Home Trending Latest threads New posts Developer diaries

If the boot fits... - an Apulian beta AAR

Jump to latest Follow Reply
  • We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Fiftypence: Suspicious? Me? Naaaaah

rasmus40: At the moment Naples doesn't have a decent marshal, so there is no opportunity to go on another huge Crusade. Yet.

BBBD: Not sure if it is normal for Byzantium to do so well - but this is being played using an old beta so that might have some effect.

Alhazen: Thanks. Although my work is not quite so good-looking as yours :)

The next update won't be for a couple of weeks. I'm going on holiday. Til next time...
 
CHAPTER 4, Part 2

1163-1169: The Crusades hit Home

In mid-1163, the King of Poland attempted to regain the lands of Krakow from the neighbouring Kingdom of Bohemia. While war with either Poland or Bohemia was out of the question, Simon watched this conflict with interest, hoping to see an opportunity to take the Bohemian-held territory of Nubia. However, it was all over by early 1164 with the Bohemians soundly defeating Poland. War with Bohemia would have to wait.

Meanwhile in Iberia, the French and English are sporadically at war with the various infidel Sheiks. Simon does nothing.

In 1165, Simon’s half-aunt Clemenza – only child of Roger Borsa the first King of Naples and wife of the last King of Aragon – died. Ramon Berenguer de Hauteville (nephew of William of Navarra) left the court of Gent to inherit Clemenza’s lands of the Spanish Marches. Soon afterwards, Simon allowed

June 20 1165, allowed his oldest child and only daughter Judith to marry Rudolph de Luxembourg, marshal and 2nd son of the Duke of Luxembourg. It seemed to be a safe enough move.

In October 1165, not long after accepting a new alliance with long-time ally Byzantium:
proposal_1165.jpg


The Holy Roman Emperor had invaded Belgrade. Simon decided to sit this one out, hoping that Byzantium would wear itself out a bit. This didn’t happen, of course, with Byzantium receiving considerable indemnities less than a year later.

In October 1167, Simon’s half-brother Finn finally had a son. Ogmund was now the first in line for the Duchy of Cairo and third for the Duke of Anjou Simon would watch young Ogmund’s progress very carefully

As 1167 came to a close, Simon received some very disturbing news from a very unlikely location. While the English King had been busy launching very ineffective attacks on the infidels of Iberia, the dreaded Emir of Seville had invaded the south of England...

britain_1167.jpg

Southern England in late 1167

London had been overrun and the Duchy of Oxford had been wiped out. The last Duke of Oxford, whose brother was murdered by Simon ten years previously, had fled to Brittany and entered the services of the Kingdom of Naples as the marshal of Brittany. Short memories…

In mid-1168, the minor Sheik of Canarias had a flash of inspiration (or sunstroke, nobody will ever know) and decided to set sail from the Canary Islands for Bohemian-held Nubia. Almost a year later, Simon was amazed to see the Sheik’s tiny force meander down the Nile towards Nubia. Simon was all to happy to let them pass, since Nubia was totally undefended – at the time, Bohemia was busy in a war with Kiev (who was putting up a far better fight than the Polish five years before). As the Sheik’s army passed through any one of his territories, Simon mobilised the forces there 2 weeks later and moved south in calm, quiet pursuit.

On August 16, Nubia fell to the Sheik of Canarias – and on the following morning the poor Sheik was somewhat amazed to find that the King of Naples had dared declare war on him! And that half of the Nile Delta had followed him! One total rout later, Nubia fell to the forces of Naples by the end of September.

Simon had finally completed what his father set out to do almost 30 years ago. On Christmas Day 1169, Simon de Hauteville crowned himself King of Egypt!
 
Maccavelli said:
things are looking good for the de hautvilles i forsee a clash in the future with the all great purple blob how soon i dont know but it will happen.
Click to expand...

At the moment, anything is possible. But for some reason, Byzantium has always been chummy with us, and never wants to be any different. Ah well, no complaints from me!
 
Thanks! It's good to be back on this.

Although at the moment I can't guarantee how regular my updates will be. My job (which i didn't have when i started this AAR) is taking more and more of my time. But the sun hasn't set on Naples/Navarra/Egypt yet!
 
Psh, yea it has :mad: plz come back I need you...
 
Hello everyone. Long time, no see.

After being away from this game for about 6 months, i FINALLY have the chance to play again and to conclude the AAR. I say "conclude" because
1) i want to play with the newest version (v1.05 looks like it's going to be pretty flash - and this game is still with the Feb 3 beta), and
2) i have reached a point in the game where i do not want to continue.

So, if you like, i'll continue my story from just after Simon became King of Egypt, shortly before he set out to avenge the de Hautevilles who came before him...
 
angryclown said:
Hello everyone. Long time, no see.

