteous Pope in Avignon. We should improve relations with the Papal State to preserve that privileged position.
Success condition: The Pope has an opinion of +100 of France.
Reward: France gains +1 yearly Papal Influence for 25 years.
That's the old Catholic mission gone for everyone. If a nation should keep it that's definitely France. It will help for the early Papal Controller (and here, the powerplays are already starting).
Deal with the Reformation:
Despite our close relation with the Catholic church, many people in France have been tempted by the Reformation. We should deal with that issue one way or another to avoid a Civil War breaking in France between the different faiths.
Success condition: Is Protestant, Reformed, or has Embraced the Counter-Reformation.
Reward: France gains +2% missionary strength against heretics for 25 years.
This is obviously for the French Wars of Religion.
Put and End to Religious Disorder:
Despite all our efforts, tensions were seemingly inevitable between our different communities. It is time to restore peace and order, whether it be by tolerating all beliefs or by force converting the heretics.
Success condition: Is in the Age of Absolutism, Religious Unity is at least 100%.
Reward: France gains +1 Tolerance of the True Faith for 25 years.
This tree also leads to an intriguing "Mother of the Church", but let's not talk about that for now.
Ultima Ratio Regum:
Even if our French troops traditionally relied on our notorious Elan and our cavalry charges, it seems the times are changing and artillery will decide the wars of tomorrow. It is time for us to invest in these new weapons to impose our beliefs.
Success condition: Has at least 30% of the Force Limit filled with artillery.
Reward: France gains +10% artillery combat ability and -10% artillery cost for 25 years.
Ultima Ratio Regum, roughly meaning (Strength) is the last argument of the Kings, is what Louis XIV engraved on every French cannon. He revolutionized the French army and was one of the first rulers to rely on artillery with a lot of success in battles. Combining that with the French age bonus could be SO devastating, especially in MP, I guess.
Modernize the French Army: We cannot resort on our huge population to win wars anymore. Untrained levies have their use, but a standing professional army should be France's priority in order to triumph of its many foes.
Success condition: France has at least 50% Army professionalism.
Reward: France gains +5% discipline for 25 years.
And then, the internal branch.
French Renaissance:
Renaissance ideas are spreading fast in our country. We should encourage this revival of the Arts and Sciences to lead us to greatness.
Success condition: France owns or controls a province with Renaissance.
Reward: France gains +33% institution spread for 25 years.
France historically was one the first countries to embrace Renaissance, and this was actually helped by the Italian Wars, which is why I added the option for France to control a province with Renaissance to make it spread faster.
Châteaux de la Loire: Renaissance ideas have made their way in our minds, and we should support the development of Arts by building great Renaissance castles in Val de Loire.
Success condition: France has embraced Renaissance.
Reward: France gains -1% yearly prestige decay for 25 years.
It's such a shame France has literally nothing about prestige in their idea set. They can generate it fairly easily but that's not historical at all that they don't have anything. I gave prestige decay because it seems more fitting here. French ducal ideas actually include "Renaissance Palaces" giving -1% yearly prestige decay, but France totally deserves such a modifier too, which would be a lot more logical than some of the French ideas. But that's not the question.
Centralization of the French power:
For too long we have been forced to accept the power of the local authorities, but no more. We rule by divine right, and our legitimacy means that all the power should be kept in our hands and that no one should challenge us.
Success condition: Is in the Age of Absolutism, legitimacy is 100.
Reward: France gains +1 yearly absolutism for 25 years.
Louis XIV. There is already a L'Etat c'est moi decision for that, but it has lost all its flavour now that you can't go over 100 absolutism. It just means you don't have to trigger CaC, which is completely absurd given that CaC is inspired by the struggles of Louis XIII, Richelieu and Louis XIV to centralize the French power. Yearly absolutism seems a lot more fitting to represent Frane in the 17th century.
