Dealing with a Large Neighbor as a Tiny County

[unmerged(579364)]

I'm still new to CKII and learning as I go with the game, but one thing I'm wondering is if there's much I can do to impact large, aggressive neighbors. I'm playing as Connacht right now, and have taken control of Briefne. However, Scotland has been making a big push into Ireland of late with large armies sometimes numbering over 10,000. I certainly can't muster anywhere near that many troops to fend off a potential Scottish invasion, though my family has a lot of political marriages, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can call for help if need be.

What I'm wondering, though, is if there's anything I can do to make things difficult for Scotland. As it stands, it feels like I'm just waiting for Scotland to swoop in and finish me off, but it would be nice to give the kingdom a good punch in the nose before they do. Obviously I can't send my military in because it's just way too small, but are there other tools at my disposal? Can I try to get the king of Scotland excommunicated or anything?

 

[Luhood]

Well, there are two ways to punch him in the snout, both with different methods of execution.

1. Bigger Allies. Ally with England, Norway, France, or just about anyone who could assist you in the inevitable war against the Scottish mess.

2. Weaken Him. Have him excommunicated, support a vassal against him, or anything similar really. Make sure he is busy and weakened before you make your move, and then take the opportunity to free some Irish vassals.

Opportunists live longer, y'know!

 

[grumphie]

excommunicating is probaly your best bet. or swear fealthy to him and destroy him from the inside, but thats not really smart in your case as youre still learning.

i'd continue uniting ireland(just saty away from the duchy of ulster), declare yourself king of england, expand a bit into wales and then go to war with scotland over irish lands once youre strong enough. also, rmember to build up your castles so your relativly small realm size can produce large amounts of levies still. i do think he marche din with over a 1000 troops thoguh, unless he inherited england or something like that.

 

[Damorte]

if possible, swear fealty to him and then destroy him from within =)

 

[perpetualmuse]

Can I try to get the king of Scotland excommunicated or anything?

You could try this if Scotland gets a ruler that is going to be disliked by the church and it may help, because it will make it more likely that allies will support you in a war and more likely that his vassal will revolt. Basically though, if you're playing Ireland you can just take as much of Ireland as you can and then save up gold. Ireland is very coastal, so you can earn a lot of gold if you do it right and early on in the game, wars are won with mercenaries. I'm sure you can probably beat Scotland with mercenaries even without help from other rulers, just strike when Scotland is in civil war. If you really feel you don't have enough land, Wales is usually pretty easy to take, as is Brittany.

 

[gornard]

Try making friends with scotland until you have united ireland. You may not be able to afford to give him gifts, so consider sending your diplomat to their capital to improve relations.

You also need to save money, either to purchase mercenaries in times of war or to pay of scotland. Also check what claims the scottish king has on you, it may be that they will die out with him so consider assassination.

 

[tuareg109]

Try making friends with scotland until you have united ireland. You may not be able to afford to give him gifts, so consider sending your diplomat to their capital to improve relations.

You also need to save money, either to purchase mercenaries in times of war or to pay of scotland. Also check what claims the scottish king has on you, it may be that they will die out with him so consider assassination.

Unless the Scottish king has claimants to counties and duchies in Ireland, in which case his heir could just as easily push those claims.
My advice is to swear fealty, and destroy him from within (if you're a duke). If you're already King of Ireland, do what others have mentioned: get mighty allies, excommunicate, etc.
As a Scottish vassal you can wage war on other vassals for territory (Scotland starts with minimum crown authority), something you can't do as a foreign ruler. Starting as the Earl of Isle of Man, I inherited Galloway and Carrick, swore fealty, and managed to swipe Clydesdale, Argyll, Inse Gall, and Lothian from Scots, as well as taking over all of Ireland. Eventually my realm was almost twice as large as all the rest of Scotland, and I declared independence, beating them in the war and becoming King of Ireland. I was strong enough that I took the Duchy of Northumberland from an England in civil war. Now I'm focusing on making all my counties and vassals Irish, and taking over Wales and the rest of Scotland.

 

[unmerged(579364)]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. =) Scotland has expanded right up to my own borders, and has just stopped and sat there for several years now. I noticed that their king only has one ally while I have 12, so I'm hoping that's why I'm being left alone right now. I'll try and take the southern half of Ireland, and go from there in dealing with Scotland.

 

[Nax24]

Wanna see someone start as lubeck, and independent county next to HRE

 

[Frozen_Predator]

Wanna see someone start as lubeck, and independent county next to HRE

lets not forget that Denmark has a de jure claim and the province religion and culture are different from its ruler.

and the big pagan next door

 

[whosthebestcop]

Unless Scotland married into Ireland or fabricated claims they probably don't have any claims on your land. I would say unite Ireland as quick as possible. Ireland is only 13 counties if you marry a Midas touch bride you should be able to get your demesne limit to 13 especially if you are still using gavelkind.

Once you form Ireland just revoke everyone's titles then generate automatic vassals and hold every county in Ireland yourself. You should then be able to match Scotland in troops. Because you will have 100% of all castle levies.

Then get Pope to give you an invasion CB on Scotland and you are on your way.

 

[unmerged(545031)]

As a more general thing, plotting to kill leadership can be a really quite effective way of dealign with large neighbors. The power of your plot is based on your intrigue (which you can marry for, to a degree, especially if you then make your wife your spymaster) and the people that work for your target who also hate him. Just keep checking from time to time as to who else wants to join up, and you should have the plot go off reasonably effectively in not too much time. Then plot to kill the next guy and keep going. Eventually, after having rulers die a few times in quick succession, the place generally falls apart pretty badly.

 

[unmerged(512658)]

I was playing as King of Wales once when Scotland DoW'd me. The King of Scotland decided to press some nobody's claim. It only took two assassination attempts to get rid of the claimant (not the King), and that was the end of the war.

Which demonstrates the usefulness of maintaining a financial reserve.