I love the Iron Century Start Date

[Horn and Ivory]

That's it really; I just wanted to say thanks for making it. The religious struggle over norhtern Spain and southern France, the multiple big Islamic sultanates, the tricky Kingdom of the Arles wedged between more powerful neighbours, the window of opportunity before the Crusades and the buildup to their glorious launch, the stabilising late-feudal technologies and so on just within reach but still not so close that you just insta-switch... Altogether I think it's a great setup, and I'm glad it's there for us to play.

 

[Veldmaarschalk]

Yes. I like it to. It is the start date I mostly pick right now.

There are various, of about equal, strength realms all across the map.

 

[Naughtius Maximus]

Yes. I like it to. It is the start date I mostly pick right now.

There are various, of about equal, strength realms all across the map.

Sounds like 867.

Good for blobbers, bad for balance (and by balance I mean time to reach super blobbing emperor tier.) If a single human or AI surpasses one realm, it becomes easy to surpass the rest. As is the case in 867.

 

[WJS]

Sounds like 867.

Good for blobbers, bad for balance (and by balance I mean time to reach super blobbing emperor tier.) If a single human or AI surpasses one realm, it becomes easy to surpass the rest. As is the case in 867.

Well, that would be more an issue with the game engine and less with the starting conditions.

I also like 936 the most nowadays. The main difference between 936 and 867, in my opinion, is that 867 is more Viking-focused (if you want a good ol' romping Viking time, choose 867). 936 gives Catholicism a stronger fighting chance. There is also more internal stability to the Catholic realms without just Karling-blobbing everything. You can become a stable small kingdom in many places on the map.

You end up with interesting churn in north Tibet/northern Silk Road areas. The Abbasids usually end up with a new golden age, but they're no longer the only kids on the block. You get a five-way tug of war between Seljuk, Ghaznavids, Pratihara, Pala, and Rashtrakutra in India/Persia. The Umayyads are strong but prone to fracture. And you can't count the pagan forces out yet.

If you want to be pagan but with more challenge than 867 and less challenge than 1066, then 936 is the sweet spot.

 

[bloodyglasspuppet]

I dreamed of a Otto I. starting date since CK2 was released. In the same vein i find it a little bit sad that one of the key aspects of the history of the early HRE (the conflict with the hungarians) is almost impossible to replicate in the game (because hungary almost always instantly converts). Well...

 

[jhhowell]

Any advice on particularly interesting Catholic starts in 936? The wiki's list is a bunch of Kings, plus the Kinslayer Duke of Bohemia. The King of Arles might be interesting, since that's the mid-tier size that I tend to like, but I usually try to get there starting from a Duke.

 

[WJS]

Thankmar, Count of Braunschweig, is probably the most directly interesting start since you start out with the goal of spoiling Otto.

King Hakon of Norway is interesting because you're Catholic but your people aren't, and you've got someone on far shores who would love to take you over.

Alan of Brittany still has his manifest destiny to complete, and although pushing over Namsborg isn't too difficult, not getting absorbed by West Francia can be harder.

Gascogne and Navarre are small, threatened, but not untenable positions.

Hard mode would be the Sardinian counts or Duke Landolf of Capua.

I'm also doing a run as Duke (now King) Hermann of Swabia. Although expansion hasn't been on my list, just putting myself into a position where I can fend off attacks and manage my own affairs has been a doozy. I supported Thankmar, then Germany descended into rebellion and so I declared independence, sired a bunch of bastards, betrothed them off to get alliances with West Francia and Italy, used them to defend against invasions by Arles and Milan, and just became king. It's been 20 years. Thankmar got me Augsburg off Bavaria, but I haven't expanded at all.

 

[jhhowell]

Thankmar, Count of Braunschweig, is probably the most directly interesting start since you start out with the goal of spoiling Otto.

I gather that's only true with Sons of Abraham, or whatever DLC adds the Jewish moneylenders decision? I just tried Thankmar; shortest CK game ever. Otto has overwhelming force, I wasn't even remotely close to being able to hire a mercenary band to try to even things up, nothing I could do.