Modernization of Paris:
The city of Paris is not looking as befits the capital of a country of our importance. It is still a maze of small, dirty and dangerous medieval streets. We should transform it following the new ideas of our modern century.
Success condition: Paris is the capital of France, has embraced the Enlightenment.
Reward: Paris gains +2 tax, production and manpower.
Pretty much what it says. From the middle of the 18th century, Paris experienced numerous changes and most of its medieval center was destroyed (except the monuments, obviously) and slowly replaced, a process that would only end under Haussmann, more than 100 years later. Many writers and philosophers defended these changes, notably Restif de la Bretonne who extensively wrote about Paris in the 18th century.
Now that this is done, let's have a look at the path following the victory of the Hundred Years' War, or at least its end, because I left the possibility to finish it without a victory and still unlock the rest of it for the AI not to be completely pathetic, and for potential deals in MP.
End the Hundred Years' War:
For too long now the kings of England have laid an outrageous claim to the French throne. The Valois were on the brink of losing the French throne, but we reclaimed most of our country including the capital of Paris and rich cities like Reims. We are now ready to repel the English menace and to drive them off our shores.
Only then will we be able to focus on expanding our influence over the French region.
Success condition: France owns its starting cores OR this is not the Age of Discovery.
Reward: +1 yearly prestige and +1 yearly legitimacy for 25 years, gains a subjugation Casus Belli on Brittany, gains a permanent claim on the Burgundy area OR gains nothing and just unlocks the rest of the tree.
There are already missions with several possible outcomes, like the African one to trade in slaves or abolish slavery. This way, the entire tree is not blocked. One of the main current issues I find with the French tree is that it is locked behind defeating the English, which should not be the case imo. France would have been a lot slower, but not totally unimpactful without reconquering their cores.
From there, there is a branch going towards Brittany and colonization and a branch towards Burgundy and other conquests, but start with the smallest one, in the middle.
Control of Gascony: Gascony lies at the edge of the French kingdom. The region has often been contested and our grip of it has never been firm. We should ensure the region never leaves the French domain.
Success condition: France owned Gascony for 10 consecutive years.
Reward: Gain a subjugation casus belli on Navarra, or a permanent claim on Navarra.
The mission is just there to delay the next one a bit and avoid having the HYW leading directly into French influence over Navarra, which wouldn't make any sense.
Legacy of the House of Albret:
Through marriage, our Gascon vassals, the Lords of Ablret, have extended their influence over the small Kingdom of Navarra. We should help them increase their influence in Navarra to ensure this territory falls into French hands.
Success condition: Labourd and Navarra are owned by France or one of its subjects.
Reward: Gain a permanent claim on Roussillon.
How Navarra is represented in game is completely ahistorical, the province's borders don't make up for the modern border of France and Spain, or the area that fell into French hands when Henri IV became king of both France and Navarra through his mother Jeanne d'Albret. And the whole area of Vasconia is in Spain region, which is completely inaccurate, as pretty much everyone mentioned (on top of forcing Granada to own Labourd for Re-Reconqusista, which does not make any sense). So, technically, France owned parts of the province of Navarra, and Spain another part, and this makes this mission an odd one. France never fought Spain for that, and the mission will likely force them to if they want to complete it. But at the same time, the rewards are not crucial.
Secure the mountains:
France's southwest and southeast borders are protected by the Alps and the Pyrenees who offer us great natural protection. We should seize land that would allow us to defend ourselves more easily and fight on multiple fronts without being overwhelmed.
Success condition: Navarra, Roussillon, Savoy and Forcalquier and owned by France or one of its subjects.
Reward: These four provinces gain 1 base manpower and -25% build cost for 25 years.
One of the main French strengths was how easy it was to use the mountain passes to repel invaders. That's what notably allowed Louis XIV to hold his southern front with token forces when fighting in the Netherlands or in Germany with the main part of his army.
And finally, a final mission also requiring other provinces and thus requiring "Secure the mountains" and another mission.
