A Random Game - A Gameplay Mega-Campaign AAR
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Conquest of Ireland, eh? That's literally in CK2 101. By that I mean, I actually think that the first part of the AAR as Wales was the weakest part, mainly due to the fact that it's quite easy to carve yourself a kingdom out of disorganized count and duke level characters, people like the deposed Abbassid Caliph and good old Trvdoslav were great to follow mainly due to the difficulties they faced. So I for one hope that the Kingdom of Wales and Norse Skotland helps liven things out a bit. :happy:
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@GreatUberGeek: We shall try to kill them all, looks like it should be fairly easy...
@Stuyvesant: You mean Munster
But yeah uniting Ireland should be pretty simple. Think once I claim the Kingdom (really only need 4 more Counties I think) and get the rest to swear fealty. In a way I think I may try to spice things up by trying to take advantage of chaos in England and steal some things from the Anglo-Saxons. Not sure if I can restore the Cerneus though...they're kind of dying out sadly Definitely all for a Celtic brotherhood in the region though.
@TheKaspa: Thank you for sharing that video...probably would have brought a tear to my eye, if I was Irish, but I'm not...only time I've seen Ireland was flying over it on my way to Iraq while we were being served some kind of nasty airline breakfast.
@TheDeaconBosco: I do have to agree with you on Wales being the weakest part of this so far. Tvrdoslav was a super challenge and only reason it was successful was due to some lucky breaks. And a good challenge always makes things interesting, especially when you have claw at every little thing for survival. And I imagine Munster will be fairly easy, I kind of wish I'd been given the Byzantine Empire as that would have been interesting trying to restore, or one of the now independent Greek Duchies. So hopefully the AI will spice things up with Munster...maybe through some bad ruler luck my way or something...
@Stuyvesant: You mean Munster
But yeah uniting Ireland should be pretty simple. Think once I claim the Kingdom (really only need 4 more Counties I think) and get the rest to swear fealty. In a way I think I may try to spice things up by trying to take advantage of chaos in England and steal some things from the Anglo-Saxons. Not sure if I can restore the Cerneus though...they're kind of dying out sadly Definitely all for a Celtic brotherhood in the region though.@TheKaspa: Thank you for sharing that video...probably would have brought a tear to my eye, if I was Irish, but I'm not...only time I've seen Ireland was flying over it on my way to Iraq while we were being served some kind of nasty airline breakfast.
@TheDeaconBosco: I do have to agree with you on Wales being the weakest part of this so far. Tvrdoslav was a super challenge and only reason it was successful was due to some lucky breaks. And a good challenge always makes things interesting, especially when you have claw at every little thing for survival. And I imagine Munster will be fairly easy, I kind of wish I'd been given the Byzantine Empire as that would have been interesting trying to restore, or one of the now independent Greek Duchies. So hopefully the AI will spice things up with Munster...maybe through some bad ruler luck my way or something...
Neither I do be Irish. I'm Italian, but I like Irish Songs a lot.
Sadly, I've never been in Ireland (only flew over it when I went to USA)
Sadly, I've never been in Ireland (only flew over it when I went to USA)
Yeah Irish songs can be good, I enjoy the occasional Irish song (the drinking ones anyway) while laying around emptying my bottle of vodka.
I think the Iberian Peninsula would have been quite a fun playground as well... I mean, how often do you see Portugal form, much less a catholic Andalusia.
Could I ask you keep an eye on this region in particular? As it picked my interest.
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Part 4.0 - Munster
@mike the knight: Returning to the part of the world we started in, hopefully it proves to be a bigger challenge than what it looks like currently.
@TheDeaconBosco: Yeah I will definitely keep an eye on the Iberians, as I'm very curious to see things develop over there. I got pretty excited seeing the Kingdom of Portugal on the map, almost think its the first time I've ever seen the AI form it to be honest. Be fun to end up playing in that area, especially as the former Muslim now turned Catholic Convert King of Andalusia.
So here I am in Munster. For the first time since Cornwall managed to receive a Duchy that isn't in a horrid starting position. So I don't have to sit around being patient, waiting for an opportune chance to strike. Nope, no waiting this time (will except for claims) but I can pretty much just jump right into things. While I look at the map and think of which lucky Irishman will be my first target I suppose I should introduce you to the King of Munster Echmarcach "the Just" de Wexford.
Yep, we are the de Wexford family, which doesn't sound very Irish but oh well. And to make things easier on my I'm going to call our little Petty King, Marc, just because the rest of that name is well too much for me.
Seeing as I only have one County, and the rest of duchy is split up between various Counts, I look around for a minute. I have a strong claim on the County of Ormond, which is ruled over by a little girl of my dynasty. Since I have a strong claim I demand she relinquish Ormond to me. Because its easy like stealing candy from a kid.
This now gives us two counties and one barony, so things should be good now. Less vassals to worry about. It would be nice if I could get the third county from my other vassal count so that I rule over all of the de jure area of Munster, but oh well for now this is a decent position to begin.
I then learn that King Marc was planning a feast before I landed here.
At the end of the feast King Marc finds himself talking for hours with his lover Countess Sabd Crovan, yep a Crovan is a vassal of mine. What I found even funnier about that is a few weeks later she begins avoiding me. Not sure how we went from enjoying each other's company to fighting so much but I guess it happens, and she breaks up with me.
As I look around thinking of where to go first, I realize that up there in Scotland I have a county, the County of Argyll ruled by another family member. Not sure what to do with that, its a good foothold into Scotland so I'll try to keep it for now. But if things go wrong I wouldn't complain about getting rid of it either. I need to focus first on Ireland proper and from there I can start harassing the various sovereigns of Ireland.
Meanwhile I send my Chancellor to the Petty Kingdom of Leinster, which used to be ruled by the Norse, until some guy now named the Liberator freed the Irish Catholics from their Pagan Overlords. So I set about fabricating claims in that duchy, hoping I can snag at least two of their three Counties soon.
That is when my ally, Duke Waelram "the Liberator" von Haarlem of Holland requests my assistance in his war against the Count of Breda. I accept and this time I raise my levies, and decide I will actually help out an ally.
