Brandenburg - A silly pun here!

[Beamed]

Welp, been awhile since I tried to do an AAR. my last one, as France, failed utterly due to my laziness - I did end up playing it, but never bothered taking screenshots or whatnot. This time, however, as EU3 is slow on my computer, a clever way to pass the time would be to create an AAR!
Indeed. It is so clever that I cleverly deduced this would be a success!

So, I'll be playing with In Nomine and the Whole World Mod. Naturally, I modified these both, so none of you will have the same version as I do! Muahahahaha!

That or you all will have a better version than I.

Anyway, on top of what WWM adds, I also halved the number of colonists each religion receives, I restored the tech groups to vanilla values (Americans at 0.1 speed of Latin, etc.), and I added the fantastic Hiring Fair mod.

I'll point out differences WWM and Hiring Fair add when they come up, but for now, let's get to it.

Short term goals: Independence, establish sovereignty over pommerania and the Saxon lands.

Midterm goals: Gain de facto independence from the Holy Roman Empire, form Prussia.

Longterm goals: Germany, yo!

Lo and behold, Brandenburg, the mighty elector which unified Germany 460 years after the game's start! I hope to either emulate or surpass this success. Now, one of the house rules I'm playing by is to actually be the country I'm playing - that means I won't be trading excessively, as that was never a priority for Prussia/Brandenburg. To quote Voltaire, Prussia is not a nation with an army, but an army with a nation.

Hence, I go towards Quality. 2.5% Discipline rocks.

And this is our motley crew that will do it! A trader who I will never use, a philosopher who only issues state approved ideas, and a king who cares more about Luxemburg anyway! Truly this is a state that will rise!

Welp. Time to work on our army. I order two cavalry units to be constructed to start with.

WHAT?! I DID NOT VOTE FOR BOHEMIA! Bah! I change my vote to this country just to be spiteful. Not much else to do but wait until my personal union ends..

YES! Someone as weak as I-
..
Someone much weaker than I has been elected holy roman emperor! Yes. This is what I said and meant to say. Quiet. Quiet you all. I meant to take a picture of the main thing but I forgot.

This is where I'm merely showing another feature of WWM - as your production efficiency rises, so does your manpower, but a base is still most effective. Neat, eh?

This is how bored I became waiting for the PU to end - I screencapped Wallachia related things. But the Byzantine awesome undoes that, I suppose.

Anyway, this game was abound with PU's and inheritances in the time I played. Bohemia inheritted Baden, Burgundy entered a personal union with Cleves..

After attempting (and failing) at trying to get trade going, I replace my trader with this guy! That stability bonus is MASSIVE for a country my size (four provinces), and it will be useful soon...

LIKE NOW!

DIPLOMACY! Magdeburg will pay for their incompetence, but for the rest of them, the seeds of vassalization have been sown..
Also prestige. Prestige rocks. More prestige please.

Seriously, my ruler who isn't Luxemburgian is -excellent-. Look at how many prince(ss)s he's churning out!​

 

[unmerged(92043)]

Looks like an interesting read, however all the images are broken. :'(

 

[Beamed]

My second ally, after Bohemia! Truly they recognize Brandenburgian dominance and wish to join me whilst they mayest!

That or all these bloody 1900esque power balances have them worried.

I prefer the former though.

FINALLY NUMERO DOS! Uh, I mean. Woo! My first national idea! I pick Quest for the New World and hire an expl-

Oh. Right. Landlocked country.

My first national idea is Military Drill! More morale, more discipline, and better leaders (for when I can afford them, at least. 50 ducats is expensive!)? What's not to like?

And finally, I accumulate the money to do this! This is possibly the greatest mod ever - you have a very low chance of getting the advisor you want, but you at least HAVE a chance. As well, you can also get a decent advisor, though not the one you want, whereas it's impossible otherwise. Any advisor you turn down won't go to the pool, either, so it won't give any special advantage at all - excellence!

