I earn no money - I can't play :-( - Please help.

[Jia Xu]

Some people (especially on reddit) like to offer particularly bad advice to new players. The worst of that bad advice is "Ireland is tutorial island." It's not, especially if you're starting from one of the DLC bookmarks. If you're playing a DLC bookmark, starting in Ireland or anywhere in northern, coastal Europe is just going to result in you being trolled senseless by vikings. Even without the vikings, playing a count in Ireland is a miserable start. You don't have the resources to do anything, and you end up relying on marriages to gain lands which means letting the game run while you do nothing but wait for RNG to make a dice roll in your favour. This isn't fun, so please don't do this to yourself.

I recommend starting from a bookmark where the HRE exists and borders pagans. Play a lord in the HRE who borders those pagans and learn the game by expanding at their expense. Alternatively, kingdoms like Bavaria and Italy are usually pretty safe outside of the Charlemagne bookmark.

 

[Stolen Rutters]

Shoot I don't play the ck2+ mod, but business focus, borrowing from Jews, and inheriting land brings nice injections of cash in vanilla. I suspect some dlc are required for the first two.

Imprisoning then ransoming people with cash works when you can afford the relations damage, the higher their title, the more you get in ransom. One time I played a vassal to the holy roman emperor, and he declared war against the Muslims in Spain. I sent my troops into the fight and captured the caliph in a battle, cha ching! I got paid that month!

I read ck2+ changes quite a bit and makes the game harder, so I don't know if my advice even works for you.

 

[VoodooEconomist]

Some people (especially on reddit) like to offer particularly bad advice to new players. The worst of that bad advice is "Ireland is tutorial island." It's not, especially if you're starting from one of the DLC bookmarks. If you're playing a DLC bookmark, starting in Ireland or anywhere in northern, coastal Europe is just going to result in you being trolled senseless by vikings. Even without the vikings, playing a count in Ireland is a miserable start. You don't have the resources to do anything, and you end up relying on marriages to gain lands which means letting the game run while you do nothing but wait for RNG to make a dice roll in your favour. This isn't fun, so please don't do this to yourself.

I recommend starting from a bookmark where the HRE exists and borders pagans. Play a lord in the HRE who borders those pagans and learn the game by expanding at their expense. Alternatively, kingdoms like Bavaria and Italy are usually pretty safe outside of the Charlemagne bookmark.

Well it might be that the game changed so much since that advice was valid - I remember starting the game around Sword of Islam launch and I DID learn a lot in the 1066 start (earliest available back then) about claims and the feudal system.

 

[kviiri]

Well it might be that the game changed so much since that advice was valid - I remember starting the game around Sword of Islam launch and I DID learn a lot in the 1066 start (earliest available back then) about claims and the feudal system.

Pretty much this. Ireland was an easy, cozy small start before they went tribal in CM patch, causing new complications for them.

 

[Narvait]

Shoot I don't play the ck2+ mod, but business focus, borrowing from Jews, and inheriting land brings nice injections of cash in vanilla. I suspect some dlc are required for the first two.

Imprisoning then ransoming people with cash works when you can afford the relations damage, the higher their title, the more you get in ransom. One time I played a vassal to the holy roman emperor, and he declared war against the Muslims in Spain. I sent my troops into the fight and captured the caliph in a battle, cha ching! I got paid that month!

I read ck2+ changes quite a bit and makes the game harder, so I don't know if my advice even works for you.

Right! The prison - ransom thing!
That reminds me of ton of fun I had as an Ellusive Shaddow vassal with intrigue focus.

 

[Kumicho]

But in general my tribal games go like this.
1) bit boring until I get 500 prestige
2) subjugate everyone (not sure if Christians can do this, if not then CB becomes an issue).

Money is not really concern, I am even too lazy to raid. I do it when I really NEED to.

For me (as pagan tribal), it's always:

1) Start in wealthy county (lots of empty slots)
2) Scholarship focus (requires Way of Life DLC)
3) Subjugate weaker neighbor (pagan requires The Old Gods)
4) Use tech points for shipbuilding
5) Use 300 prestige for shipyard
6) Raid raid raid raid raid raid raid raid
7) Become king
8) Reform religion
9) Get bored, start over as someone else

 

[Secret Master]

2) subjugate everyone (not sure if Christians can do this, if not then CB becomes an issue).

