House Rules (or how do YOU play CK?)

[Javolenus]

Hi There,

I played a couple of campaigns in CKDV and I like the game. But I was wondering how other people play the game - what house rules they use?

I'm also interested to know how people approach the game in order to get the most out of it. I ask this because, in my own campaigns, I spent much time just watching the calendar spin round.

What would help would be a list of house rules and possibly a list of DOs and DON'Ts. Also, any tips on how to interact with the game.

I guess I was just thinking that, maybe I'm missing out on some good aspects of the game, so hearing of other people's approach would help.

For example, I know that some people swap around during a campaign, playing as several dynasties etc.

Anyway, thanks in advance for replies.

 

[TempestDK]

Hi There,

I played a couple of campaigns in CKDV and I like the game. But I was wondering how other people play the game - what house rules they use?

I'm also interested to know how people approach the game in order to get the most out of it. I ask this because, in my own campaigns, I spent much time just watching the calendar spin round.

What would help would be a list of house rules and possibly a list of DOs and DON'Ts. Also, any tips on how to interact with the game.

I guess I was just thinking that, maybe I'm missing out on some good aspects of the game, so hearing of other people's approach would help.

For example, I know that some people swap around during a campaign, playing as several dynasties etc.

Anyway, thanks in advance for replies.

I have often thought about playing some campaigns with house-rules, but I always seem to "forget" them once the game starts

I think my most used house-rule is to not have too many King titles. Thus I would create independent kingdoms when needed. In my current game at de Barcelona dynasty, I have gained all the iberian king titles (Léon, Castille, Navarra, Aragon, Portugal and Andalusia). I plan to hand them out to dynasty members. First I need to grow my main branch though, and I want to get rid of some of the berber rulers that I had to force-vassalize during my conquests.

In another game I wanted to try my hand as a female-run dynasty (Duchy of Toscana) ... but it got bothersome to edit the save game file when new kids were born, so they would have my dynasty name and not that of their fathers.

 

[Chipawah]

I try to roleplay my rulers according to their personality.

A deceitful and vengeful character will backstab others, grab claims and switch allegiances as soon as an opporunity arises, a forgiving and trusting character will avoid making enemies and honor his commitmens and agreements. Characters with zealous or chaste attributes will grant power to clergy, create bishoprics and try to collect piety, proud rulers will grant power to nobility, pragmatic to burghers and generous will favor the peasants.

I fall into power gaming habits at times though, it's just very hard to resist claiming that duke title you've been aspiring the entire game when an opportunity arises because your character is a trusting, forgiving coward. However, when it happens I also tend to motivate those actions from a realistic perspective, the lure of power can overcome even the best of men and there are always advisors and courtiers who can be pulling the strings from behind the scenes, pushing the character in that direction.

Next game I am going to try my hand at a game with different dynasties. I plan on choosing a dynasty randomly and then switching to a new random dynasty every 60 years (or whenever the one I am playing end up being extinct).

 

[Veldmaarschalk]

I try to play according to the following rules.

1. When I start as a count I decide first which duke-title needs to be my primary one. Usually it needs to be the duke-title of the county which I started. But sometimes it also can be a 'historical' one, f.e. when I start as the count of Aargau in 1066 (von Habsburg) then my first duke-title must be that of Austria or when I start as the count of Schwaben (von Hohenzollern) it must be Brandenburg or Prussia.

And when I have gained that duke-title I decide which kingtitle should become my primary one. I must achieve that title without editing the save-game or giving it to my heir and then save- and reload.

I must not let myself distracted by getting other duke-titles first.

It doesn't always work though in my last game I went from count of Hereford to king of England directly.

2. I only claim titles that are bordering my realm or are in my sphere of influence. f.e. as England my first goal is to conquer Wales, Scotland and Ireland and then move to Brittany, Normandy of Flanders. When I am Sicily I can conquer Italy, Croatia, Serbia or North-Africa.

3. When I am king I am only allowed to have dukes (or archbishops) as vassals. Each vassal is only allowed one duke-level title and he should control all the counties that make up that duchy. The duke-titles that make up my demesne I keep to myself.

4. When I have a minor as a ruler I don't go expanding, I am only allowed to reorganise my kingdom (see 3) or defend myself.

5. I have turned of the Crusader-events in my game, but when they are turned on I only go fighting Pagans/Muslims if there is a Crusade going on or when they are bordering my kingdom.

6. I don't pause the game when I assasinate somebody.

7. I try to divide my vassals as follows:
- 25% archbishops
- 25% own dynastie
- 50% other dynasties

8. I try to marry as much as possible within my own culture-group or neighbours. So if I am Welsh I can marry Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Anglo-Saxon, Norman.

9. I don't save and reload when something bad happens even when I accidently click the wrong option on an event.

 

[th3freakie]

6. I don't pause the game when I assasinate somebody.

I'm curious - what difference does that make?

 

[unmerged(135995)]

I myself am quite Machiavellian, so I tend to 'powergame'. On the other hand, my knowledge of the game is still superficial, so I tend to do noobish things from time to time.