Not bad of a guy, really. +6 monthly Government investment. Better than anything I expected. That's more than my entire monthly income!

AND BAM! My first war against the Holy Roman Emperor - The Palatinate - and this random German minor, and most especially, MAGDEBURG! Their refusing to accept my hegemony will be their downfall.

With the help of my Anhaltian allies - the one province minor I intend to annex as vassals soon - I assault the province with an impatient reluctance! They shall tremble at the might of my hastily mobilized and poorly funded army and know the wrath of Brandenburg!

Or not. It fails. I've plenty of men to spare, but that's a bit of time wasted

ONCE MORE UNTO THE BREACH, DEAR FRIENDS! Something's rotten in the state of Magdeburg and such!

Without any land, Magdeburg decides it's time they were annexed by me. Or something. How the hell do you tell a government they're not anymore? Would the government then convene to de-establish itself or something?

Hmm. I'll ask the Pol- Oh, the Polish just went to London with aogvernment in exile the last time.

Bah. So the Magdeburgs are in London. The English shall pay for this treachery.

The army which destroyed the one province minor - 4,000 Latin Knights and 4,000 Latin Medieval Infantry! A bit out of date (Not really), yes, but truly powerful. Especially with my discipline.​

 

[Beamed]

Anhalt, seeing my military might, both assisted me, and decided to swear fealty with me. The fact that I control half of their border had absolutely nothing to do with it I'm certain.

God wants me to declare war on Bohemia. Good enough casus belli for me!

What, you thought I was going to declare war on Bohemia? No, **** that! Why do you think I bothered with a royal marriage with Pommerania, when they already had 4 a-
I forgot to screenshot that, didn't I?
Crap.
Anyway yeah, totally claimed their throne, broke royal ties..


And that was the first update! Woo, this AAR making thing is harder than I thought. Took me two hours to do all the imagework. Ah well.

Comment, etcetera. I'm also going to add anyone's username they'd like as a regiment - first come, first serve, though, so reply quick! ​

 

[Beamed]

Looks like an interesting read, however all the images are broken. :'(

Fixed. You got in before I was finished, so I hadn't set it all up yet! Good work. You get the first regiment of cavalry named after you for point it out and being so quick.

Sorry about that, anyway.

 

[Monnikje]

I like your style . Go Brandenburg, go! Let's show the world that you can form Prussia, then Germany and then... well, let's not think thát far ahead.

 

[Beamed]

Indeed. It took me a decade to gain that one province - who knows if I can keep up even that pace!

Thanks for reading.

 

[Beamed]

The lines are drawn and the sides taken. Surprising is the Bavarian and Bohemian intervention - neither country had any interested other than assisting the First Brandenburgian Rebellion.
When the declaration of war was issued to the Pommeranian court, the King was not very worried - the Teutonic Order was renown for it's military might, and the Holy Roman Emperor would be able to easily take care of the Elector Margraviate Brandenburg. However, the Bohemian and Bavarian kingdom and duchy, respectively, evened the odds: still, there were 10,000 more infantry on the side of the Holy Roman Empire.

Impatience is a virtue when you want to win a war!​

The Battle of Vorpommern was little more than a skirmish between the armies; on the defensive, the Pommeranians inflicted more casualties, and quickly had an organized retreat before the Brandenburgians could turn it into a rout - despite the casualties, both lines held until the retreat was ordered.
The King ordered the army to lay siege to the city, ignoring the Pommeranian march to Neumark and the arrival of the Teutonic Knights - he hoped that by capturing the Pommeranian lands, he could knock his opponents out one by one.
However, this gambit would not have been successful whatsoever were it not for a few well placed bribes, which, arguably, hastened the siege. Historians today still debate the number of defenders who were bribed - the numbers differ from two to two hundred(!!), but it is generally accepted that starvation forced the Pommeranians' hand.

The Bavarians did their part, quickly knocking the Palatinate into submission, if not out of the war.