No, they can't.

The Irish tribes can turn each other into tributaries, though.

 

[StarSword]

But in general my tribal games go like this.
1) bit boring until I get 500 prestige
2) subjugate everyone (not sure if Christians can do this, if not then CB becomes an issue).

Money is not really concern, I am even too lazy to raid. I do it when I really NEED to.

Christians don't get the Subjugation CB; they have to conquer coreligionists with claims.

 

[Burned Coffee]

When any heirless courtier dies I think you inherit their money, that's good, scummy but good.

Getting a steward with 10+ skills is a good way speed up tax income and increases the chance of your steward getting extra taxes.

Push for higher taxes on cities, but not feudal or church vassals, since as mentioned above with high piety you can ask for money from the pope and happy priests give you piety.

Honestly if you're making about less than 1 ducat per month, you have it pretty grim, I'd try to look for a realm around the same level and go for a tributary war. The prestige boost will become useful when trying to make vassals accept new laws for higher taxes.

You'll probably will have to play at speed 3 until you get a comfy income,

 

[Redwulf_Storm]

To go into more detail on what Burned Coffee just said about courtiers money this is how it's done as easy as possible (I think)
There is one trick you can do if you are desperate and don't mind clicking.
Go to the search for characters. Change the search to all realms, males, not ruler, not in prison, your religious group, adult, and to make the search less clicktastic: not from a great house.
Then click on the age category till the oldest guys are on top.
Then go through them one by one first look at their money (some of them can have over 1,000 gold)
What you are looking for is rich dudes with no family that don't like their liege that much that you can invite to your court.
It is worth sending a gift of 15 gold to get someone who has 300. Once they die that money will go to you, just make sure you don't marry them off or anything.
You can do this for as many rich old dudes that you want. It isn't very fun, but it pays off if you need the money. And it is not cheating, once you have clicked on three hundred dudes you will feel like you earned every last ducat.

 

[josefrees]

I've done a lot of small count starts and the most boring is the beginning when you have no money and low skilled chancellor. Marriage game is not fun really and ultimately depends on as much randomness as anything else. It's good for alliances though.

If you are starting a 769 Ireland game it is pretty easy to get a leg up on your neighbors if you start off as a ua neill member. Half the island are your relatives and easy to get into an alliance without marriage.

But yeah claims are the hardest part. One of the nice things about seniority is growing the territory can be easier especially when you want to avoid gavel kind

 

[Azarias59]

Pfft, do I look like a charity?

 

[StarSword]

Some people (especially on reddit) like to offer particularly bad advice to new players. The worst of that bad advice is "Ireland is tutorial island." It's not, especially if you're starting from one of the DLC bookmarks. If you're playing a DLC bookmark, starting in Ireland or anywhere in northern, coastal Europe is just going to result in you being trolled senseless by vikings. Even without the vikings, playing a count in Ireland is a miserable start. You don't have the resources to do anything, and you end up relying on marriages to gain lands which means letting the game run while you do nothing but wait for RNG to make a dice roll in your favour. This isn't fun, so please don't do this to yourself.

I recommend starting from a bookmark where the HRE exists and borders pagans. Play a lord in the HRE who borders those pagans and learn the game by expanding at their expense. Alternatively, kingdoms like Bavaria and Italy are usually pretty safe outside of the Charlemagne bookmark.

I think the reason they suggest Ireland is because it's a reasonably safe start, i.e. there's little chance of you getting swatted by some big blob early on which lets you learn the fundamentals of gameplay. It's easier in the later dates when you start feudal, but at any date all the realms on the Green Isle are roughly equal in strength, the bigger countries on the British mainland have to generate a claim before they can conquer you (contrast starting as, for example, d_isles, where Pictland/Scotland has a de jure CB), and you're isolated by an ocean from anybody except the Vikings. You also don't have to deal with the hassle of being a vassal to a capricious AI ruler, as with the HRE; I would definitely consider that intermediate-difficulty play.