Do you start out as an OPM or a Duke and why?

[unmerged(569711)]

I find that starting out as a count has become incredibly hard, I find that it takes too long to become a duke and it is much harder than it used to be to become one after starting out as a count.

Starting out as a Duke usually makes it pretty fun, I have found that I cant start out as anything lower than that.


If you do start out as a Count....what's ypur strategies for gaining land quickly in whatever kingdom you start out in?

 

[LarryLeica]

Not all counts are created equal.

If you choose a count with a rich (5+ slots) single province in a kingdom with low CA or a dukedom, it is pretty easy just to war your way to conquest. Others are incredibly hard, for example there are plenty of arabian ones near the deserts with only 1 or 2 slot provinces, that is very hard and requires enormous patience and some luck. The best strategies with rich provinces are conquest in a low CA kingdom ASAP via fabrications or neighbour conquests (if muslim). For poor provinces you must play the marriage/inheritance game, this is actually harder if you are muslim.

Dukes are generally pretty easy, especially if you are already part of a kingdom. As a duke on your own it can be tough as you will generally have aggressive neighbours who want to eat you up, in these caases it can often be a good idea to swear fealty to someone remote early and expand in your neighbourhood knowing that you will probably have backup via your liege.

As a duke you would want to identify your long-term goal as to what kingdom you want to be later on, or what kingdom you want to conquer, then solely work on achieving that. At the point you have a kingdom and possibly two or more dynasty members with land then you can start putting dynasty member on other thrones via conquest or marriage to up your influence map-wide.

 

[HKFlash]

Dukes are generally pretty easy, especially if you are already part of a kingdom. As a duke on your own it can be tough as you will generally have aggressive neighbours who want to eat you up, in these caases it can often be a good idea to swear fealty to someone remote early and expand in your neighbourhood knowing that you will probably have backup via your liege.

You can only swear fealty to your de jure liege.

 

[MasterOfGrey]

I start as OPM dukes.

More seriously, while my recent game in Wales was an OPM duke I tend to start as dukes or occasionally small kingdoms with unstable internal politics on day 1 (Scotland, Denmark, Galicia).

 

[Revshawn]

You can only swear fealty to your de jure liege.

Unless your de jure liege doesn't exist, in which case you can swear fealty to anyone you want.

Now to answer the question. I like starting from the bottom of the food chain and working my way up. It's not fun to start at the top. What am I going to do? Wipe out a few Kingdoms that I already know I can wipe out? If you're smart and you marry well, chances are you'll never have too many problems holding your Kingdom or Empire together. Being a count changes everything. You have to be careful, marry well, and slowly expand your power throughout the Kingdom or Empire as a count or Duchy. You'll have to manage your money well so that you can afford the Mercenaries you need to turn the tide of battle in your favor. And if worse comes to worse and the Kingdom or Emperor maxed out their crown laws so you can't expand your nation at all militarily, you'll come to a decisive point in history where you'll have to use the power you gained to overthrow the Emperor or King and restore the status quo so you can continue to expand your influence.

And one day, when you are a King or an Emperor, you can look back at the portrait of your ancestors and say:

"Thank you Count Douku for your sacrifice. Without you I would not be King this day."

 

[ZechsMerquise73]

I just start dropping claim fabrications in the same de jure duchy on other counts. Raise mercs. Then I usurp the duchy and use my dejure claim when applicable.

 

[Wheem]

I prefer starting as one province Counts or small Dukes (usually in Ireland or Wales) since it can be fun to build your kingdom or empire from the ground up. Until next patch though, I might have to forego starting as a Count; having my character randomly put on a metal helm and then become permanently bald afterward gets kind of annoying , and I can't say that I've ever seen a Duke character have that problem.

Edit: As far as strategy goes, I always try to get the best chancellor that I possibly can and use him to get claims on nearby counties. I also press various ducal claims, then watch for the expiration of peace treaties so that I can use plots to gain direct control of the counties (being a gentleman, I don't assassinate leaders to speed up those conquests, but I also won't hesitate to jump on the county in < 10 years if the previous count dies by other means and therefore nullifies the treaty).

 

[jfinley12]

I like starting out as a count in Ireland so far. I am considering trying France or England.Why? Well I think it is fun to build your empire from scratch.

 

[Shadowhope]

I absolutely love starting in Wales, as one of the two independent counts in 1066. One of my all time favorite games was from there, where I gave myself the rule that I could not forge claims at all. Through marriage and inheritance and pressing claims I was able to build a Celtic kingdom that stood the test of time, taking Brittany, Normandy, Wales, Ireland, and southern England entirely through a lot of patient work with claims.