Jeez, you think attrition would do them out, eh?​

The Bohemian army, while not performing any incursions into enemy territory, was vital to the Brandenburg war effort. The city of Berlin was originally besieged by a small brigade of Pommeranian troops, but the Bohemians lifted this siege, and held against an onslaught of Teutonic Knights. It didn't do so without casualties, and even more, as the people of Berlin couldn't afford to feed the soldiers as well as their people.
Much to the Brandenburg Duke's dismay, however, the siege of Neumark would not be lifted by Bohemian hand..

The Bohemians make an attempt to beat back the Teutons and Pommeranians to their own land.​

The Bohemian army slammed into the Teutonic lines like rock against brick; it left many a mark, but the Teutons were renown warriors, and the lines held. As wave after wave of Bohemian soldier was killed, the Brandenburg Duke was hated by the Bohemian King, as he merely moved to besiege Pommeranian capital of Hinterpommern.

Fear the Brandenburg Army, for it is large and fires with swords!​

Despite the Duke's hesitance, the Brandenburg Army is pulled off the siege of Hinterpommern for something far more important - the defense of Berlin. The Bohemian Army, forced into Bohemia to defend it's own capital from noble rebels, angered over the Bohemian King fighting for foreign rulers, was incapable of continuing the defense, and so the Teutons and Rigans laid siege.

It is a popular anecdote that upon the Teutonic Knights fighting Brandenburg's own, a commander remarked "Is there treason, or are we fighting fellow Prussians in the field?" before charging into battle himself. Both armies, though the Teutons held the numerical advantage, seemed to fight on equal level, until finally a hole was made in the Teutonic line. Almost immediately, Brandenburg cavalry poured through, cutting down infantry like a lawnmower does grass, until the Teutons were forced to retreat back to Neumark.

I thought the vassal paid -me-?!​

Despite not entering the front lines, the Anhaltian army had held strong against a Palatinate army until the Brandenburgs could assist, and it's economy suffered for it, as the retreating army pillaged Anhalt's land. In a rare feeling of gratitude of the Brandenburg Duke, he paid a year's worth of Anhalt's tax to their treasury, much to the Count's glee.

Allied in war has just taken on a whole 'nother meaning..​

With the destruction of the Teutonic army by Brandenburg, and the Bohemian Army's liberation of Neumark, the Pommeranians quickly recognized the futility of war. They pledged fealty to the Brandenburg Duke, being downgraded to the level of count - something which would have grave effects for future Brandenburg rulers - and forced to pay war indemnities. This was kept secret from Anhalt, the Brandenburg Duke greedy for it to be his own.

The Palatinate, the holder of the Holy Roman throne, was in the meantime, still being destroyed by the Bavarian army, and, fearing further sieges, quickly paid war indemnities to the King of Bohemia.
Another anecdote popular in Brandenburg was that the Duke, within minutes of hearing this, broke the truce the Bohemian King signed for him and declared war, only to make peace again within seconds, as one of his advisors reportedly stormed out of the court in anger at the Duke. While the advisor was lost to history at this point, this 'five second war' ended with peace also being concluded with the Teutonic Order, which gave up no land or money, but lost something far more important - face.

Oh man, these German lands are so rich! No wonder Germany was Europe's foremost Great Power in the Victorian era!​

The war left the Brandenburg economy in shatters. While little pillaging occured on the lands, there was simply no more money being freely available for anything other than the Brandenburg army. The reasons for this are many, but it left the Duke with little choice but to replace the advisor.
The Duke picked a member of the evergrowing Bourgeois to join his court - while many a competent administrator came to the Duke's lands, offering their skills to increase the money received from peasants, or to maximize the efficiency of the produce, the Duke realized that his land was not enough - he needed the wealth of other lands, no matter the way. Thus it was he chose this member of the Bourgeois to use "any means necessary" to expand the Brandenburg treasury through merchandising.