The Natural borders:
France does not only find its identity in its early unification. Nature's good will made France protected from all sides, by the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Rhone, the Rhine and finally the Ardennes. If we are to fill these borders, no one will ever be able to invade us, as all of these defenses are naturally impenetrable.
Success condition: France owns the entirety of the French region, Roussillon, Labourd, Navarra, Sundgau and Elsass/Alsace.
Reward: France receives +20% fort defense for 25 years.
This was a strong belief that France had "natural borders" that encompasses it and made it destined to happen, and easy to defend. The height of that belief was in the late 19th century under the influence of geographers like Vidal de la Blache, but this idea is also present in Voltaire's work. This is why France was so attached to Alsace and considered it naturally French despite its Germanic culture and population, it was on the French side of the Rhine after all. This is also why "the Germans will never pass through the Ardennes, it's not like they've done it already, everyone knows we have natural borders and no one can pass there". Hence the small reference in the end.
Time to look west, across the Atlantic, with the branch on the far left.
Subjugate Brittany: Bretons are an unruly people with strange customs and dialects, but their nobility is more and more influenced by French culture. If the Bretons have often proved hard to conquer in our history, maybe we should try to subdue their nobility instead and make the Duchy of Brittany a vassal of the French Crown.
Success condition: Brittany is a subject of France or Brittany does not exist and France owns all of the Brittany area as core provinces.
Reward: +100 diplomatic power.
Historically, Brittany was never conquered. The marriage of Anne de Bretagne with Louis VIII is what brought Brittany in some kind of PU under France from the late 15th century, and Brittany, as Provence, kept a special status and some of its local laws and customs until the Revolution. It was simply "administered by France", even if
de facto it was a French province. That's why a vassal is probably better, to avoid waiting 50 years for integration.
Develop new ports:
The recent acquisition of a larger coastline has left us with the need of finally focusing on the Seas. We have always ignored naval warfare for the most part, and the French fleet should be developed. The first step is to create new ports or develop existing ones.
Success condition: Provence, Saintonge, Vannetais and Finistère are all owned by either France or one of its vassals.
Reward: They all gain +1 base production, France gains -20% ship cost for 25 years.
These provinces contain Toulon, La Rochelle, Lorient and Brest who became France's major ports during the EU4 era from scratch, or close to it. I wanted to originally make it so they have to be owned by France directly, but I did not want to block the entire tree until 1550 if you randomly PUed Provence as it sometimes happen.
Expand the French Navy: It is now time ro build a might fleet so that we can finally become the Naval power we deserve to be.
Success condition: France has 10/15/20 heavy ships.
Reward: France gains -20% naval maintenance for 25 years.
In game, there is already a mission to have 20 heavies. First, it seems a lot to me, and I was tempted to reduce it to 10, but I'm not sure whether it would be too easy. It has to happen more often than not, even for the AI, because it unlocks colonization. I haven't tested it enough. And anyway, in the current tree, is does not require anything, which means that even a France that loses all of its Atlantic coast could fulfill it. That does not make any sense to me. I think the expansion of the French navy under the impulsion of Richelieu was the logical consequence of the control of Brittany and that gigantic Atlantic coast that France now had, not something that came out of thin air. Obviously, the previous bonus helps with building these heavies, which is why it may be 20 still.
That mission is a prerequisite to other ones targeting a real confrontation of the French Navy with the English one, but we will see that in another branch. What interests us here is that it unlocks four small trees for the French colonization.
Antilles Françaises:
The Caribbean is a collection of small islands, but they are all prefect for growing luxury goods and a key to control the American trade. We should colonize them.
Success condition: France has a colonial nation in the Caribbean.
Reward: France gains +10% Trade Efficiency for 25 years.
Bring in slaves to the Plantations:
Our plantations in the Caribbean require slaves to produce crops at the cheapest price. We should secure the Triangle Trade and bring in slaves to the colonies.
Success condition: France has one province producing slaves, or France has the highest Trade Power in the Ivory Coast node.