I raise my ship levies and send my men over there, just in the nick of time, because Haarlem's armies just suffered an embarassing defeat. While my boats are sitting there, I then notice that having your ships raised is quite the strain on the treasury. Not sure when they made ships cost so much but that hurt! My treasury had decreased by almost 100 by the time I noticed what was going on.
My men begin to turn the tide of Haarlem's war for Breda by occupying Breda itself. While their over there fighting I receive word that Pope Gregory V died comatose, and was succeeded by Pope Adeodatus III of the Dauferidi Dynasty.
On January 19, 1019, two years after starting here in Munster the Count of Breda surrenders to the Haarlems of Holland and I can bring my troops back home.
A few months later my Chancellor informs me he has successfully fabricated claims on the County of Ossory in Leinster.
I then send him to Leinster's capital to fabricate some more claims.
King Marc's favorite subject in the world used to be bashing pagan heads together with religious zeal. Apparently in his old age he has lost the taste for such things and has since decided its a rather boring thing to do. And besides bashing Christian heads together is so much more fun!
While waiting for more claims to be fabricated against Leinster, I decide to do something I really wasn't wanting to do. Countess Sabd Crovan has claims on a County in the Petty Kingdom of Connacht. I decide to press that claim. I really didn't want to do this originally because it means making her a bit stronger, which could be a bad thing. Especially since she's a Crovan and probably has a genetic propensity for rebellion. But it means gaining more land, and if I win the war means I only need three more Counties before I can create Ireland.
So I'm going to roll with it and help Countess Sabd capture the County of Breifne.
While I'm organizing my men, the new Pope calls a Crusade for Sicily.
We are now in August of 1020, and Marc's son Fergal comes of age, as a Charsmatic Negotiator. I have betrothed the Stawell Duchess of Wessex. So when she comes of age I'll marry the two, which could create quite the inheritance for little Munster.
Meanwhile, two sieges finish up.
After which the King of Connacht has had enough and surrender Breifne to Countess Sabd.
I then begin to once again wait things out. I need some more claims against Leinster, I don't want to press the last one in war and end up waiting 10 years to press another. So wait I shall.
I look over to the mess of the Byzantine Empire, which doesn't deserve the name Empire any more and notice that once again a Sunni is ruling. Emperor Tryphon is his name and the remainder of Greeks and Croats and Serbs in the Empire are pissed. I think if I was in Pest still I would have tried to reclaim Varazdin during this most recent Civil War. But alas I'm in far off Ireland playing with shamrocks.
My Jewish Steward then gets the even for +50 economic points.
This event seems to be a bit more commonplace than I thought it was when I was over in the land of the Pecking Pests.
In November of 1021, my Chancellor notifies me he has fabricated some more claims. But this time it wasn't just for a single county. No this claim was for the entire Duchy of Leinster. I get so happy I could man hug this digital chancellor.
I wait a little while before pressing it though. I want to save my money up and other such things before making my move.
So time slowly clicks by, and Fergal's betrothed comes of age. I immediately send him off to Wessex to become the husband of Duchess Balthild Stawell of Wessex. Hopefully they make a son soon, because inheriting Wessex would be one hell of a victory over the English.
Above are the lands I'd inherit if everything works out. But that would be several generations down the line so not something I'm going to hope for happening while I'm in Munster, but who knows. People can die rather fast when I'm hungry for something...
1024 rolls around I'm tired of waiting for the right moment. I declare war pressing my claim for the Duchy of Leinster and the three Counties that it contains. Winning this will give me the ability to create Ireland.
As I gather the troops I get three notifications that make me realize this isn't going to be a walk in the park like I had thought.
1. The Haarlem Duke of Holland told me to go screw myself.
2. The Haarlem Duke of Holland joins the King of Leinster against me.
3. Good old Wales decides to join in the fun against me as well.
At least we won the first battle, whether we win the war or not is yet to be seen.
@mike the knight: Returning to the part of the world we started in, hopefully it proves to be a bigger challenge than what it looks like currently.
@TheDeaconBosco: Yeah I will definitely keep an eye on the Iberians, as I'm very curious to see things develop over there. I got pretty excited seeing the Kingdom of Portugal on the map, almost think its the first time I've ever seen the AI form it to be honest. Be fun to end up playing in that area, especially as the former Muslim now turned Catholic Convert King of Andalusia.
~~~~~
Part 4.0 - Munster
Part 4.0 - Munster
So here I am in Munster. For the first time since Cornwall managed to receive a Duchy that isn't in a horrid starting position. So I don't have to sit around being patient, waiting for an opportune chance to strike. Nope, no waiting this time (will except for claims) but I can pretty much just jump right into things. While I look at the map and think of which lucky Irishman will be my first target I suppose I should introduce you to the King of Munster Echmarcach "the Just" de Wexford.
Yep, we are the de Wexford family, which doesn't sound very Irish but oh well. And to make things easier on my I'm going to call our little Petty King, Marc, just because the rest of that name is well too much for me.
Seeing as I only have one County, and the rest of duchy is split up between various Counts, I look around for a minute. I have a strong claim on the County of Ormond, which is ruled over by a little girl of my dynasty. Since I have a strong claim I demand she relinquish Ormond to me. Because its easy like stealing candy from a kid.
This now gives us two counties and one barony, so things should be good now. Less vassals to worry about. It would be nice if I could get the third county from my other vassal count so that I rule over all of the de jure area of Munster, but oh well for now this is a decent position to begin.
I then learn that King Marc was planning a feast before I landed here.
At the end of the feast King Marc finds himself talking for hours with his lover Countess Sabd Crovan, yep a Crovan is a vassal of mine. What I found even funnier about that is a few weeks later she begins avoiding me. Not sure how we went from enjoying each other's company to fighting so much but I guess it happens, and she breaks up with me.
As I look around thinking of where to go first, I realize that up there in Scotland I have a county, the County of Argyll ruled by another family member. Not sure what to do with that, its a good foothold into Scotland so I'll try to keep it for now. But if things go wrong I wouldn't complain about getting rid of it either. I need to focus first on Ireland proper and from there I can start harassing the various sovereigns of Ireland.