However, this was followed by a heated dispute between the other two advisors and the Duke. During a feast held the night after a particularly heated argument - it is said that a goblet of diamond, the House Hohenzollern's crown jewel at the time, was thrown at one of the advisors, who narrowly dodged it - the Duke collapsed at the table, and despite the best efforts of the court physician, the Duke was proclaimed dead.. The dispute rose over the third advisor being hired - was it not betrayal of the Aristocratic elements to hire someone merely based on their money? The dispute was not resolved with this death, unfortunately..

. . .

 

[Beamed]

This Duke was a godsend out of nowhere.​

Heinrich III was a distant relative to Friedrich, and had little reason for ascending to the throne but his connections with this Trader who caused so many rifts in Brandenburg's court - Friedrich had left no will, and thus the succession would have been contested had the advisors not been unanimous. As it was, they weren't at the time.

Free slider movement -and- a replacement advisor? Is it Christmas?​

During the day following the Duke's assassination, a noble by the name of Georg Albrecht Schach had entered the court, requesting aid in resolving dispute with rival nobles. While his argument was weak, and rumour has it that he was bribed by the peasantry to represent them, the court was very unstable by David Praha's threatening to contest succession with Friedrich's brother. A deal was made, in which Schach would take the place of Praha as court artist, and in return his demands would be acquiesced to.
In an instant, Heinrich had secured power in his own court, Praha lost the power to properly contest the throne, and a new advisor had entered the midst of the court intrigues. The rifts this mysterious Trader had caused were great and numerous, but it did lead to something new - something feared by Conservative Brandenburg, but something necessary if it hopes to attain greatness in the Empire.

Mmm, money.​

Regardless of whether the Trader's presence caused more trouble than it was worth, the effects on Brandenburg's economy were undeniably positive - almost as many taxes from the peasantry and nobles as from the shops were being collected! The sole advisor who hadn't left, been replaced, or been killed, decided to let things be for now, growing elderly himself, tired of constantly being in strife.

Diplo annexation - easily the best way to expand in the Holy Roman Empire.​

Heinrich, as it were, had no time to enjoy his place of power, as he was plunged into diplomatic efforts for the Duchy. Now having Meissen surrounded on three fourths of it's borders, he offered to work further for Meissen's independence from the Holy Roman Empire, if Meissen would join his. Hesitantly, the Duke agreed.

Why is the Palatinate an elector twice over? What the hell?​

Being so close to the current expected Emperor, Meissen had a right to be worried - one wrong move, and the Emperor could do as he pleased with the nigh-county.

;_;​

Still, the Duke had finally met his match in the game of Empire Intrigue, as the Duke of Saxony laughed him out of court, revealed his intentions to the Emperor - twice! - and even so much as bit his thumb at the Duke of Brandenburg! Heinrich was outraged, nearly being driven to war on Christian I. However, he held his tongue through it all - Christian was a hostile, violent man, but he didn't make much of a Duke otherwise.
Unfortunately, that was irrelevant in the long run, as Heinrich III became desperate for Saxony's fealty. Luckily, Heinrich's brilliance shown through this rivalry - though Charles had thwarted many of his attempts, Heinrich offered Charles a compromise - he would pay for renovation of the temples in both the Margraviate and Saxony, and he would offer concessions to the peasantry of Brandenburg. In return, Charles would pledge fealty.

Only three months to get stability each level?! Fuck yes!​

With this new fealty and income, Brandenburg did naught but prosper. Charles continued his intrigues against the Duke, and would receive exceedingly grandiose concessions in return for ceasing them, but for once, Brandenburg was bordered by naught but allies - and importantly to Charles, he received protection from the new Emperor, Thuringia.

Damn this bug, forcing me to reload to get Saxony's vote!​

Thus the state of the Empire. Thuringia was emperor, but contested by Brandenburg having both Saxony and it's own vote - however, as Thuringia reigned, it would continue unless it lost an elector's support, or Brandenburg gained one.