Reward: France gains +20% tariff efficiency for 25 years
Antilles was the part of the French colonial Empire in America brining the most money, but the other parts were probably politically and strategically more important as France was in direct competition with England.
Colonize Québec:
Even if the northernmost part of America is not the most hospitable with its harsh winters, colonizing it would be a stepping stone into the rest of the continent, and its importance for trade is not to be neglected.
Success condition: France has a colonial nation in Canada.
Reward: France gains +20% local trade power in Gulf of St-Lawrence for 25 years.
French Louisiana: We should colonize Louisiana to expand our Colonial Empire.
Success condition: France has a colonial nation in Louisiana.
Reward: France gains +20% local trade power in Mississippi River for 25 years.
None of these missions grant global settler increase, as France did not manage to bring in enough people to the colonies, which is part of the reason why they had to abandon North America to England. The Thirteen Colonies were smaller, but a lot more populated. As this mechanic is not present in game and development of provinces is fixed, the best way to represent that is probably to make France have less provinces.
However, this could have changed.
Connect our holdings in North America:
In between the Gulf of St-Lawrence and the Mississippi Estuary, a lot of land separates our colonial holdings. We should try to connect our different settlements by controlling the Great Lakes and give our colonial empire a real identity.
Success condition: France or one of its subjects has the most tradepower in the Ohio node.
Reward: France gains +5% settler chance and +25 global settler increase for 25 years.
Destroy competition: Even if we have not always been able to create strong colonial nations everywhere, an excellent way of ensuring we become the main colonial power is to make sure the empires of our rivals are destroyed.
Success condition: France fully annexed a Colonial Nation, or France is supporting the independence of a Colonial Nation.
Reward: France gains +20% tariff efficiency for 25 years.
The American Revolution, obviously.
Enter the Indian Ocean:
The riches of the Indian Ocean and its spice trade are still to be controlled by the European powers. We should get a foothold in the Indian Ocean.
Success condition: France owns a province in the Zanzibar node.
Reward: France gains a permanent claim on the areas of Andhra, Orissa and Coromandel.
This is for Île Bourbon, notably, but I did not want to force it to be a handful of provinces in Mascareigne so that the rest of the tree is not locked.
French East Indies: India is rich, but weak and divided. We should seize the South-East Coast of India to control the Indian trade and increase the wealth of our nation.
Success condition: France or a subject owns Andhra, Orissa and Coromandel.
Reward: +20% Trade Efficiency for 25 years.
Ambition Australe:
Rumor has it that the last continent, Oceania, is made of a large mass of land barely inhabited. We should settle it to make it French land.
Success condition: Has a colonial nation in Australia.
Reward: +5% settler chance and +25 global settler increase for 25 years.
Colonization is dealt with, let's have a look at expansion following the end of the HYW.
Assert authority over Burgundy:
For too long the Dukes of Burgundy have refused the French authority and tried to defend their independence. During the Hundred Years' War, they often sided against us on the English side, even if they are de jure
a part of our Kingdom. We should put them back in their place to strengthen our Kingdom.
Success condition: France or a subject owns the area of Burgundy.
Reward: France receives a permanent claim on Lorraine, Picardy (apart from Calais) and Rethélois.
Conquer Lorraine:
North of Burgundy lies Lorraine, an historically contest area with the Holy Roman Empire. We should control Lorraine to secure our borders.
Success condition: France or a subject owns Lorraine.
Reward: France receives a permanent claim on Elsass/Alsace.
Reach the Rhine:
If we are to protect France from the Holy Roman Empire, we should try to expand to the Rhine to make it a defensive position we can hold. This would also allow us to unify France behind this border.
Success condition: France or a subject owns Elsass/Alsace and Sundgau.
Reward: France gains +1 stability or 50 admin.
This is the other prerequisite to "The Natural borders".
Conquer Picardy: The rich area in Picardy has remained out of our control for too long. We should ensure they fall back into French hands.