One 'House Rule', if you can call it such, is my habit of expanding from out of my 'home realm'. Call it a tendency I kept from other strategy games, but I prefer to expand my powerbase close to home. So if I do go and join a Crusade, I'd give away any territory I might gain to others. If they start to rebel against me, I let them go. There's no point for me in having an overseas empire in the Levant when I'm a lowly Duke of Gelre.

 

[unmerged(75409)]

• I give titles to all my sons, legitimate and bastards, and generally try to spread my dynasty far and wide.
• I like spreading cultures. Particularly into ahistoric directions, like Italianizing Egypt, the Balkans and the Alpine provinces, Re-Hellenizing the Levant, making the northern Caucasus and the Azeri lands speak Georgian and so on.
• I like playing cultures and nations that got "run over" in the middle ages despite their long history, like the Christian peoples of the near east, or the Greeks in Italy. I usually try to assist them wherever possible.
• I want to convert the world to my faith
• I try to set up powerful countries that are capable of resiting heathens, pagans and the Mongols. To that end I quickly wipe out pagan realms and put unified Christian realms in their place. I also crush the Turks quickly because they mess up the map of Europe.
• I don't refrain from exploiting AI stupidity - for example I mass all my troops near the enemy's provinces before declaring war, knowing very well that he can't react as quickly and I can stomp him before he has his troops gathered.
• I try to marry within my cultural sphere (western European / eastern European / middle eastern / mediterranean) and within my religion, unless I have good reasons that make historic sense - like, getting Byzantine princess for marriage to the heir of my own realm.
• When I see a family of refugees in my court, with claims to their ex lands, I try to get them back into power.
• I decline vassal offers from faraway counts and dukes, it is extremely gamey if you have a patchwork of vassals from Lappland to Gibraltar. Gaining vassals near or next to my own realm is okay though.
• If I inherit some kingdom or otherwise obtain a lot of land that is far from my own kingdom, I try to unify it and make it independent under a family member of mine. My most favorite game so far (more kingdoms mod) had de Hauteville kings of Nubia-Egypt, Nicaea-Armenia, Portugal-Andalusia, Aragon-Castile, Sicily, and Mauretania. Other Italians from my court were running the Kingdoms of Jerusalem-Arabia and Africa-Syria.

 

[jordarkelf]

-Not too many titles: no more than 3-5 king titles at any time (and if multiple, must be logical ones like Denmark, Norway, Sweden, (Finland) -- not just any random ones); not too many ducal titles if a king (no more than two or three, and these shall be redistributed among sons if needed)
-Logical conquests: if I'm Denmark, I won't go conquering a breakaway muslim in Iberia unless my realm has extended this far, or it fits a crusade goal. Coreligionists will not be conquered unless I get a claim first (I will not fabricate claims at start), or I already own enough of a given area to make a grasp for the kingdom plausible. E.g. if I as Denmark pick up enough Swedish counts, I will eventually claim or usurp the Swedish crown. But not when I don't own any land there, and that also means the counts themselves are off-limit unless I happen to get a claim on them.
-Crusades: define preset goals (such as target + duchy, or target + kingdom for Jerusalem), and do not conquer beyond it during the crusade. After the Crusade ends, give the king title to a family member then decide to reload as it or not
-Brides: only pick brides from the area. If I'm Denmark, there's no way I would know that Whateva Jimenez in a duchy in Asturias is 16. Exception for king's daughters of the same religion, or allies/friends
-Favour friends and family, even if this means splitting up my realm
-Favour the status quo: if I conquer a destroyed realm and the former ruler or his descendants are in my court, they get the title.

Plus my standard goals like Bash-the-Turk, Convert-the-Arab, and Wipe-out-the-Frog (Hurray Occitania, Booh for France!)

 

[unmerged(75409)]

I never played Germany but when I see them splintered I shed a tear. When they are strong and stomp France and the Wends, I think of the Hohenstaufens and smile. Unless I am playing Italy or France. I never help them directly.

I think I might play Germany once in a while though, just to hold it together, turn it into a royal prerogative ruled iron fisted empire, and make all the peoples of Europe SPEAK DEUTSCH YOU SCHWEINE!!!

 

[Veldmaarschalk]

I'm curious - what difference does that make?

What some people do is

1. Pause the game
2. Assasinate the spy-master of your target
3. Assasinate your target
4. Unpause the game

Or

Pause the game and try to assasinate one character several timtes untill you succeed. Which doesn't give your target the chance to assasinate some back.

 

[th3freakie]

Oh. I usually just pause, try to assassinate, unpause. It never occurred to me I could do it several times. o

Aren't the odds of getting the spy-master really low though?

 

[unmerged(75409)]

Oh. I usually just pause, try to assassinate, unpause. It never occurred to me I could do it several times. o

Aren't the odds of getting the spy-master really low though?

not really, because AFAIK your attack with the INT value of your king + the INT value of your spymaster, and he only defends with his own INT value... or something like that.