I discovered longbows 200 years later than they were historically widespread utilized! Go Brandenburg!​

During all of this, the Duke and the advisors were also busy on the military, the mainstay of Brandenburg. As they analyzed the battles against the Teutons and the Pommeranians, they realized that Brandenburg's strength was it's discipline - the soldiers never faltered, even under enemy archer fire, and almost unanimously obeyed a commander's orders. Though the discipline wasn't strong to do much else for the Brandenburg army, Heinrich followed a philosophy which would be referred to, in the years of the Kingdom of Prussia, as the Heinrich Doctrine - maximize the strengths of the army, don't mitigate the weaknesses.
Thus it was that the army was reformed into knights both on the ground and on the horses - utilized famously by the English army against the French, these 'men at arms' were heavy infantry, supported by archer fire, meant to take a heavy beating from the enemy. While an argument was made to deliver more casualties via. massed archer fire to support light infantry, the Heinrich Doctrine prevailed, and the army reformation began...

 

[unmerged(82794)]

Please don't spam the updates, it chases the readers away.


Going well none the less.

 

[unmerged(82846)]

Hahahahaha. Excellent.

The bit about the Polish in London was great.

 

[Beamed]

Please don't spam the updates, it chases the readers away.


Going well none the less.

One a day regardless, but thanks!



-----

Never before have I so hated the 3 advisor maximum..​

The man who lead the Army Reformation, Johann Siegmund (I refuse to call him Knobelsdorf. Laughing every time I mention him in what is attempted to be a history book part of the AAR is not at all proper!), is a part of Prussian history that few are proud of.

While Johann Siegmund wasn't attracted by the hiring fair held many years prior, one of his biographers famously stated that during his teen years, he witnessed the Battle of Brandenburg, and the retreating Teutons burn down his home on their way back to Pommerania. An idealist noble, he went to Berlin to seek Duke Heinrich's assistance. What he found disillusioned and appalled him - the famous ball which attracted the enigmatic trader was being held, the entirety of the court ignoring the many hundreds slaughtered in the battle and the ensuing retreat.

Hardening his resolve, Siegmund feverously began to study the general's tactics, hoping to regain his family's position - while some biographers leave the reason unknown, others note that he may have wanted to destroy the dynasty Hohenzollern in revenge. It is generally accepted today, however, that he began to study strategy to lead his own army in revenge against the Teutons, choosing to close his eyes to the court apathy.

So it was that this character came to the court to assist Heinrich III in reforming the army. While Heinrich blatantly shunned Siegmund - it was recorded later that Siegmund made a rude comment regarding Heinrich's lack of proper relation -, Siegmund's help was vital, and so Heinrich tolerated his presence for the year.

In return for his help over the years, Siegmund received leadership over the Brandenburg army - the first Generalfeldmarschall - and an estate near the prosperous city of Potsdam. However, this did not sate Siegmund's ambitions..

Prussian peasants - like knights, only not at all whatsoever. ​

Siegmund, ever against the Teutons, did not use his resources as Generalfeldmarschall for the powers of good instead of evil - he began to fund massive revolts, spliced with Brandenburg soldiers, along the Teutonic lands, so much so that nearly all the German land in the Teutonic Order's possession was occupied by the rebels.

However, he wasn't just making trouble with the Teutonic Order - instead, he was exposing the weakness of the Knights to the Polish south, who had recently lost territory to the ever belligerent monastic nation. Whether or not it had worked remains a debate among historians to this day, but it is known that the Teutons did not put down the rebellion for half a decade.

Ever see a grown man cry?​

Not all was fun at games at court after Siegmund's assistance, regardless. Heinrich III, at the urging of his advisors, began to make moves to further demote the Pommerian count - to the point of Heinrich proclaiming himself Duke of Pommerania!