 

[thesodality]

I always start as a Count or Duke of my own design because its fun to build an empire (or kingdom) and dynasty from scratch.

As for Count strategy: Simply fabricate claims on nearby Counts until you can usurp or create a duchy. This is easier if you start with a count in a smaller two to three provence de jure duchy. With this strategy you should be able to become a Duke after just one war.

 

[SweArdaia]

I ususally start as a count or duke becuse it gives me more control. Starting as the HRE or ERE emperor is messy, vassals all over the place that you had no clue of existing, and constant revolts from vassals you didn't even know hated you. As a growing count, I can make my own vassals, and control their opinion more easily.

As for who I play as, I find the count of Foggia and the duke of Brandenburg interesting

 

[1zarathustra1]

I used to only start as a Count for the added difficulty, but then switched to starting with weak Dukes since the only added diffulty as a Count involves waiting for claims to be fabricated and mercenary money to be saved, do this twice and you have three counties and are then mostly starting to play like a Duke, so I have decided to just cut the 50 or so years you spend staring at the screen waiting for claims to be fabricated and money to be saved up.

 

[perpetualmuse]

I used to only start as a Count for the added difficulty, but then switched to starting with weak Dukes since the only added diffulty as a Count involves waiting for claims to be fabricated and mercenary money to be saved, do this twice and you have three counties and are then mostly starting to play like a Duke, so I have decided to just cut the 50 or so years you spend staring at the screen waiting for claims to be fabricated and money to be saved up.

I agree with this to a certain extent and this is how I played for a long time. I usually find that it's way too easy to conquer the entire map even on the hardest difficulty setting, and I end up stopping the game before 1453 through boredom induced by the user interface making managing extremely large armies so painful and involving so many clicks. As a result, to make my game last longer I often still start out as a Count even though the initial phase is always the same (waiting for chancellor and saving gold for mercenaries).

 

[Frozen_Predator]

one of my favorite characters is an opm count: the last Karling.

most people go for France and HRE as the Karlings but I usually take what I can get.

Thats how I once ended up with Italian Karlings ruling Italy and currently Dutch Karling kings of Frisia (My son inherited Amiens and his Daughter inherited Zeeland, when I became her I fabricated claims on Holland and West-Friesland and joined the independance faction so I could swear fealty to the HRE, but suddenly Holland went independent and the King of France pressed my claims, so I left the faction.)

 

[Shadowhope]

one of my favorite characters is an opm count: the last Karling.

most people go for France and HRE as the Karlings but I usually take what I can get.

Thats how I once ended up with Italian Karlings ruling Italy and currently Dutch Karling kings of Frisia (My son inherited Amiens and his Daughter inherited Zeeland, when I became her I fabricated claims on Holland and West-Friesland and joined the independance faction so I could swear fealty to the HRE, but suddenly Holland went independent and the King of France pressed my claims, so I left the faction.)

Starting with the Count himself only the once, I lost my initial holding within 50 years but acquired Britain and the coast of mainland Europe from Brittany to Holland.

 

[Pyoro]

I almost always start as Hohenstaufen - not too difficult for me, a dynasty I like and the games always end up differently. They're quite nicely suited in the middle of the map So far I've ended up as (including mods) HRE (though I don't really like being HRE), King of Croatia, King of Jerusalem, King of Sardinia, King of Bavaria, King of Britanny and Duke of too many duchies to list. Who knows what it'll be next time =)

 

[Hootieleece]

I generally pick Historically Powerful dynasties that are obscure at 1066 start(von Habsburgs, anyone) and trying to match or exceed their IRL success.

I also like playing as Sancho of Castille.....He was assasinated by Alphonso of Leon not long after game start.(A great what if scenario and EL Cid is your Marshal)

One favorite Count is Faste of Dal.The ONLY member of the Galta Dynasty.Love seeing that Dynasty all over the map after a couple of Hundred years......since you start from scratch.(only one holding, no vassals)

 

[Sleight of Hand]

Speaking of the Karlings, does anyone else think their new coat of arms is absolutely horrible? Where's it from, anyway?

 

[Rysz]

I have an Excel spreadsheet with a randomizer to provide me with a different start every time. About 1/3 of the time I get a count, 1/3 I get a duke and another 1/3 I get a King or Emperor. Also there is a 1/3 chance that I get a different startdate.

There was this time that I got the ruler of Tyre, and I was conquered by the Fatimids within a year. Short game.
Currently (although really currently I'm HOI'ing) I am playing as the Emir of Granada, and this certainly is a fun game! After almost two centuries I managed to become Sultan of Andalus. Time to kick those Christians out of my peninsula (after I've subjugated the other taifa's).