Meanwhile I send my Chancellor to the Petty Kingdom of Leinster, which used to be ruled by the Norse, until some guy now named the Liberator freed the Irish Catholics from their Pagan Overlords. So I set about fabricating claims in that duchy, hoping I can snag at least two of their three Counties soon.
That is when my ally, Duke Waelram "the Liberator" von Haarlem of Holland requests my assistance in his war against the Count of Breda. I accept and this time I raise my levies, and decide I will actually help out an ally.
I raise my ship levies and send my men over there, just in the nick of time, because Haarlem's armies just suffered an embarassing defeat. While my boats are sitting there, I then notice that having your ships raised is quite the strain on the treasury. Not sure when they made ships cost so much but that hurt! My treasury had decreased by almost 100 by the time I noticed what was going on.
My men begin to turn the tide of Haarlem's war for Breda by occupying Breda itself. While their over there fighting I receive word that Pope Gregory V died comatose, and was succeeded by Pope Adeodatus III of the Dauferidi Dynasty.
On January 19, 1019, two years after starting here in Munster the Count of Breda surrenders to the Haarlems of Holland and I can bring my troops back home.
A few months later my Chancellor informs me he has successfully fabricated claims on the County of Ossory in Leinster.
I then send him to Leinster's capital to fabricate some more claims.
King Marc's favorite subject in the world used to be bashing pagan heads together with religious zeal. Apparently in his old age he has lost the taste for such things and has since decided its a rather boring thing to do. And besides bashing Christian heads together is so much more fun!
While waiting for more claims to be fabricated against Leinster, I decide to do something I really wasn't wanting to do. Countess Sabd Crovan has claims on a County in the Petty Kingdom of Connacht. I decide to press that claim. I really didn't want to do this originally because it means making her a bit stronger, which could be a bad thing. Especially since she's a Crovan and probably has a genetic propensity for rebellion. But it means gaining more land, and if I win the war means I only need three more Counties before I can create Ireland.
So I'm going to roll with it and help Countess Sabd capture the County of Breifne.
While I'm organizing my men, the new Pope calls a Crusade for Sicily.
We are now in August of 1020, and Marc's son Fergal comes of age, as a Charsmatic Negotiator. I have betrothed the Stawell Duchess of Wessex. So when she comes of age I'll marry the two, which could create quite the inheritance for little Munster.
Meanwhile, two sieges finish up.
After which the King of Connacht has had enough and surrender Breifne to Countess Sabd.
I then begin to once again wait things out. I need some more claims against Leinster, I don't want to press the last one in war and end up waiting 10 years to press another. So wait I shall.
I look over to the mess of the Byzantine Empire, which doesn't deserve the name Empire any more and notice that once again a Sunni is ruling. Emperor Tryphon is his name and the remainder of Greeks and Croats and Serbs in the Empire are pissed. I think if I was in Pest still I would have tried to reclaim Varazdin during this most recent Civil War. But alas I'm in far off Ireland playing with shamrocks.
My Jewish Steward then gets the even for +50 economic points.
This event seems to be a bit more commonplace than I thought it was when I was over in the land of the Pecking Pests.
In November of 1021, my Chancellor notifies me he has fabricated some more claims. But this time it wasn't just for a single county. No this claim was for the entire Duchy of Leinster. I get so happy I could man hug this digital chancellor.
I wait a little while before pressing it though. I want to save my money up and other such things before making my move.
So time slowly clicks by, and Fergal's betrothed comes of age. I immediately send him off to Wessex to become the husband of Duchess Balthild Stawell of Wessex. Hopefully they make a son soon, because inheriting Wessex would be one hell of a victory over the English.
Above are the lands I'd inherit if everything works out. But that would be several generations down the line so not something I'm going to hope for happening while I'm in Munster, but who knows. People can die rather fast when I'm hungry for something...
1024 rolls around I'm tired of waiting for the right moment. I declare war pressing my claim for the Duchy of Leinster and the three Counties that it contains. Winning this will give me the ability to create Ireland.
As I gather the troops I get three notifications that make me realize this isn't going to be a walk in the park like I had thought.
1. The Haarlem Duke of Holland told me to go screw myself.
2. The Haarlem Duke of Holland joins the King of Leinster against me.
3. Good old Wales decides to join in the fun against me as well.
At least we won the first battle, whether we win the war or not is yet to be seen.
Your Elrond did pretty well in this update.
I hope Wessex will be inherited soon. In my current ERE game I married (actually, bethrothed first) the Queen of Bulgaria, but inherited the land only as the grandson, the old hen was very long-lived!
I hope Wessex will be inherited soon. In my current ERE game I married (actually, bethrothed first) the Queen of Bulgaria, but inherited the land only as the grandson, the old hen was very long-lived!
That backstabbing Haarlem bastard. I think you should return the favor - just in a more literal manner.
Good luck with the war. Hopefully, expensive boats will keep the Dutch and the Welsh out of this - or at least long enough for you to decide the war in Ireland in your favor.
Good luck with the war. Hopefully, expensive boats will keep the Dutch and the Welsh out of this - or at least long enough for you to decide the war in Ireland in your favor.
Part 4.1 - Ireland
@TheKaspa: It took me a few minutes to figure out why you said my Elrond...I'm actually thinking of referring to our Duke as Elrond now. And yeah I hope Wessex can be inherited soon too. In my Welf game I waited a very very long time to inherit Hungary. So we will see how long it takes, hopefully it works out in my favor. If I manage to hold it for long enough I may look into trying to take the Duchy of Cornwall so I can try and find a Cerneu to put there.
@mike the knight: It could be, but I'll let this one play out the old fashioned way, no point inheriting Wessex right now anyways. Strategically it'd be hard to hold, but hopefully by the time it should be inherited the Emerald Isles will be in a position to hold it forever.
@Stuyvesant: I actually will consider stabbing him in the back. Whenever I see his name though I think that van Haarlem guy founded Harlem and the Harlem Globetrotters lol. As far as expensive boats for the Welsh, I don't think they'll use their boats, pretty sure they arrived through Scotland instead.