The Pommeranian nobility proved themselves as adamant as their cavalry in the First Imperial Rebellion, however, and refused to even momentarily recognize Heinrich's diplomatic offers. It was rumored that Heinrich had built a beautiful palace in Hinterpommern for the Count, only to be asked if the Holy Roman Emperor was visiting. In a fury, Heinrich had the palace destroyed and left Pommerania for weeks.

Eventually, the maneuvers to conquer Pommerania were given up upon - for now, at least. Instead, the eyes of the Brandenburg count looked south..

If you think, it's kinda sorta a regional power..right?​

The diplomatic status of Brandenburg is nothing but secure - of all the states in the Holy Roman Empire, it held the most alliances, the most vassals, and most importantly, was held in high regard with all except the ones it had recently been at war with - while it focused on being a land power, Brandenburg's current advantage was it's diplomatic power.

London's not so bad, guys... Give it a couple hundred years and the court there'll speak German, too!​

The Duke, after being so repeatedly rebuffed by the Pommeranian count, realized that his best chances were for the small county of Meissen. Taking a card from the famous Saxon rebuffals, however, Meissen demanded something the pious Saxon hadn't - sheer money.

Duke Heinrich III, ever a man who can hold his temper, took this calm- No, I'm kidding. The courier which delivered this news to the chancellor was quickly shipped to England by the chancellor, the chancellor himself telling the Duke. Quickly the chancellor was ordered beheaded - the chancellor was rumored to be the father of this courier, but modern historians claim that, in actuality, the chancellor had sent another message to England, and was completely unaware of Heinrich's retribution.

Regardless, the Duke assented after a long talk with his court..

WholeWorldMod changes the annex event into these effects. While I think the effects aren't quite harsh enough, it's still better than NA 2.2's old freebies.​

In return for 5% of two year's income, a substantial amount for a count, especially a newly landless one, the Meissen count acquiesced to allowing the Duke another title to his list.

The nobility of the Margraviate was outraged - they were paying taxes to someone without any power, and received absolutely nothing in return for it. While open rebellion didn't take place, the economy would suffer for some time.

Regardless of these rifts, once again, the Duchy grew yet more powerful to challenge Imperial might - unfortunately, even Heinrich could see it was not nearly enough to proclaim his own open rebellion.

Apparently Friedrich wasn't the only one that could fire out babies like Russia does diplomatic blunders..​

The Holy Roman Emperor, wary of the growing Duchy, was, however, still concerned with keeping the ever loosening Federation together. When the Margraviate of Brandenburg rebelled against the Emperor, along with Bohemia and Bavaria, the weakness of a poor ruler was apparent to all the spectators, especially the ever powerful France.

In the hopes that closer relations could be fostered between the many towns and cities of the Empire, it was thus that the Thuringians strengthened their noble ties with that of the Hohenzollerns - the Duke had no interest in inbreeding more than a Hapsburg king, and so was ever willing to allow other powers into the family - naturally, he wasn't doing so entirely out of the kindness of his heart.

It was unspoken, however, that the Thuringian princess seemed to disappear after a heated dispute with Heinrich's son..

It's much like arguing who gets the last bottle of water in the desert - they're all going to be annexed by France anyway!​

The War of Dutch Hegemony had been raging in the meantime, the Hainaut - Lorraine alliance standing on their lonesome against the Dutch-French Duchy. While Burgundy had the morale and numerical advantage, the discipline and elan of the Hainaut and Lorrainian troops held firm and soundly defeated Burgundy - but importantly, it didn't vanquish the Duchy, and already the sides prepare for round two.

However, this is only important to Brandenburg as it symbolized another weakness of Imperial authority - the Duchy which initiated the war, Burgundy, had done so against a member of the Empire - and Thuringia did nothing to resist it. Instead, it left it entirely to the countries involved. While many of the Emperor's supporters cited the wish for independence in the Lowlands regardless, it was apparent that Thuringia merely didn't have the strength to resist.