Success condition: France or a subject owns Rethélois, Artois, Cambrésis and Picardie.
Reward: France gains a permanent claim on Calais, France gains a permanent claim on Flanders and Wallonia.
I included Rethélois there, because else it was part of nothing.
Flanders and Wallonia: Flanders and Wallonia lie on the North-East of Picardy and we now border these rich areas. We should take control of them to make France wealthier.
Success condition: France or a subject owns Flanders and Wallonia.
Reward: +15% production efficiency for 25 years.
Louis XIV repeatedly tried to invade the region, and Napoleon finally did it and considered soon-to-be Belgium a natural part of France
Recover Calais: Calais is the last of the English holdings in France. They used it as a stepping stone to invade us on multiple occasion, and we have not been able to recover it in the end of the Hundred Years' War. Now that our control of Picardy means we border it, it is time to recover that crucial strategic port. Only then will France be unified at last.
Success condition: France or a subject owns Calais.
Reward: -0,1 monthly local autonomy for 25 years.
As many people know, Calais was only conquered in 1558, 100 years after the end of the Hundred Years' War.
This opens the tree requiring both Calais and the expansion of the French Navy
Rule the Seas: With the fall of Calais, we now look to the English from across the Channel. They have always been able to defend themselves thanks to their naval superiority, but it is time to contest this English supremacy.
Success condition: France has more Heavy Ships than England (or GB).
Reward: France gains +10% Morale of Navies for 25 years, France gains a permanent claim on all of Ireland.
Get a foothold in the British Isles: The heart of England is still heavily protected, and we may not be able to invade it immediately. If we are to one day land on the British shores, we should use the less defended Ireland as a stepping stone.
Success condition: France or a subject owns all of Ireland.
Reward: France gains a permanent claim on the London area.
This is based on the Napoleon's attempts to invade England by Ireland, exactly because he considered Ireland to be less defended and thus a better entry point.
Defeat the "Perfide Albion":
Our mortal enemy has always been England, but with the conquest of Ireland, they are now at our mercy. It is time to strike a decisive blow.
Success condition: France or a subject owns the London area.
Reward: France gains a permanent claim on Holland.
The ultimate dream of France.
Control the Channel: With our successful invasion of England, we should now try to monopolize the Channel.
Success condition: France or a subject owns Holland.
Reward: France gains +20% trade efficiency for 25 years.
That was quite the conquest tree, but I think it all makes sense. It covers what France historically did or tried to do, adds the conquest of London which just makes sense as a French mission, does not push further into the British Isles because taking London is enough to eclipse England definitely, and it then opens the control of the Channel, which is the logical conclusion. The colonization tree is just things France did, apart from Australia and connecting Québec with Louisiana, which they actively tried to do.
We've had a look at the Atlantic and the Channel, time to expand towards the Mediterranean. That's the last part.
Reclaim Anjou:
The Duchy of Anjou is a central and important part of the French Kingdom, but it is controlled by the independent cadet branch of the Valois, in Provence. We should reclaim it and strengthen our grip on French rightful land.
Success condition: France or a subject owns Anjou.
Reward: France gains a subjugation casus belli on Provence and permanent claims on the Provence area.
I give the option both to annex Provence or to subjugate them, maybe you should be forced to use one of these two only. Historically, similarly to Brittany, this is probably better to describe that as a relationship between overlord and subject at start, but I’m against forcing too many subjects to advance in the tree. I’m still unsure.
Unite the House of Valois: It is time for us to unite the scattered possessions of the House of Valois by putting Provence back under our protection.
Success condition: Provence is not an independent nation, France or a subject owns Provence and Forcalquier.
Reward: France gains a permanent claim on Nice.
This opens the road into Italy, with two trees. A more fantasy one (very powerful, very hard, and actually displaying the objectives of Charles VIII), and an historical one. Let’s start with the historical one.