The first battle of the war was a victory for our side sending the forces of Leinster's King to flee north to await reinforcements from the Hollanders and the Welsh. I let my men continue laying siege, but I know its only a matter of time before a large host of soldiers shows up and could potentially destroy me.
Due to going to war over false claims on the Petty Kingdom of Leinster, our ruler, as TheKaspa calls him Elrond, loses his Just trait.
I think the fact that we lost that trait means our dude's nickname should change from "the Just" to "the Deceitful" "the Liar" "the Unjust" but the game allows him to continue to be called the Just even though we all know he is not.
My forces then capture Leighlin, but before I am able to celebrate the victory, forces from Duke von Haarlem of Holland shows up.
This was the Battle of Ferns where the Hollanders were trying to lift that siege. They originally outnumbered me by a mere 100 men so it was a very even fight. The problem is Holland attacked me from there boat. Meaning they were at an extreme disadvantage with only half morale.
I'll have to remember this little dynamic for now on as it definitely changes strategies. But needless to say due to Duke von Haarlem's mistake in attacking from the beach my forces successfully repelled them at Ferns.
With the siege of Ferns won, I finally give chase to the Hollander's. I caught them in Kildare, the Crovan held County of Countess Sabd laying siege. Duke von Haarlem once more tried to win a battle. But this time, he was at a numerical disadvantage. And our mercenaries crushed his men leaving only 733 behind, as well as capturing Bishop Frans, of whom I'll have to ransom at some point to help out on our financial situation.
Oh it should also be mentioned after the occupation of Leighlin shortly after the beginning of this war we had Carlus mac Fergus, the Duke of Leinster's son as a hostage.
I give chase once more to the routing Hollanders and catch them in Gowrie further slaughtering their numbers. It was reported at that time the Duke of Holland had retired back to his boat and sailed back to Holland to try and recruit more men.
I leave my forces in Gowrie to siege and occupy and kick back and relax awaiting the sieges to finish.
As I wait the Crusade for Italy is won by the Teutonic Order.
If the Teutons keep winning these Crusades and such, they're going to end up with a patch-work Empire and I'll be highly annoyed by that.
While being annoyed at the rise of the Teutons I go and look at Hungary curious to see if the Mihaljevic's had usurped the Kingdom yet. The answer I get is no. In fact the Mihaljevics in the Duchy of the Pecking Pests have just been chilling. They haven't done a dang thing since we left. No wars going on, no nothing. Guess all those wars I led them in had a toll and they've decided to take a nap for a while.
But anyway, I click on the Kingdom of Hungary that looks like its down to OPM status now, and discover that the Arpads had retaken the throne under King Odon Arpad. I'm pretty impressed that the Arpads were able to kick the Piasts off the Hungarian Throne, now only if the Mihaljevics would do the same.
Another interesting thing is that the new Imperial Capital is in a County that we used to control. Yes, Varazdin is now the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
January of 1026 begins with the occupation of Gowran and the subsequent sieges of Clonmacnoise and Kilkenny. The county of Kilkenny gives me brief pause as it makes me wonder if Kenny was killed there.
This set of occupations leaves us with needing to capture Dublin's holdings. So I march my men north to meet with the remaining Hollander forces of 163 men. They're easily repelled and slaughtered, and apparently Elrond did a large amount of the slaying as he gets 100 prestige for his incredible tally of confirmed kills.
I then have a decision to make. I can sit in Dublin and continue laying siege, my warscore is now at 98, but we need 100 for Petty King Fergus the Liberator to surrender. At first I decide to siege.
Until I notice 1400 Welsh soldiers finally land in Leinster. A victory would push us to the required amount and I'd get a chance to taste the blood of a Kingdom I had built what was it? Almost 150 years ago?
So south my men march and engage in battle at Enniscorthy.
The Duke of Cornwall was the first to turn and flee and with the collapse of the Welsh center so to did the remainder of their host.
The battle was won and Fergus the Liberator surrenders to us finally after nearly four years of war.
I allow things to quiet down a little bit in our land and before I form the Kingdom of Ireland, Elrond discovers a pretty painting from a monk. I go back and forth on whether I want a painting in my court. Doesn't seem to be all that great of a thing to do. But I decide that based off of Elrond's traits that it makes sense to buy the damned thing.
Besides another 30 prestige isn't a bad thing anyway.
My Steward brings in a tithe of 27 gold, pushing me above the 200 needed to form Ireland. Thus, I go to my screen and click on Create.
We're no longer just a Petty King, but rather a true King, now it is time to unify the Island.
But first I try the diplomacy way of things by seeing if Oriel will swear fealty. They say no. I'm surprised by this because I was thinking they were an OPM. After I declare war however, I quickly come to the realization that they hold two provinces up in Scotland as well.
While waiting for my armies to gather once again, I discover that we now have a Grandson named Indrechtach. He is the one that could be future King of Ireland as well as future Duke of Wessex. The one year old boy has much promise, and a bright future if everything continues to work out alright.
I then march my men to Dundalk, under the leadership of Elrond's cousin or Brother, or whatever relation the Count of Argyll is to him. Once we arrive at Dundalk in Oriel we are met by the forces of Oriel which match our own levy size.
The Battle of Dundalk is very even, not a battle I enjoy watching as it seesaws back forth for a few seconds when I notice something highly disturbing. My men are being slaughtered. I watch in what should have been horror, but instead was surprise and to be honest I laughed and laughed a lot as Ireland's men were one by one put to the sword.
1700 men killed, all due to ineffectual leadership on the part of the Count of Argyll. What makes this situation worse is it gives Oriel 52 warscore points and well we may not recover from that.
Elrond takes the news of the massive defeat horribly. He locks himself away fearing that Sauron is ruling Oriel, and is about to unleash the dark forces of Mordor upon the world.
Thus, seeing no other answer to the current situation and well not wanting to be captured by Orielian Orcs, Elrond dies on January 2, 1028, barely six months into his reign as King of Ireland.
You know, sitting here thinking about it, this situation is reminding a little bit of the Aarif the Cruel situation when we played the Caliphate. Gains a higher title and falls over dead very quickly. His son takes over in a very precarious and awkward situation.
