Interview with the Ruler
Welcome to my first AAR! There are so many good AARs out there that one might find it difficult to create something original. With that in mind I tried to find a style which at least I haven't seen before, but which seems very fitting for Crusader Kings. The idea is, as the thread title suggests, that I'll be writing the AAR in character. This means I'll pretend to be the character I'm currently playing and write as if that character is sharing his/her life story with you. This doesn't mean I have to be super serious all the time and act just like a medieval ruler would (in fact, most of the times I probably won't), but rather allow some humour and distance while keeping it in first person. I don't know if something like this has been done before, but regardless I think it could be fun.
As for my actual play style, it naturally will be heavy role-playing. For every character I play, I will look at their traits and skills and determine what sort of person they are, what desires they may have and what methods they'd be willing to use to achieve their goals. Their relationship with other characters and their current emotional state based on what happens around them will also influence the decisions I take. For instance, if I play an ambitious, deceitful character who hates his brother who stands before him in line to inherit, I'll probably plot to kill the brother. If however I'm playing a content, kind character who admires his brother above all I will happily stand aside to let him rightfully inherit the title. I may also change desires abruptly from character to character, meaning one character may set things up for a great conquest, then die and be replaced by a character with no interest at all in those ideas.
I will keep very strictly to this rule, even if it causes me to make obviously disadvantageous decisions (if I ever end up playing an imbecile character, expect disaster). The only time I'll break this rule is if my line is about to die out, in which case I'll take whatever measures necessary to prevent it even if that goes against my current character's nature. Also, in situations when certain decisions neither goes against their nature nor is something they'd be particularly inclined to do, I will take the liberty to go with whatever makes sense from a gameplay-perspective. My character's personality will hopefully also affect the style of my writing (I'm saying "hopefully" since I'm not sure I'll be able to do it very well, but we'll see).
Aside from that, here are some additional rules I'll abide:
# No cheats.
# No reloading saves (except in the case of major bugs).
# No save-file editing (except, once again, in the case of bugs or similar).
# I will not use the ruler designer; I'll use whatever character I get.
As for starting character, I've decided to go for the Count of Essex at the "William the Conqueror"-scenario. A count is probably the most interesting level to start on and the reason I start in England is simply because I've never played any game anywhere hear there. I'm starting with the second scenario just so I won't have to deal with the three-way war for the english throne first thing I do.
I'm playing with the Sword of Islam and Legacy of Rome DLCs, patch 1.08. I'm not using any mods.
Furthermore, whenever I'm writing with cursive light yellow text in the actual AAR, it means I'm writing OUT OF CHARACTER. I'll use this to clarify things that may be unclear, motivate my decisions when it might seem like I'm not acting properly according to my role-playing rules, and for making humorous remarks.
That should be all. I'll bring you the first post of the actual AAR shortly. I hope you will enjoy it!
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