The peace of 1435 agreed that Burgundy had been the aggressor, and must thus pay war indemnities, and cede the cities of Antwerp and Cambray to Hainaut, though the indemnities were to go to Lorraine. Nothing was sent to the Emperor except a copy of the treaty - his glaring lack of seal apparent to all who read it. An enormous debate raged in the newly formed Reichstag, and only the most adamant of the Emperor's supporters remained at his side.

Ah, the Holy Roman Empire - more Byzantine than the Byzantine Empire!​

It was apparent that Thuringia's breaths as the Emperor were growing short. The ruler of Brandenburg was almost completely secure in it's attaining the throne. Heinrich, however, had other plans for the Emperor, then to simply take the throne.

So small that if it were in a bowl of soup at a restaurant, you wouldn't bother telling the waiter..​

The Duchy of Brandenburg in 1435. While not as powerful as Bohemia yet, it was easily the regional power of northern Germany, and it held in it's sway the northern half of Germany, besides Bohemia.

This leads to many options available for Brandenburg in the long term. However, there has not yet been a proper defeat of the Emperor's armies.. Heinrich III publically stated he has no intention to rebel against Imperial authority, content with peaceful expansion, but privately, only the enigmatic ruler in Berlin knows for certain.

 

[Enewald]

It is evil to conquer neighbours, did you know that?

 

[Beamed]

It is evil to conquer neighbours, did you know that?

Bah! 'Tis even more evil to not be conquered by the Brandenburg nation!

Thanks for reading - while I enjoy making this AAR, the only thing that disappoints me is the lack of feedback. Hopefully the more I continue, the more that will come.

 

[angryclown]

*subscribes*

As someone who doesn't yet own EU3, AARs like this are great for seeing the nuts and bolts of how the game runs. Keep up the good work.

Any chance of a personal union with the Teutonic Knights?

 

[Beamed]

*subscribes*

As someone who doesn't yet own EU3, AARs like this are great for seeing the nuts and bolts of how the game runs. Keep up the good work.

Any chance of a personal union with the Teutonic Knights?

No, but you'll see in the update after this one I work around that problem.
Thanks for reading! I try to explain what I can, for new players, for soon to be players, and even for players who don't understand this or that.

---

So poor.. ​

Welcome back! Taking a bit of a break from the history book style for now, let's play a bit of catchup with the state of Brandenburg.

First, our economy. The entirety of Germany, including Austria and Bohemia(Classical Germany), is a rather rich area. Not Dutch or Italian rich, or even French rich, but better than Iberia and Turkey, on average. However, Brandenburg's domestic sliders are rather wanting - Brandenburg can, with the current provinces, keep up in most tech, but -cannot- stay ahead in any.

I'm trading to try to get an edge, but I stay ahead in land tech compared only to the larger powers, since the larger you are, the more expensive technology is. Notable is my lack of production income - I'll need to centralize if I hope to improve that, and later, build manufactories, which I intend to anyway. As well, about half of Germany's provinces produce resources which leap ahead in value when marketplaces etc. are built.

More disciplined than a class of kindergarteners!​

Here we have our military discipline after the latest slider move (August 13, 1433). You can see that it's pretty high, but the description of discipline is rather misleading - it doesn't effect when you retreat much, if it all.

Instead, discipline is a direct multiplier on the casualties you inflict. More on the various modifiers units have later, but essentially, the amount of casualties you inflict is 100% at 100% Discipline. Thus, with my current discipline, I inflict 17% more casualties than the average country.

While not useful against as disciplined troops as the Teutonic Knights, which, if I recall, start at FULL Quality (+12.5 discipline), it is infinitely useful against the Holy Roman Emperor and various other German minors that I'll come to blows with.

Yes, because they've not already sworn fealty..​

Here's my current mission. The requirement is to own Hinterpommern which, being Pommerania's capital, is odd, since I'd need to completely annex them anyway. Regardless, it was already my next target for diploannexation, thus, it's a decent mission that I've not the need to cancel.