 

[WJS]

I gather that's only true with Sons of Abraham, or whatever DLC adds the Jewish moneylenders decision? I just tried Thankmar; shortest CK game ever. Otto has overwhelming force, I wasn't even remotely close to being able to hire a mercenary band to try to even things up, nothing I could do.

Borrowing from the Jews is valuable, but so is shoring up alliances early; you've got a brother and a sister at court you can use to ensure alliances. If you can pull Bavaria, Frisia, or Gero (Pomerania) into the conflict, the better.

Also, the game normally starts with Otto declaring a holy war on Hungary for Austria. Although it typically ends with Hungary converting to Catholicism and the war becoming inconclusive, Otto will have moved away and be somewhat scattered when you declare war. This will give you the chance to siege down the churches nearby (you're surrounded by prince-bishoprics) for the war score, and it's a matter from there to carefully pick and choose your battles.

Thankmar is not easy. Not at all. But it is doable.

 

[jhhowell]

Alliances don't seem to work for this war, though. I got alliances with Upper Lorraine and Gero of Brandenberg. The "Call to Arms" button is grayed out for both, unhelpfully saying that the missing condition is "There must be a war [ally] can be called to." For Gero, the wiki says "Cannot call vassals of your enemy, except in "revolt against tyranny" wars." I'm not sure what "German Revolt" is, exactly, but it doesn't seem to be a revolt against tyranny. Did your suggestion of Gero (Pomerania) mean High Chief Gawel of Pomerania? I don't think that's possible, since that would require an interfaith marriage... I wasn't able to get Bavaria to ally, but that would just run into the same rule that prevents Brandenburg from being called.

No idea why Upper Lorraine doesn't believe there's a war going on that I can call him to.

 

[WJS]

If you can't borrow from the Jews, that can be a problem. But let's see what else can help...

Alliances are always tricky with Thankmar's Rebellion, probably because of how it's coded. Maybe I'm using a DLC in addition that changes the calculus that I'm not aware of.

Do you have Shattered Retreat on? It can actually help in this sort of circumstance. People usually turn Shattered Retreat off to "ping-pong" an army they can defeat back and forth and drive up war score. It's useful when you're more powerful than the opponent, but it's actually a detriment when you're weaker. Suddenly you're not the one ping-ponging, your opponent is, and you just lose.

All in all, you absolutely have to be very tactical and allow for a very protracted war. Be ready to pick off raised vassal levies before they join the kill stack. Viking invasions just add to the chaos; they often target Oldenburg and force his men to tear off from you to deal with Denmark.

I might just want to make a Thankmar's Rebellion guide one of these days because I have been successful with it multiple times. I'll take notes to determine what exactly I'm doing.

 

[Pied-Noir]

If you guys enjoy playing 936 and aren't on Achievement hunts you should check out the heavily revamped version in TIP. The vanilla 936 scenario was a truly valiant effort by Snow Crystal but is quite barebones in a lot of areas and is missing a lot of important vassals and interesting family ties. This is entirely understandable as he had to do the entire map and obviously couldn't get too bogged down in detail everywhere.

If 936 is your go-to start date (it is mine) then I genuinely recommend giving it a go.

 

[WJS]

If you guys enjoy playing 936 and aren't on Achievement hunts you should check out the heavily revamped version in TIP. The vanilla 936 scenario was a truly valiant effort by Snow Crystal but is quite barebones in a lot of areas and is missing a lot of important vassals and interesting family ties. This is entirely understandable as he had to do the entire map and obviously couldn't get too bogged down in detail everywhere.

If 936 is your go-to start date (it is mine) then I genuinely recommend giving it a go.

Do you have a list of these details added to TIP for 936?

 

[Pied-Noir]

Do you have a list of these details added to TIP for 936?

In various changelogs on the Steam page, sure - if you're interested enough to look.

If it interests you try the mod.

 

[DPS]

Did your suggestion of Gero (Pomerania) mean High Chief Gawel of Pomerania? I don't think that's possible, since that would require an interfaith marriage.

Technically doable via the use of a favor. But you do have to take some time to get him to like you well enough to sell you a favor, and then you still have to have the money to buy it.