Welcome to the second Let's All Play Together community thread! The idea is that we'll all play the same nation chosen from among the less popular states picked by EU4 players. The thought appeared after Wiz posted the list of most popular EU4 nations played:
We'll avoid choosing one of these nations, opting instead for something more obscure (preferably without an eu4wiki strategy write-up). By playing together, hopefully we'll come up with a lot of new and specific strategies for a variety of nations over time, which will serve as a useful resource for players looking for help with these countries. We can also see different ways people choose to play & expand to find out what kind of potential is out there with these lesser-known starts.
Our first community game was Zazzau, which you can find here:
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...y-together-community-nation-discovery.872127/
Many requests in the first thread centered around the SE Asia region, so that's where we're going next. We're off to Lan Na!
Kingdom of Million Rice Fields
Lan Na, or "Kingdom of Million Rice Fields," existed in what is now northern Thailand from 1292 to 1775. The kingdom was established by the legendary monarch Mangrai who united the various city-states and principalities of the region into one realm. He established the city of Chiang Mai, which became the capital of Lan Na for the entirety of its existence. According to legend, he died from a lightning strike while visiting the market.
Lan Na reached its zenith during the reign of Tilokaraj, who ruled from 1441 - 1487. After seizing the throne from his father, he went on to conquer Payao in 1456, then went to war with the powerful Ayutthaya over dominion of Sukhothai. Initially the war went in Lan Na's favor, with the Sukhothai region captured; however, Lan Na armies were defeated in Ayuttaya, and after a few decades they were pushed back out of Sukhothai as well. Still, Tilokaraj was able to free Lan Xang from Viet control and expand west into Shan territories.
Tilokaraj was a devout Theravada and restored many old temples. This one is in Chiang Mai.
Following Tilokaraj, Lan Na entered a period of decline from which it would never emerge. Following internal struggles and weak rulers, it became a tributary of Ayutthaya and later was ruled by a Laotian king. By the mid-1500s the Burmese had expanded into the area, and for the next two hundred years Lan Na would be a kingdom underneath the Burmese empire, frequently ruled by vassal kings. Revolts in the latter half of the 1700s brought Lan Na out from under the rule of Burma and dissolved the kingdom, replacing it with new vassal states of Siam.
Starting Position
Lan Na is a fairly small landlocked state in a crowded region. We only have three provinces, making us among the smaller of the nations in the area. Neighboring Sukhothai is a vassal of historical rival Ayutthaya (as is Ligor to the south), who already has twice our starting military without counting their vassals. Fortunately, we're too small to be valid rivals at the start of the game. Also we get our badass 4 / 4 / 5 king Tilokarasha (Tilokaraj), though he doesn't start out as an amazing general like Amina from our previous thread.
This is a fairly precarious start. Though Ayutthaya can't rival us, they're still likely to be hostile, wanting our territories. Lan Xang will probably declare us as rivals. And of course, Ming looms nearby. Survival is going to mean moving fast.
Fortunately we have room to expand. Taungu, Pegu, and Hsenwi are all fairly easy targets that won't bankrupt us. All our viable rivals are good choices for expansion. And we can secure some useful allies early on, such as Dai Viet, Khmer, and Ava.
Lan Na ideas and traditions mostly focus on income and development with a few extras like infantry combat bonus. Our trade situation is poor; we're in the Siam node, which is a source node with no incoming nodes. To make matters worse, we're at the very edge of it, with the power-boosting provinces well to the south in the hands of stronger nations. If we expand north to Hsenwi, we'll be entering the Chengdu node; competing with Ming is unlikely to be fruitful unless they collapse. Pegu is a juicy target, however, being in the valuable Bengal node with two estuary provinces. And if we expand far enough south, we can take the Malacca node, which feeds Bengal.
Also, we're Theravada Buddhist. This makes our advisors cheaper, which is excellent in the early-game. But it means we're going to have to balance our Karma (or abandon Buddhist ways entirely by embracing the Sunni, Confucian, or Hindu faiths that surround our Buddhist region).
Suggested Objectives
These are just some suggestions on how you could approach the game. They're meant more as challenges rather than as strategic advice. Pick some, any, all, or none of these for your own game. As an aside: it doesn't matter if you play on or off Ironman, with or without mods, whatever. Just have fun with it, and share your exploits!
Introductory Video
User Zwireq has made this great video to introduce you to Lan Na:
1) England
2) France
3) Ottomans
4) Castile
5) Brandenburg
6) Austria
7) Muscovy
8) Portugal
9) Poland
10) Great Britain (presumably mostly from continued saves)
11) Sweden
12) Teutonic Order
13) Papal States
14) Byzantium (yes, you made the top 20)
15) Prussia (presumably mostly from continued saves)
16) Spain (presumably mostly from continued saves)
17) Japan
18) Hungary
19) Denmark
20) Ming
21) Netherlands (presumably mostly from continued saves)
22) Commonwealth
23) Burgundy
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/top-23-most-played-countries.865345/
2) France
3) Ottomans
4) Castile
5) Brandenburg
6) Austria
7) Muscovy
8) Portugal
9) Poland
10) Great Britain (presumably mostly from continued saves)
11) Sweden
12) Teutonic Order
13) Papal States
14) Byzantium (yes, you made the top 20)
15) Prussia (presumably mostly from continued saves)
16) Spain (presumably mostly from continued saves)
17) Japan
18) Hungary
19) Denmark
20) Ming
21) Netherlands (presumably mostly from continued saves)
22) Commonwealth
23) Burgundy
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/top-23-most-played-countries.865345/
Our first community game was Zazzau, which you can find here:
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...y-together-community-nation-discovery.872127/
Many requests in the first thread centered around the SE Asia region, so that's where we're going next. We're off to Lan Na!