Expand the Mediterranean Coastline: There is a small strip of land between the Alps and the Mediterrranean See around the County of Nice. We need to ensure control of it to open the road to Italy.
Success condition: France or a subject owns Nice.
Reward: France gains permanent claims on the provinces of Albenga, Genoa, Milan, Cremona and Novara.
Historically, France tried to conquer both Milan and Naples before conquering anything from Savoy, but that’s because they were married with Savoy and were granted military access. I think asking them to get Nice first is a good middle ground to avoid an early full annexation of Savoy, which is historical, but to give them access and coring range into the landlocked provinces of Milan in Northern Italy. That’s not how it happened historically, but I think that’s for the best in game. Currently, France starts with the claims on Savoy, but that’s way too far from history.
Conquer Milan:
The Duchy of Milan is one of the wealthiest of the small states of Italy, and it controls the entrance into the peninsula. Seizing it would be the first step towards conquering Italy.
Success condition: France or a subject owns Milan, Cremona and Novara.
Reward: France gains a permanent claim on Savoy, Piedmont, Cuneo and Montferrat.
We start getting into the complexity of the Italian Wars, and thus on a mission chain going into Italy. This is very hard to define which provinces are to be controlled by France to replicate the historical Italian Wars, and in which order, because the Italian Wars may be one of the most complex series of wars in history, with the states of Italy permanently switching sides (especially the Pope depending on who was elected and if he was pro-Venice, pro-Florence, pro-France, …), and those Italian states invading each other or being inherited between two wars. I thus decided to stick to the borders of 1444 to decide which permaclaims were to be granted. That’s a mess, I know that well. But Italian Wars are a complete mess, and the easiest way to do would be “France gains a permanent claim on all of Italy”, except that’s just… OP, not elegant and not historical.
Annex Savoy: Even if our control of Nice allows us to walk from France to Italy without crossing the Alps, the transalpine duchy of Savoy holds a strategic importance. The rulers of Savoy could grant access to our enemies who would then freely pass the Alps through their mountain passes and isolate our new holdings in Lombardy. The easiest way to ensure this never happens is to control these cols ourselves and to strengthen our control on both sides of the Alps.
Success condition: France or a subject owns Savoy and the area of Piedmont.
Reward: France gains a permanent claim on the starting provinces of Naples (the areas of Apulia, Calabria, Lazio-Campania except Roma, and the province of Abruzzi).
France never really conquered Savoy, but in game, disconnected possessions and landlocked enclaves are not working, especially for the AI (while France held Milan as a landlocked enclave for decades historically). Savoy has to be conquered under the EU4 logic to strengthen the French grip on Northern Italy.
Control Naples: Naples is an old possession of the house of Valois through our cadet branch of Anjou, but the Kingdom of Naples was lost to Spanish states in the early 15th century. The best way to avoid this inconvenience is to make Naples a part of French itself, not a subject state.
Success condition: France owns the starting provinces of Naples.
Reward: France gains a permanent claim on all of the region of Italy, except the province of Roma, the province of Venice and the areas of Sicily and Western Mediterranean Islands.
Here, France has to conquer Naples itself, not to have it as a subject (or have it as a subject and integrate it). The restoration of the PU on Naples is part of the “bonus” tree, and this mission will also make the integration of Naples easier if you had the PU earlier thanks to the permaclaims. That also slows the mission tree a bit.
Reform Italy: If France is undoubtedly the strongest and most prestigious of all European states, the name of Italy still carries the images of its former glory. Ruling over both France and Italy has a nice ring to it. It is time to control the entirety of the peninsula.
Success condition: France or a subject owns all of Italy, except Roma, Venice, Sicily and Western Mediterranean Islands.
Reward: France gains a permanent claim on Venice.
Well, here we are. Out of the historical ambitions of France because they stopped at Naples and Lombardy (at least before the Napoleonic era), but that was the consequence of the rising Habsburg influence that managed to repel them from the peninsula, not a conscious decision. Had France managed to hold Lombardy and Naples, they would have pushed it further, with only the islands, the last holdings of the Pope and the city of Venice likely escaping their influence.