 

[Searry]

No save-reload.

 

[DarthJF]

- I don't claim existing king titles, but get them by usurping, or some times if there's an event that gives me claims.
- I try to roleplay my rulers and for example don't use assasins without traits like deceitful or arbitrary.
- I accept vassallisation requests only if they are on my "spehere of interest".
- I never try to intentionally kill my ruler.
- No save & reload for me neither.

 

[Javolenus]

Many thanks for all the replies - keep them coming because I'm finding this thread really helpful! Lots of ideas to explore.

My only house rules so far are:

1. If a vassal rebels, defeat him in battle but don't take away his title - keep him as vassal.
2. If a vassal wants to leave, then permit it and let him go.
3. Favour a particular neighbouring dynasty to marry into.
4. Don't use assassins unless king or rival is a real psycho.

But I'm getting a better idea of what's possible from the excellent replies - thanks again.

 

[WanderingKnight]

As the time pass the “House Rules” changed as well, with the change of game play style, but some were still the same as of the very first game I did play on 2004.

Main ones:

I – I play only as an Orthodox rulers. Or I start as Catholic one but my first “target” is to convert my ruler to orthodoxy. (I guess that’s a zealous part of me). However not by moding, but true breeding and event forcing. I have weird results like huge dynasties of Norman orthodox leaders.

II – I start only as a count of one county (not as a King or Prince or Count with more than one possession) I like to build from the very bottom.

III – I also lately start with person that I create. Not by moding again but by picking some random guy who is a courtier in a court of some King or Prince and give him a title count, and than I start to play a game like him. This is also since I played to many games with all possible dynasties so I want an underdog unknown person.

IV – Cheating is not allowed. I do not try to purposely destroy my ruler, but keep him alive and fight with him even if he is Naïve Wire Puller with all zeros as stats who is completely unfertile.

V – I start with game plan. I decided first what will be my target. Example: My count of Belgrade has to become Prince of Rashka first (like some others do here, as I could read, I do not want anything else but that, so I’m not allowing any distraction), than I want that dynasty to become King of Serbia and Hungary, in that particular order, and nothing else but that.

VI – Since the game can last long time if you play all the way to 1453 as I do, if / or mostly, after, I complete the task that I wanted I do switch to another dynasty. Sometimes I switch for three or four times during the game (depends) often finishing with dynasty that I start with.

VII – Never try to conquer the whole known world but as many stated always try to stay focused on what is close and realistic.

VIII – I’m control freak as for my dynasty closest inheritors, never let them married by themselves, but I do that and give them a title (if there is any available) after.

IX – I’m having fun even if nothing important happen to my dynasty, by circling around and checking what’s going on with other states and rulers (especially funny is when you watch over your ex project, who is usually dumped down by AI decision, or start to be a main obstacle to my present dynasty ruler in some cases.

X – I do not mass with technology and leave that to be handled as programmed.

 

[RBM11]

• I like spreading cultures. Particularly into ahistoric directions, like Italianizing Egypt, the Balkans and the Alpine provinces, Re-Hellenizing the Levant, making the northern Caucasus and the Azeri lands speak Georgian and so on.
• I want to convert the world to my faith
  

Is it possible to do this any way other than using random events? Any way to spread culture and convert people faster?

 

[WanderingKnight]

Is it possible to do this any way other than using random events? Any way to spread culture and convert people faster?

I don't think so.
But that was the point of Leviathan07 house rule as I understand - chalenging and not easy and fast.

edit: acctualy there is for religion as many times explaned on this forum, by using your bishops on court and as vassals. But still wont go fast and easy .

 

[unmerged(75409)]

Is it possible to do this any way other than using random events? Any way to spread culture and convert people faster?

The random events allow you to exert some influence. For example, developed provinces convert faster than non-developed ones so there's a reason to build road nets all the way to the Taiga. Also, class power distribution matters a lot. For religious conversion, give power to the clergy. For cultural conversion, give power to the nobles and burghers. Some laws also influence spread - generally royal prerogative and royal whatsitcalled (the church law) accelerate the process by ~10% each.
Also the idea that I want to spread culture guides my conquests. Since rich, developed provinces with lots of overseas connections convert faster, I try to capture the "nexus" of a region first, like Alexandria for Egypt, Byzantion for SE Balkans/NW Anatolia, Acre for Palestine, Antioch for Syria, Riga for the Balkans and so on. Hopping along trade routes, in a way. Usually those nexus provinces convert first and then the surroundings take some time but convert eventually too. Often this influences my game play a lot - sure, you can have a feasible kingdom of Egypt without Alexandria, but you aren't going to get any culture spread from Italy or Greece into Egypt without owning Alexandria first or at least having it under a ruler with the same culture as you want to spread.

 

[Javolenus]

Hey,

Just wanted to thank again for all these replies - I'm learning more from this thread than I'd expected. It's great! Keep 'em coming. I like these ideas and they will definitely shape the way I play my next campaign - I'm indebted to you guys.