Time to see if the new King Fergal de Wexford can lead Ireland to greatness, or if he'll allow Oriel to further disgrace the newly forged crown.
@TheKaspa: It took me a few minutes to figure out why you said my Elrond...I'm actually thinking of referring to our Duke as Elrond now. And yeah I hope Wessex can be inherited soon too. In my Welf game I waited a very very long time to inherit Hungary. So we will see how long it takes, hopefully it works out in my favor. If I manage to hold it for long enough I may look into trying to take the Duchy of Cornwall so I can try and find a Cerneu to put there.
@mike the knight: It could be, but I'll let this one play out the old fashioned way, no point inheriting Wessex right now anyways. Strategically it'd be hard to hold, but hopefully by the time it should be inherited the Emerald Isles will be in a position to hold it forever.
@Stuyvesant: I actually will consider stabbing him in the back. Whenever I see his name though I think that van Haarlem guy founded Harlem and the Harlem Globetrotters lol. As far as expensive boats for the Welsh, I don't think they'll use their boats, pretty sure they arrived through Scotland instead.
~~~~~
Part 4.1 - Munster
Part 4.1 - Munster
The first battle of the war was a victory for our side sending the forces of Leinster's King to flee north to await reinforcements from the Hollanders and the Welsh. I let my men continue laying siege, but I know its only a matter of time before a large host of soldiers shows up and could potentially destroy me.
Due to going to war over false claims on the Petty Kingdom of Leinster, our ruler, as TheKaspa calls him Elrond, loses his Just trait.
I think the fact that we lost that trait means our dude's nickname should change from "the Just" to "the Deceitful" "the Liar" "the Unjust" but the game allows him to continue to be called the Just even though we all know he is not.
My forces then capture Leighlin, but before I am able to celebrate the victory, forces from Duke von Haarlem of Holland shows up.
This was the Battle of Ferns where the Hollanders were trying to lift that siege. They originally outnumbered me by a mere 100 men so it was a very even fight. The problem is Holland attacked me from there boat. Meaning they were at an extreme disadvantage with only half morale.
I'll have to remember this little dynamic for now on as it definitely changes strategies. But needless to say due to Duke von Haarlem's mistake in attacking from the beach my forces successfully repelled them at Ferns.
With the siege of Ferns won, I finally give chase to the Hollander's. I caught them in Kildare, the Crovan held County of Countess Sabd laying siege. Duke von Haarlem once more tried to win a battle. But this time, he was at a numerical disadvantage. And our mercenaries crushed his men leaving only 733 behind, as well as capturing Bishop Frans, of whom I'll have to ransom at some point to help out on our financial situation.
Oh it should also be mentioned after the occupation of Leighlin shortly after the beginning of this war we had Carlus mac Fergus, the Duke of Leinster's son as a hostage.
I give chase once more to the routing Hollanders and catch them in Gowrie further slaughtering their numbers. It was reported at that time the Duke of Holland had retired back to his boat and sailed back to Holland to try and recruit more men.
I leave my forces in Gowrie to siege and occupy and kick back and relax awaiting the sieges to finish.
As I wait the Crusade for Italy is won by the Teutonic Order.
If the Teutons keep winning these Crusades and such, they're going to end up with a patch-work Empire and I'll be highly annoyed by that.
While being annoyed at the rise of the Teutons I go and look at Hungary curious to see if the Mihaljevic's had usurped the Kingdom yet. The answer I get is no. In fact the Mihaljevics in the Duchy of the Pecking Pests have just been chilling. They haven't done a dang thing since we left. No wars going on, no nothing. Guess all those wars I led them in had a toll and they've decided to take a nap for a while.
But anyway, I click on the Kingdom of Hungary that looks like its down to OPM status now, and discover that the Arpads had retaken the throne under King Odon Arpad. I'm pretty impressed that the Arpads were able to kick the Piasts off the Hungarian Throne, now only if the Mihaljevics would do the same.
Another interesting thing is that the new Imperial Capital is in a County that we used to control. Yes, Varazdin is now the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
January of 1026 begins with the occupation of Gowran and the subsequent sieges of Clonmacnoise and Kilkenny. The county of Kilkenny gives me brief pause as it makes me wonder if Kenny was killed there.
This set of occupations leaves us with needing to capture Dublin's holdings. So I march my men north to meet with the remaining Hollander forces of 163 men. They're easily repelled and slaughtered, and apparently Elrond did a large amount of the slaying as he gets 100 prestige for his incredible tally of confirmed kills.
I then have a decision to make. I can sit in Dublin and continue laying siege, my warscore is now at 98, but we need 100 for Petty King Fergus the Liberator to surrender. At first I decide to siege.
Until I notice 1400 Welsh soldiers finally land in Leinster. A victory would push us to the required amount and I'd get a chance to taste the blood of a Kingdom I had built what was it? Almost 150 years ago?
So south my men march and engage in battle at Enniscorthy.
The Duke of Cornwall was the first to turn and flee and with the collapse of the Welsh center so to did the remainder of their host.
The battle was won and Fergus the Liberator surrenders to us finally after nearly four years of war.
I allow things to quiet down a little bit in our land and before I form the Kingdom of Ireland, Elrond discovers a pretty painting from a monk. I go back and forth on whether I want a painting in my court. Doesn't seem to be all that great of a thing to do. But I decide that based off of Elrond's traits that it makes sense to buy the damned thing.
Besides another 30 prestige isn't a bad thing anyway.
My Steward brings in a tithe of 27 gold, pushing me above the 200 needed to form Ireland. Thus, I go to my screen and click on Create.
We're no longer just a Petty King, but rather a true King, now it is time to unify the Island.
But first I try the diplomacy way of things by seeing if Oriel will swear fealty. They say no. I'm surprised by this because I was thinking they were an OPM. After I declare war however, I quickly come to the realization that they hold two provinces up in Scotland as well.
While waiting for my armies to gather once again, I discover that we now have a Grandson named Indrechtach. He is the one that could be future King of Ireland as well as future Duke of Wessex. The one year old boy has much promise, and a bright future if everything continues to work out alright.