Short, sweet, and to the point.

GO TO LONDON WITH YOUR FAMILY, YOU BLOODY PEASANTS!​

Here we see the only two provinces discontent with Brandenburg rule - they're not at all as happy as they should be to join my nation! Peasant rebels are easily the weakest - you merely have to defeat them, and they surrender, unlike others, which are capable of retreat.

In In Nomine, you can't fabricate cores on any other province, hence why any further diploannexations will yield similar results - more rebels. Worth it, though.

I'll take a moment here to explain a bad part about this diploannexation - if you lack a core on a province, you receive only 10%(!!!) of the census tax than otherwise from said province. As census tax makes up the vast majority of your spending, this complicates quick growth quite significantly.

I've no idea how this started. Did a knight get his ear cut off by a Polish merchant or summat?​

Hmm. The Teutonic Knights are distracted with a war against the Poles and Lithuanians, eh?.. Well, not worth the risk. I can't take on either side with my current military, and my allies would probably abandon me.

THAT'S NOT HOW IT HAPPENED PARADOX. READ A BOOK.​

...

So we have a massively weakened Teutonic Order, a Lithuania and Poland exhausted by war, and 5,000 purebred Daleks ready to exterminate Earth?!

Oh. No Daleks.
That's..
Disappointing...

Exactly what I needed!​

There really isn't anything funny about Land Tech. It's boring. I receive a small bonus to my Infantry Shock modifier, making my infantry cut through a bit more units. That's it. See? Not funny at all!

Land Tech is boring.

I wonder if I could put Men at Arms -on top- of Latin Knights?! It would be like a game of horseback chicken, except when a Man at Arms fell, it would crush the opposing soldier, he'd get back up, and start fighting with a broken leg! Brilliance!​

Right, time to explain unit modifiers now, because it took me awhile to learn the technology modifiers on top of the unit modifiers.

First, we have the tech modifier for cavalry. They start at some random number I can't remember, but it's multiplied by what the unit you choose has as their shock pip. For offensive, it increases the amount of casualties, and for defensive, decreases. Simple, eh?

Fire works exactly the same. Now, the reason I pointed out cavalry was because they have and maintain a shock advantage throughout the game - which is realistic, since cavalry are used for charges, after all. Cavalry do do fire damage, but not nearly as much as infantry. That's why this early cavalry dominate the game - you only have the shock phase, and since cavalry are best at it..

Here we can see Men at Arms. I'll note also that infantry does more damage to morale than cavalry, but not significantly - someone once commented on the forums that you use cavalry to destroy armies, and infantry to rout them. That's essentially the rule of thumb for the early half, but in the latter half the difference is negligible at best.

Anyway, the Men at Arms receives a +1 to defensive morale when compared to the other option at this landtech level, Longbowmen, who receive +1 to offensive shock. While inflicting yet MORE casualties on the enemy would enhance the effect of discipline, I'm going to break Heinrich Doctrine for a bit to emphasize the effect of morale early game - it's such a rarity it must be adamantly defended, even with NI's such as Military Drill heavily enhancing it.

Note: You can see the current tech modifiers on page 14 of your friendly neighborhood Ledger!

And thus, it is with this army that the Brandenburgs mobilize..

Casus belli for 100 ducats? Huge ripoff, but not much choice with a merchant republic.​

 

[Enewald]

too bad the spy mission no more gives cores.

 

[unmerged(49083)]

Well, getting a core is overpowered.

 

[Beamed]

@Enewald - Yes, but as Walter noted, it DID make expansion far too easy..

@Walter Model Exactly.

Thanks for reading to all of you reading this! I hope to update later this morning ot perhaps in the afternoon - all the screenshots are uploaded, simply a matter of me writing the update.


Also, I was hoping for a bit of feedback regarding the type of updates I write. Which of the styles that I utilized thus far is most enjoyable?

 

[Samilou]

It seems your pictures are still broken. Considered changing host?