OK this is my first time playing Crusader Kings II, I took the reign of John Komnenus II (Byzantine Emperor starting at 1118 AD). It was a disaster, the Fatimids crushed me. 
I started a war with Cyrenaica, ruled by a dynasty known as the Suleimids. I landed in Cyrenaica with about 13,000 troops and wiped out their armies, then I started besieging their cities. It was easy, all their cities were falling like a pack of cards and I had a war score of 100%, but they kept refusing to surrender.
In the meantime, the Fatimids landed at Constantinople with about 16,000 troops and captured the province, then they captured about 2 other provinces (Thessalonika and something else). So then I pulled my army out of Cyrenaica and landed back in Greece, I waited for my army to get bigger while patiently waiting for the Fatimid army to shrink. I knew this was going to work, I just was waiting for my army to get bigger than theirs before I launched my counter-attack. Even though their war score was approaching 90%, I knew that they were getting weaker.
But then out of nowhere I get a message on the screen telling me that I have surrendered and the Fatimids accepted my surrender, the next thing I know about 80% of the Byzantine Empire has been annexed to the Fatimids. What the hell happened? They had only taken about 3 provinces and yet the computer forced me to surrender! Why?
Why couldn't I force the Suleimids to surrender in my campaign against them like the Fatimids did to me? I had a war score against them of 100% for ages. By the way the Fatimids and the Suleimids were not allies, it was two separate wars.
Here are some other questions I have from my first game:
1) I kept getting these messages that a disease has broken out in such and such a province. Am I supposed to be doing something to rectify this? Or are there specific preventative measures I should be taking before hand or to prevent diseases from spreading?
2) I got a couple of messages that "factions" had been formed and then that "dangerous factions" have developed. The thing is that all of my vassals and court members seemed to have a positive opinion of me, at least all of the opinion scores were green, positive numbers. What am i supposed to be doing to prevent factions from forming, and once they form, what am I supposed to be doing to minimize their strength / eliminate them?
3) In many of my provinces I see that there are these tiny armies of about 500 men that just stand there and I cannot seem to move them. What are those for? Are those armies that my vassals control and they do not want to use them? What is the point of such pathetically small armies to just sit there? If an enemy army of 10,000 men comes through there it would just wipe them out. Do I have to pay to maintain those armies? If so how do I get rid of them?
I started a war with Cyrenaica, ruled by a dynasty known as the Suleimids. I landed in Cyrenaica with about 13,000 troops and wiped out their armies, then I started besieging their cities. It was easy, all their cities were falling like a pack of cards and I had a war score of 100%, but they kept refusing to surrender.
In the meantime, the Fatimids landed at Constantinople with about 16,000 troops and captured the province, then they captured about 2 other provinces (Thessalonika and something else). So then I pulled my army out of Cyrenaica and landed back in Greece, I waited for my army to get bigger while patiently waiting for the Fatimid army to shrink. I knew this was going to work, I just was waiting for my army to get bigger than theirs before I launched my counter-attack. Even though their war score was approaching 90%, I knew that they were getting weaker.
But then out of nowhere I get a message on the screen telling me that I have surrendered and the Fatimids accepted my surrender, the next thing I know about 80% of the Byzantine Empire has been annexed to the Fatimids. What the hell happened? They had only taken about 3 provinces and yet the computer forced me to surrender! Why?
Why couldn't I force the Suleimids to surrender in my campaign against them like the Fatimids did to me? I had a war score against them of 100% for ages. By the way the Fatimids and the Suleimids were not allies, it was two separate wars.
Here are some other questions I have from my first game:
1) I kept getting these messages that a disease has broken out in such and such a province. Am I supposed to be doing something to rectify this? Or are there specific preventative measures I should be taking before hand or to prevent diseases from spreading?
2) I got a couple of messages that "factions" had been formed and then that "dangerous factions" have developed. The thing is that all of my vassals and court members seemed to have a positive opinion of me, at least all of the opinion scores were green, positive numbers. What am i supposed to be doing to prevent factions from forming, and once they form, what am I supposed to be doing to minimize their strength / eliminate them?
3) In many of my provinces I see that there are these tiny armies of about 500 men that just stand there and I cannot seem to move them. What are those for? Are those armies that my vassals control and they do not want to use them? What is the point of such pathetically small armies to just sit there? If an enemy army of 10,000 men comes through there it would just wipe them out. Do I have to pay to maintain those armies? If so how do I get rid of them?