Annex Venice:
The small and fabulously wealthy city of Venice is just the shadow of what it once was, but they still control a large part of the Mediterranean trade. We should aim to control it in order to open the Eastern Mediterranean.
Success condition: France or a subject owns Venice.
Reward: France gains +20% trade efficiency for 25 years.
France historically was the one to end Venice, after all, when Napoleon conquered it. And it’s just the logical conclusion of that tree.
We had a look at continental Italy, but the conquest of Nice opens other options, focus on the islands.
Mediterranean Ambitions: The Western Mediterranean is a key region for trade, and the richest of its ports is Genoa. We should control it and become the dominant power of the region.
Success condition: France or a subject owns Genoa and Albenga, France is the strongest power in the Genoa node.
Reward: France gains a permanent claim on the Western Mediterranean Islands.
Acquire Corsica: Just south of France and in front of our new Italian holdings lies the small island of Corsica. Even if it has no particular importance, it would strengthen our control of the Mediterranean. And who knows who could be born there in the future. It’s better to ensure he’ll be French and not Italian.
Success condition: France or a subject owns Corsica.
Reward: France gains a 100 AT general.
I split the Western Mediterranean Islands mission in half for the Napoleon reference.
Control the Islands: Sardinia is the next step of our expansion into the Mediterranean.
Success condition: France or a subject owns Western Mediterranean Islands.
Reward: France gains a permanent claim on the areas of Sicily, Algiers and Kabylia.
That’s also not something France did, but that’s a logical step.
Conquer Sicily: Sicily is the last remaining part of Italy not under our control. Our control of both Calabria and Sardinia should make it an easy conquest.
Success condition: France or a subject owns Sicily.
Reward: France gains +20% galley combat ability for 25 years.
This mission requires both Sardinia and Reform Italy before completing it, so even if it did not happen I’m safe in putting it in the tree. Once again, that’s a logical conclusion, and the reward is not that impactful, unless France wants to build a vast fleet of galleys to finally conquer Venice or deal with the Ottomans.
There is one last mission there.
Cross the Mediterranean: With our control of the Mediterranean, it is time to cross it and bring France into Northern Africa.
Success condition: France or a subject owns the areas of Kabylia and Algiers.
Reward: France gains +2 tolerance of heathens for 25 years.
Historically, the French conquest of Algeria started in 1830, so not really out of the timeframe, and that’s the historically most important of the French colonies, because a large number of French people settled there (“Pieds-Noirs”), and I think it is not absurd to include it, especially in a timeline where France expands a lot more aggressively in the Mediterranean. Historically, France only had Corsica before invading Algiers, but I wanted more requirements to avoid it happening too early and too often. Finally, as the colony was used to settle people and incorporate Algeria in France itself (with a special status, but still a part of France as opposed to most colonies, which is why the Algerian independence war was so bloody and still not a consensual topic in France), I think tolerance makes sense. Even if France did not really act as a benevolent invader and massacred quite a lot of people. At least they did not try to force convert the area. But let’s not dwell on that very controversial part of French history.
Everything is done, except the last branch of the French tree. It could honestly be removed if it’s too powerful, but this is far closer from French historical ambitions than “Great Britain ascendant” is from the British ones, and a lot of it is based on the plans of Charles VIII, had he won the Italian Wars as decisively as he expected.
It all starts with a difficult mission.
Early French Unification: During the entirety of the Middle Ages, France has suffered from its division, the power of local nobles and of the ambitions and rising influence of houses like Bourgogne or Plantagenet who challenged the central power in Paris. But if we were to unify it early enough, the formidable potential of the richest, most centralized and most populated country of Europe would make us a formidable power.