After being away from this game for about 6 months, i FINALLY have the chance to play again and to conclude the AAR. I say "conclude" because
1) i want to play with the newest version (v1.05 looks like it's going to be pretty flash - and this game is still with the Feb 3 beta), and
2) i have reached a point in the game where i do not want to continue.

So, if you like, i'll continue my story from just after Simon became King of Egypt, shortly before he set out to avenge the de Hautevilles who came before him...
Click to expand...
Well, I'm always up for a good story, angryclown, although I must admit I don't remember much of this AAR anymore.
 
rasmus40 said:
Well, I'm always up for a good story, angryclown, although I must admit I don't remember much of this AAR anymore.
Click to expand...
Very good point - i was worried about that. Hell, some of the details are a little fuzzy to me too. There was really only 20 years of play left, and most of the fun stuff IMO has already happened.

I think the best thing to do would be to say that this story is over, and I'll try start a new one after the 1.05 patch is finalised
 
I have to say angryclown, that I too am a bit fuzzy on the details. Though I remember enjoying it while it lasted!

What about a new own with Nubia? It is possible under the new beta, Naples is actually harder as you vassals keep leaving because you are "too far away".
 
Nubia? Not a bad idea. Although i will wait til 1.05 is out. I was also thinking of trying an EU2 AAR. A Vicky one would be nice too, if only i was any good at it :)

Before closing this AAR, I'd like to give a short summary of what happened in the remaining time for anyone who was interested.
 
Epilogue

If the boot fits: Epilogue
1170 - 1187: Viva Napoli

With the heathens continuing their steady rampage through England and France, they left their Iberian homelands exposed. After gaining and losing territories through Iberia for decades, Simon saw the chance to avenge the losses of his family. In the summer of 1173, Naples declared war on the weakened Sheik of Valencia, capturing the province within a few months. From there, it was possible to reconquer Catalonia while Catalonia's liege, the King of Zirid, was invaded by the Sicilian army.

battle_1174c.jpg


Naples's long-standing ally, the Byzantine Empire, also saw the chance for action. After three years of fighting, Tunis was the latest addition to the Kingdom of Naples and Byzantium had exterminated the Zirid Kingdom.

battle_1176.jpg

The end of the Zirid Kingdom

By 1176, Simon had ruthlessly put thousands of heathens to the sword and regained all the Iberian lands that the de Hautevilles once owned. On 16 September 1176, 53 years after the downfall of the Kingdom of Aragon, Simon proclaimed himself its saviour and new king.

After completing his father's work in forming the Kingdom of Egypt and resurrecting the Kingdom of Aragon, Simon died in 1178 at the age of 60, leaving the de Hauteville kingdom to his son Humbert.

me_1178.jpg

Humbert, the man from La Mancha

In 1182, the neighbouring province of Napoli broke away from Byzantium and from Christianity althogether. The Pope declared war on the heretic province, forcing Humbert to move quickly if he wanted to get the land before the Pope did.

On October 1 1182, the Kingdom of Naples had a new capital.
proposal_1182.jpg


By 1184, Humbert had decided that the dreaded Emir of Sevile was way too powerful. He had succeeded in overrunning the British Isles and was making inroads into France and Germany

britain_1184.jpg

Britain 1184 vassals of the emir of Seville (l green) and ally al-Murabitids (blue)

konrad_1184.jpg

Yes, Emir Konrad, Sheik of Kent...

After mobilising his personal army and converging in La Mancha, Humbert declared war on Naples's long-time foe in August 1184 and moved westward.

battle_1184a.jpg

The final reconquista

After 3 years of conflict, the heathens had been driven from almost all of Iberia. The power of the Emir of Seville had been completely broken in his homelands - although he was now effectively the Emir of Britain (the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Wales had long vanished). And on Christmas Day in 1187, Humbert resurrected the lost Kingdom of Castille.

realm_1187.jpg

Iberia after Humbert's crusade. The only heathens left are in the north-west and are poweless.

In just over 100 years, Apulia had risen from a small independent duchy to becoming the undisputed master of Southern Italy, the Nile and Iberia. As the saviour of the Iberian Kingdoms of Navarra, Aragon and Castille, the immortality of the de Hauteville name was assured. While the heathens destroyed the Kingdoms of Britain and were set to do the same to France and the Holy Roman Empire, the salvation of Europe was not over yet...

The End

...but it is over for me. I only really wanted to play until I had driven the Emir of Seville out of Iberia and I wasn't interested in playing a world conquest game.

Thanks to everyone who followed this AAR and gave me their support. Sorry that this last chapter took so long to surface, but real life can get in the way sometimes.

A new AAR will start soon. Promise!
 
Nice work :)

Now that the 1.5 patch is out, my interest in Crusader Kings has been piqued again. Reading this has made me even keener to get some play in...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back