I then march my men to Dundalk, under the leadership of Elrond's cousin or Brother, or whatever relation the Count of Argyll is to him. Once we arrive at Dundalk in Oriel we are met by the forces of Oriel which match our own levy size.
The Battle of Dundalk is very even, not a battle I enjoy watching as it seesaws back forth for a few seconds when I notice something highly disturbing. My men are being slaughtered. I watch in what should have been horror, but instead was surprise and to be honest I laughed and laughed a lot as Ireland's men were one by one put to the sword.
1700 men killed, all due to ineffectual leadership on the part of the Count of Argyll. What makes this situation worse is it gives Oriel 52 warscore points and well we may not recover from that.
Elrond takes the news of the massive defeat horribly. He locks himself away fearing that Sauron is ruling Oriel, and is about to unleash the dark forces of Mordor upon the world.
Thus, seeing no other answer to the current situation and well not wanting to be captured by Orielian Orcs, Elrond dies on January 2, 1028, barely six months into his reign as King of Ireland.
You know, sitting here thinking about it, this situation is reminding a little bit of the Aarif the Cruel situation when we played the Caliphate. Gains a higher title and falls over dead very quickly. His son takes over in a very precarious and awkward situation.
Time to see if the new King Fergal de Wexford can lead Ireland to greatness, or if he'll allow Oriel to further disgrace the newly forged crown.
Wow, what a slaughter. That count should get a nickname just for that, maybe Kingbane would be fitting. I do hope you have enough money to throw some mercs into the Oriel meat grinder.
It was a big slaughter! I didn't think I'd get destroyed like that fighting a Count. Guess I wasn't thinking ahead all that well.
Just wanted to say I have really enjoyed this AAR and thank you for your service, I was in Iraq as well, just North of Baghdad in camp Taji. Where were you?
It seems that even Elrond is not immortal hahahaah Give him pain for his extreme bravery
@caesarian: Glad you have enjoyed it! From 2007-08 I was southwest of Baghdad by probably 20 miles or so, on FOB Dragon, which was fairly close to Yusifiya. And thank you for your service as well.
@mike the knight: Yeah that Elrond was definitely no Elf...we will see if we can manage to get some revenge.
Well our King died shortly after taking the Irish Crown, so things aren't going all that great. Not to mention that humiliating defeat at the hands of the Orielian Count. In fact I even have my doubts about being able to salvage this war.
Our new King is Fergal de Wexford, and he has quite the high diplomacy rating. Which hopefully will keep our fledgling Kingdom together without too many revolts. Before Elrond died though we only had 30 gold, luckily with Fergal coming to the throne we're up to 212 gold. So its obviously time to hire some mercenaries.
While looking for a good mercenary band to bring into Ireland, our former enemy the Haarlem Duke of Holland, has decided to come to our aid, and atone for his sins of trying to help out the Petty Kingdom of Leinster.
This may help us turn the tide completely around in this war. So perhaps things aren't looking as dire as I had thought they were.
While we're restructuring our forces and preparing them to march back to the offensive, Countess Sabd Crovan seduces King Fergal.
Ahh yes it's good to be king, especially when you get to tumble with your father's former lover. Remember when we first landed here in Munster Sabd and Elrond broke up? Yep well Sabd decided to take the son of her lover for a test drive and apparently she enjoyed the newer de Wexford model much more than the old clunker she had been riding.
After being test driven by the Crovan, King Fergal gets the brilliant idea to go march with his armies. I say brilliant with the utmost sarcasm, our dearest King has a whole 0 martial ability. So him being on the battlefield is sure to cause a disaster.
And that it does.
Now we have a wounded King who hasn't even been King long enough to get the crown refitted to his damn head. But with luck Sabd Crovan will take care of him and nurse him back to health.
While Fergal is being treated for his wounds, the Irish armies under the leadership of the Count of Argyll chase down the remainder of the Orielian forces.
Prince Indrechtach son of Fergal, and heir to Wessex and Ireland, complains to his wounded daddy about being afraid of the dark. And subsequently becomes Trusting, just like his late granddaddy Elrond.
Two sieges are then won pushing the warscore in our favor up to 31.
We start running low on money and ransom Bishop Franz the Wicked back to the Duke of Holland, giving us enough gold to keep our mercenaries afield for a few more months.
Which is when the abilities of Countess Sabd to nurse Fergal back to health are discovered to be quite lacking.
Apparently instead of nursing him back to health she was taking him out for pleasure instead. These long pleasurable adventures result in Fergal's wound becoming infected and giving him an awful fever.
King Fergal de Wexford, is now bedridden and unable to take Countess Sabd Crovan out for anymore joy rides. Let us hope his break in the action is enough to help him recover.
Luckily the war is ended, the Count of Oriel saw no need to continue fighting and surrender. Which is good because the possibility of Fergal dying are probably astronomical right now and having two kings die during the same war just sounds horrible.
While waiting for the event saying Fergal is all fine and dandy and ready to jump back in the sack with the Crovan woman, a Petty King decides to swear fealty to the Irish Crown.
The vassalage of Tara helps us in almost completely unifying Ireland. Wales still holds a small county on the northwest tip and the Duke of Connaught is still independent as well even though he is merely an OPM at the moment.
While looking at things and wishing I could restructure our vassal's holdings so that our duchies look a little bit prettier, I get a message that makes me really think about giving up on these de Wexfords.
Only a year and a half into his rule he decides to kick the bucket, all because of that Crovan the de Wexfords like to tumble into bed with. I wonder if she'll try and seduce our new King? Hmmmm....
So our new King is Indrechtach, he's only three so we have a 13 year regency ahead of us which should be quite entertaining. And thinking back on things this is our 10th ruler now.
We had Dumnarth and Ricat in Wales. Aarif, Najib, and Ashraf as Caliphates. Tvrdoslav and Tvrdoslav II in the land of the Pecking Pests. And now Elrond, Fergal and Indrechtach. If Indy lives to the year 1067, we will be averaging one ruler every 20 years, which is a nice average I think. Although I'm sure this new king will decide to ruin that nice round number for us.
Our Regent is the Count of Argyll who is a member of the de Wexford dynasty. I'm not sure of his exact relation though. Regents can be very nasty folk, they can make your little kid do very very bad things.