Success condition: The year is before 1500, France or a subject owns the entirety of the French region and Labourd, Burgundy does not exist or is a subject of France, Brittany does not exist or is a subject of France, Provence does not exist or is a subject of France.
Reward: France gains a Restoration of Union casus belli on Naples.
I haven’t tested it, and some things should likely be changed, but I want something hard even with Burgundian Inheritance, and almost impossible but still doable without it so that it’s not entirely based on the RNG of the BI. Most of the events following that are inspired by the expeditions of Charles VIII starting in 1494, and he died in 1498, so 1500 makes sense. The last time France held control over Naples as a viceroyalty under France was between 1500 and 1503, so this is really the turning point. Either the player does it early enough, or he abandons that branch. Another harder option would be to make the date 1494, 50 years after game start and when the first Italian war started, or even 1492, 50 years after the Valois lost the throne of Naples.
Reclaim the throne of Naples: Our cousin René of Valois-Anjou was king of Naples until he lost the title in 1442. We now find ourselves in control of all the lands still held by his house as Anjou and Provence are part of France. The new legitimacy and power brought to us by the unification of France allows us to claim the legacy of the Valois-Anjou and make the throne of Naples our own.
Success condition: Naples is a subject of France.
Reward: France gains a subjugation casus belli on Cyprus, or a claim (not permanent) on Cyprus if Cyprus is not independent.
As opposed to how things are right now, I think Naples does not have to be independent for it to happen, France should have the option to steal it from Aragon or from Spain. I don’t see why that would change anything, if the French ruler considers he is the rightful king of Naples, he fights for it, having to fight all of Spain too just makes it harder.
Prepare the Crusade:
Controlling Naples allows us to extend our reach into the Eastern Mediterranean. We now dream of using that to launch a new Crusade and reclaim the Holy Land. The first step is to restore the Crusader Kingdoms and to take control of Cyprus.
Success condition: Cyprus is owned by France or a subject, France is Defender of the Catholic Faith.
Reward: France gains a permanent claim on Palestine.
That was the dream of Louis VIII, exactly how I just wrote it. He believed becoming the King of Naples would be the first step of his ambition of launching a new Crusade and restoring Jerusalem.
Save the Holy Land: Deus Vult.
Success condition: This is the Age of Discovery or the Age of Reformation, Jerusalem is independent, France is Defender of the Catholic Faith.
Reward: France gains a subjugation casus belli on the Papal State.
I force the player to use the RP option of releasing Jerusalem.
Mother of the Church: Now that we liberated the Holy Land, France appears as the true Defender of the Faith and it is obvious that our duty is to protect the Pope. We should make it clear to everyone that France is now in control of the situation.
Success condition: The Papal State is a loyal vassal of France, France is Defender of the Catholic Faith, this is the Age of Discovery or the Age of Reformation.
Reward: France gains +1 diplomatic reputation and +2 yearly Papal Influence for the rest of the campaign.
The +1 diprep is to compensate the Subjugation of Rome penalty. The rest is just logical, albeit extremely powerful.
And finally, if you completed Reform Italy and Mother of the Church, you get access to the final French mission.
The Legacy of Charlemagne: The division of the Carolingian Empire between the grandsons of Charlemagne led to the separation of France from the Holy Roman Empire, but with the blessing of the Pope and our control of both France and Italy, we can reclaim Charlemagne’s Empire.
Success condition: France is Empire of the Holy Roman Empire.
Reward: France gains +25% IA growth for the rest of the campaign.
I wondered if that should not be even more powerful, but Austria only has 10%, so that’s already pretty damn OP as a nation specific bonus. That’s the same bonus than Erbkaisertum and winning the League Wars.
I obviously think there should be an achievement to claim "The Legacy of Charlemagne", given that it is extremely hard. Similar to Anglophile.
I'm on it since the release of Rule Britannia, and I'm making the trees and the explanation since 4 days which took me a good 15 hours (it's over 30 pages on Word), so I'd appreciate some feedback, even if it's that it's bad.
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