Kingdom of Million Rice Fields
Lan Na, or "Kingdom of Million Rice Fields," existed in what is now northern Thailand from 1292 to 1775. The kingdom was established by the legendary monarch Mangrai who united the various city-states and principalities of the region into one realm. He established the city of Chiang Mai, which became the capital of Lan Na for the entirety of its existence. According to legend, he died from a lightning strike while visiting the market.
Lan Na reached its zenith during the reign of Tilokaraj, who ruled from 1441 - 1487. After seizing the throne from his father, he went on to conquer Payao in 1456, then went to war with the powerful Ayutthaya over dominion of Sukhothai. Initially the war went in Lan Na's favor, with the Sukhothai region captured; however, Lan Na armies were defeated in Ayuttaya, and after a few decades they were pushed back out of Sukhothai as well. Still, Tilokaraj was able to free Lan Xang from Viet control and expand west into Shan territories.
Tilokaraj was a devout Theravada and restored many old temples. This one is in Chiang Mai.
Following Tilokaraj, Lan Na entered a period of decline from which it would never emerge. Following internal struggles and weak rulers, it became a tributary of Ayutthaya and later was ruled by a Laotian king. By the mid-1500s the Burmese had expanded into the area, and for the next two hundred years Lan Na would be a kingdom underneath the Burmese empire, frequently ruled by vassal kings. Revolts in the latter half of the 1700s brought Lan Na out from under the rule of Burma and dissolved the kingdom, replacing it with new vassal states of Siam.
Starting Position
Lan Na is a fairly small landlocked state in a crowded region. We only have three provinces, making us among the smaller of the nations in the area. Neighboring Sukhothai is a vassal of historical rival Ayutthaya (as is Ligor to the south), who already has twice our starting military without counting their vassals. Fortunately, we're too small to be valid rivals at the start of the game. Also we get our badass 4 / 4 / 5 king Tilokarasha (Tilokaraj), though he doesn't start out as an amazing general like Amina from our previous thread.
This is a fairly precarious start. Though Ayutthaya can't rival us, they're still likely to be hostile, wanting our territories. Lan Xang will probably declare us as rivals. And of course, Ming looms nearby. Survival is going to mean moving fast.
Fortunately we have room to expand. Taungu, Pegu, and Hsenwi are all fairly easy targets that won't bankrupt us. All our viable rivals are good choices for expansion. And we can secure some useful allies early on, such as Dai Viet, Khmer, and Ava.
Lan Na ideas and traditions mostly focus on income and development with a few extras like infantry combat bonus. Our trade situation is poor; we're in the Siam node, which is a source node with no incoming nodes. To make matters worse, we're at the very edge of it, with the power-boosting provinces well to the south in the hands of stronger nations. If we expand north to Hsenwi, we'll be entering the Chengdu node; competing with Ming is unlikely to be fruitful unless they collapse. Pegu is a juicy target, however, being in the valuable Bengal node with two estuary provinces. And if we expand far enough south, we can take the Malacca node, which feeds Bengal.
Also, we're Theravada Buddhist. This makes our advisors cheaper, which is excellent in the early-game. But it means we're going to have to balance our Karma (or abandon Buddhist ways entirely by embracing the Sunni, Confucian, or Hindu faiths that surround our Buddhist region).
Suggested Objectives
These are just some suggestions on how you could approach the game. They're meant more as challenges rather than as strategic advice. Pick some, any, all, or none of these for your own game. As an aside: it doesn't matter if you play on or off Ironman, with or without mods, whatever. Just have fun with it, and share your exploits!
- Fulfill Tilokaraj's ambition! Conquer Sukhothai and establish dominance over Ayutthaya, vassalizing them or outright annexing their lands. Doing this will effectively give you the borders of modern-day Thailand.
- Become a trade powerhouse! Be #1 in trade power in the Malacca and Bengal nodes, and own every single province in the Siam node. Move your trade home to Bengal and collect there. Alternatively, be more of a mid-game pacifist and stay in the Siam region, using your national traditions to develop as high as possible.
- Southern invasion! Unite the region around you and establish a border with Ming. Use any means you can to trigger their collapse, then invade, establishing a Thai dynasty in China.
- Become a colonial powerhouse! Conquer Pegu and rush Exploration. Establish colonies throughout Indonesia, then head further east to the Americas. If you manage to colonize North America, conquer Japan so you can take advantage of that trade flow.
- Unite all of India! The Siam region is considered part of Greater India, having been greatly influenced by Indian culture. After uniting the local kingdoms, head westward and conquer the entire Indian subcontinent.
- Pants-on-head mode: conquer Africa! The goal here is to block European meddling in southern Asia. Conquer westward, skipping around max coring range along shores, until you get to east Africa. Then go south; either pick up colonists to take all of South Africa or wrest colonies away from the Europeans.
Introductory Video
User Zwireq has made this great video to introduce you to Lan Na:
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. Love the pants-on-head goal of colonising Africa! I reckon I'll just be happy to survive past the initial nervous early game 