And this Regent for some reason has decided to use his power to form an independence faction. He's all by himself in this endeavor but I got a feeling he could potentially get more people to join him. So I go to his diplomacy screen and see that I can grant him independence anyway! I'll give my wonderful Regent exactly what he wants!
Earl Bran de Wexford of Argyll suddenly finds himself shipped back to his lonely Scottish outpost, surrounded by evil pagans and angry anglo-saxons. He's no longer Regent of Ireland, and I can only hope he learns a lesson at the hands of some Vikings.
Such is the price of freedom...
Meanwhile I go look down at Iberia to see what's been happening down there.
So the Karling King of Aragon has turned Bedouin and decided to stylize himself as Sultan of Aragon. Navarra is still barely holding on, which is sad I was getting excited about it potentially becoming a major power.
Portugal has been united under the Castillian Crown which is another sad thing to happen. Really was looking forward to Portugal sticking around. But perhaps it will reappear eventually.
I then go back to our quaint little island and I'm still a little pissy about the rapid succession of deaths. So I call forth Earl Fergus the Liberator...the former Petty King of Leinster. What will I do to this former Conqueror?
Yes I name him Court Jester. I don't know why I did that at that point in time I guess I was annoyed and wanted him to get mad and revolt so I could strip some land from him. But whatever my reasoning was at least I have a guy that can tell our little King jokes all day long.
Now if only I could appoint Countess Sabd Crovan as my nanny, and we'd be living the good life.
Some Norse decide to raid and I attack them sending them back to their ships. I capture a guy named Toke. As I ponder what to do with this lowly norse character I realize I haven't executed anyone since being the Caliph. I miss executing people!!!
We then chop off old Toke's head.
I don't know why but that makes me think of little Lord Arryn in GoT where he's always yelling at Tyrion, "Make the bad man FLY!" I can just picture little Indrechtach yelling and screaming that all the while Fergus is telling jokes and Sabd is counting down the days until we hit puberty.
I notice the Earl of Ossory joined the faction to institute Elective Succession in Ireland. And we definitely cannot have that. So since our Court Jester used to be the Count of Ossory's lord, I give Fergus his old duchy of Leinster back.
He has done a decent job of being Jester, and well he deserves a vacation. And elevating him rids us of one member of that faction.
Who is leading the Elective Succession Faction? Well that one dude who swore fealty to King Fergal, he goes by the name of Duke Crimmthan now. So I sent my Spymaster off to have a talk with him. Apparently he responds to his obligations as vassal and disbands his lonely ESF.
Having successfully ended two factions now I'm feeling pretty good about myself, and don't think Ireland will blow up into a bunch of insane freedom loving vassals. Or perhaps I'm speaking too soon.
I swear if he dies...
But while we contemplate our little King's mortality, here is a map of what the Kingdom of Ireland currently looks like.
@mike the knight: Yeah that Elrond was definitely no Elf...we will see if we can manage to get some revenge.
~~~~~
Part 4.2 - Ireland
Part 4.2 - Ireland
Well our King died shortly after taking the Irish Crown, so things aren't going all that great. Not to mention that humiliating defeat at the hands of the Orielian Count. In fact I even have my doubts about being able to salvage this war.
Our new King is Fergal de Wexford, and he has quite the high diplomacy rating. Which hopefully will keep our fledgling Kingdom together without too many revolts. Before Elrond died though we only had 30 gold, luckily with Fergal coming to the throne we're up to 212 gold. So its obviously time to hire some mercenaries.
While looking for a good mercenary band to bring into Ireland, our former enemy the Haarlem Duke of Holland, has decided to come to our aid, and atone for his sins of trying to help out the Petty Kingdom of Leinster.
This may help us turn the tide completely around in this war. So perhaps things aren't looking as dire as I had thought they were.
While we're restructuring our forces and preparing them to march back to the offensive, Countess Sabd Crovan seduces King Fergal.
Ahh yes it's good to be king, especially when you get to tumble with your father's former lover. Remember when we first landed here in Munster Sabd and Elrond broke up? Yep well Sabd decided to take the son of her lover for a test drive and apparently she enjoyed the newer de Wexford model much more than the old clunker she had been riding.
After being test driven by the Crovan, King Fergal gets the brilliant idea to go march with his armies. I say brilliant with the utmost sarcasm, our dearest King has a whole 0 martial ability. So him being on the battlefield is sure to cause a disaster.
And that it does.
Now we have a wounded King who hasn't even been King long enough to get the crown refitted to his damn head. But with luck Sabd Crovan will take care of him and nurse him back to health.
While Fergal is being treated for his wounds, the Irish armies under the leadership of the Count of Argyll chase down the remainder of the Orielian forces.
Prince Indrechtach son of Fergal, and heir to Wessex and Ireland, complains to his wounded daddy about being afraid of the dark. And subsequently becomes Trusting, just like his late granddaddy Elrond.
Two sieges are then won pushing the warscore in our favor up to 31.
We start running low on money and ransom Bishop Franz the Wicked back to the Duke of Holland, giving us enough gold to keep our mercenaries afield for a few more months.
Which is when the abilities of Countess Sabd to nurse Fergal back to health are discovered to be quite lacking.
Apparently instead of nursing him back to health she was taking him out for pleasure instead. These long pleasurable adventures result in Fergal's wound becoming infected and giving him an awful fever.
King Fergal de Wexford, is now bedridden and unable to take Countess Sabd Crovan out for anymore joy rides. Let us hope his break in the action is enough to help him recover.
Luckily the war is ended, the Count of Oriel saw no need to continue fighting and surrender. Which is good because the possibility of Fergal dying are probably astronomical right now and having two kings die during the same war just sounds horrible.
While waiting for the event saying Fergal is all fine and dandy and ready to jump back in the sack with the Crovan woman, a Petty King decides to swear fealty to the Irish Crown.
The vassalage of Tara helps us in almost completely unifying Ireland. Wales still holds a small county on the northwest tip and the Duke of Connaught is still independent as well even though he is merely an OPM at the moment.
While looking at things and wishing I could restructure our vassal's holdings so that our duchies look a little bit prettier, I get a message that makes me really think about giving up on these de Wexfords.
Only a year and a half into his rule he decides to kick the bucket, all because of that Crovan the de Wexfords like to tumble into bed with. I wonder if she'll try and seduce our new King? Hmmmm....
So our new King is Indrechtach, he's only three so we have a 13 year regency ahead of us which should be quite entertaining. And thinking back on things this is our 10th ruler now.
We had Dumnarth and Ricat in Wales. Aarif, Najib, and Ashraf as Caliphates. Tvrdoslav and Tvrdoslav II in the land of the Pecking Pests. And now Elrond, Fergal and Indrechtach. If Indy lives to the year 1067, we will be averaging one ruler every 20 years, which is a nice average I think. Although I'm sure this new king will decide to ruin that nice round number for us.
Our Regent is the Count of Argyll who is a member of the de Wexford dynasty. I'm not sure of his exact relation though. Regents can be very nasty folk, they can make your little kid do very very bad things.
And this Regent for some reason has decided to use his power to form an independence faction. He's all by himself in this endeavor but I got a feeling he could potentially get more people to join him. So I go to his diplomacy screen and see that I can grant him independence anyway! I'll give my wonderful Regent exactly what he wants!
Earl Bran de Wexford of Argyll suddenly finds himself shipped back to his lonely Scottish outpost, surrounded by evil pagans and angry anglo-saxons. He's no longer Regent of Ireland, and I can only hope he learns a lesson at the hands of some Vikings.
Such is the price of freedom...
Meanwhile I go look down at Iberia to see what's been happening down there.
So the Karling King of Aragon has turned Bedouin and decided to stylize himself as Sultan of Aragon. Navarra is still barely holding on, which is sad I was getting excited about it potentially becoming a major power.
Portugal has been united under the Castillian Crown which is another sad thing to happen. Really was looking forward to Portugal sticking around. But perhaps it will reappear eventually.
I then go back to our quaint little island and I'm still a little pissy about the rapid succession of deaths. So I call forth Earl Fergus the Liberator...the former Petty King of Leinster. What will I do to this former Conqueror?
Yes I name him Court Jester. I don't know why I did that at that point in time I guess I was annoyed and wanted him to get mad and revolt so I could strip some land from him. But whatever my reasoning was at least I have a guy that can tell our little King jokes all day long.
Now if only I could appoint Countess Sabd Crovan as my nanny, and we'd be living the good life.
Some Norse decide to raid and I attack them sending them back to their ships. I capture a guy named Toke. As I ponder what to do with this lowly norse character I realize I haven't executed anyone since being the Caliph. I miss executing people!!!
We then chop off old Toke's head.
I don't know why but that makes me think of little Lord Arryn in GoT where he's always yelling at Tyrion, "Make the bad man FLY!" I can just picture little Indrechtach yelling and screaming that all the while Fergus is telling jokes and Sabd is counting down the days until we hit puberty.
I notice the Earl of Ossory joined the faction to institute Elective Succession in Ireland. And we definitely cannot have that. So since our Court Jester used to be the Count of Ossory's lord, I give Fergus his old duchy of Leinster back.
He has done a decent job of being Jester, and well he deserves a vacation. And elevating him rids us of one member of that faction.
Who is leading the Elective Succession Faction? Well that one dude who swore fealty to King Fergal, he goes by the name of Duke Crimmthan now. So I sent my Spymaster off to have a talk with him. Apparently he responds to his obligations as vassal and disbands his lonely ESF.
Having successfully ended two factions now I'm feeling pretty good about myself, and don't think Ireland will blow up into a bunch of insane freedom loving vassals. Or perhaps I'm speaking too soon.
I swear if he dies...
But while we contemplate our little King's mortality, here is a map of what the Kingdom of Ireland currently looks like.
Ah damn, I should have known that the awesomeness of your Iberian Peninsula would eventally be swayed by a terminal case of "more of the ususal" from which it might never recover. I'm actually pretty dissapointed and not even that Karling Sultan can cheer me up, Andalusia looks to be on the brink of destruction too...
Anyway, Ireland, right Ireland... If I didn't know better, I'd say that some sort of Pagan curse has been targeting the De Wexford as their obviously foreign roots are unfit to rule Ireland, but that's just mumbo jumbo for the weak minded, of course. :happy:
Anyway, Ireland, right Ireland... If I didn't know better, I'd say that some sort of Pagan curse has been targeting the De Wexford as their obviously foreign roots are unfit to rule Ireland, but that's just mumbo jumbo for the weak minded, of course. :happy:
Ahh a young king, so many options to have him educated in all sort of weird ways. You could turn him to an Irish Zoroastrian, just saying.
@TheDeaconBosco: I'm fairly saddened by the state of affairs of the Iberian Peninsula as well, I was hoping that Portugal would survive. But it may very well come back, if Castille is gavelkind there would be a high chance of it coming back for a while. But we will see what happens. I may end up as a vassal over there too which would let me shake things up a bit But the Kingdom of Andalusia may look tiny but it has sporadic holdings all over, so I think it will survive for a little while. At least I hope it does!
And I think you are right there may be a curse on my Irish de Wexford family. Their name sounds like some Norman dynasty to me though, and the Normans don't even exist in game!!! Oh well...hopefully our little boy king can prove more resilient, and well maybe he should stay away from that Crovan Countess.
@Wilkey: Haha I could indeed but I think I'll be boring and educate him with a good Irish Catholic. I mean that is if he even lives long enough to be educated. This illness may very well kill the poor lad.
But the Kingdom of Andalusia may look tiny but it has sporadic holdings all over, so I think it will survive for a little while. At least I hope it does!And I think you are right there may be a curse on my Irish de Wexford family. Their name sounds like some Norman dynasty to me though, and the Normans don't even exist in game!!! Oh well...hopefully our little boy king can prove more resilient, and well maybe he should stay away from that Crovan Countess.
@Wilkey: Haha I could indeed
but I think I'll be boring and educate him with a good Irish Catholic. I mean that is if he even lives long enough to be educated. This illness may very well kill the poor lad.