Most Interesting Sunni Indian Nation

[Clausewitz_]

I'm looking to start another game in India as a sunni, and i was wondering what some of the interesting choices are. Juanpur and Bengal are the big choices, but am i missing any? And if those are the 2 best, which one is better/more interesting? Thanks in advance
Edit: Im not looking for a extremely hard start, so starting with a good base development is preferred

 

[BrokenSky]

How much do you care about them being specifically Indian as opposed to generally east asian? There are some pretty cool ones in Indonesia. Brunei for example.

 

[Clausewitz_]

How much do you care about them being specifically Indian as opposed to generally east asian? There are some pretty cool ones in Indonesia. Brunei for example.

I do want them to be in India because its the area I'm focusing on right now. I will probably to South-East Asia next so i will keep that in mind

 

[victimizer]

I think the most interesting game is to start as Baluchistan or Khorasan and conquer India from there. Not strictly speaking Indian, but you get a better tech group, while the game is quite challenging at the start.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Malwa is one you're not considering, though their flavor events are less their starting ruler is complete god mode. They're smaller development wise than the other two though.

Delhi is the other one. They start with cores on more than their starting territory and can let their pretenders win at the start if they're decent.

Baluchistan is an interesting option in that they begin with the form Mughals decision available, but they're also a tribal government form which is painful. They're also technically Iranian, not Indian, though their politics are mostly Indian.

 

[Cragspyder]

If the criteria is: must be Sunni, have good starting development, and be officially in Indian region, the choices are Delhi, Jaunpur, Bengal and Malwa.

Multan and Sind are lower development, Timurids/Yarkand/Baluchistan are not in Indian region, everyone else is OPM or wrong religion.

I do have a soft spot for Malwa, since i got Sun Never Sets with them. If you don't have Bengal Tiger that's a good reason to pick Bengal.

Delhi: The pretender rebels aren't really a problem, you can just let them win. Delhi also has a ton of very rich cores in Jaunpur for the taking.

Jaunpur: i think i compared them and Jaunpur has the highest starting development of any Indian nation outside of Vijay. Delhi and Bengal will probably team up against you though.

Bengal: their trade node is crazy rich, plus they have their own achievement.

Malwa: as TMIT said, they have a god ruler and heir. However they have about the same development as multan/sind, ~40, but have another ~40 in their vassals. Probably more challenging then the other three.

 

[Violent AI]

Any specific reason for only Sunni nations? Gujarat and Bahmanis are Shia nations in the region, and Bahmanis, with their high development, gold mine, and an excellent starting ruler, are probably the easiest to play in the region.

 

[Violent AI]

If the criteria is: must be Sunni, have good starting development, and be officially in Indian region, the choices are Delhi, Jaunpur, Bengal and Malwa.

Multan and Sind are lower development, Timurids/Yarkand/Baluchistan are not in Indian region, everyone else is OPM or wrong religion.

I do have a soft spot for Malwa, since i got Sun Never Sets with them. If you don't have Bengal Tiger that's a good reason to pick Bengal.

Delhi: The pretender rebels aren't really a problem, you can just let them win. Delhi also has a ton of very rich cores in Jaunpur for the taking.

Jaunpur: i think i compared them and Jaunpur has the highest starting development of any Indian nation outside of Vijay. Delhi and Bengal will probably team up against you though.

Bengal: their trade node is crazy rich, plus they have their own achievement.

Malwa: as TMIT said, they have a god ruler and heir. However they have about the same development as multan/sind, ~40, but have another ~40 in their vassals. Probably more challenging then the other three.

Malwa does start with lower development, but their god king means you can go ahead in mil tech quite fast and with a decent ally, easily blob quickly. Bahmanis too start with a very good ruler.

 

[lymond]

I'd say Bengal is a good way to go. Fun country to play, good economy, and plenty of ways to expand easily in the early game. Plus you have an achievement with them.

 

[Trin Tragula]

Gameplaywise I don't think I have much to add to this thread that hasn't been suggested already. Bengal and Jaunpur are probably the strongest candidates when you combine flavor and the strength of their starting situation and both control historical core regions for Muslim Empires in India.

Don't know if it factors into your decision but background wise Malwa has an interesting history that I hope to flesh out a bit at some point (should at least get their own NIs). They went the furthest of the starting Sultanates in integrating local Rajput aristocracies in their state. In the end it turned out to be a very bad idea for them as those aristocrats turned out to be disloyal but the idea is not bad per se (you could even argue the Mughals and their favoring of the same aristocratic Rajput groups is proof of the viability of this strategy). The region also has a history as the centre of major Indian empires (which you can see in some of the CK2 start dates).
Another random fact is that they're also more or less the only major exporter of opium in the world in 1444 and would remain so for most of the period covered by the game.

Delhi controlled almost the entire subcontinent less than 100 years ago so if you enjoy reestablishing empires to their former glory then that's a good candidate too

That said the Shia states are also really interesting I have a definite soft spot for the Bahmanis and their successor states and Gujarat is something as unusual as an Ismaili ruled state in 1444.

 

[Violent AI]

Gameplaywise I don't think I have much to add to this thread that hasn't been suggested already. Bengal and Jaunpur are probably the strongest candidates when you combine flavor and the strength of their starting situation and both control historical core regions for Muslim Empires in India.

Don't know if it factors into your decision but background wise Malwa has an interesting history that I hope to flesh out a bit at some point (should at least get their own NIs). They went the furthest of the starting Sultanates in integrating local Rajput aristocracies in their state. In the end it turned out to be a very bad idea for them as those aristocrats turned out to be disloyal but the idea is not bad per se (you could even argue the Mughals and their favoring of the same aristocratic Rajput groups is proof of the viability of this strategy). The region also has a history as the centre of major Indian empires (which you can see in some of the CK2 start dates).
Another random fact is that they're also more or less the only major exporter of opium in the world in 1444 and would remain so for most of the period covered by the game.

Delhi controlled almost the entire subcontinent less than 100 years ago so if you enjoy reestablishing empires to their former glory then that's a good candidate too

That said the Shia states are also really interesting I have a definite soft spot for the Bahmanis and their successor states and Gujarat is something as unusual as an Ismaili ruled state in 1444.

Do you also plan to have own NIs for Delhi at some point of time?

 

[bbqftw]

aristocratic Rajput groups is proof of the viability of this strategy

believe me anyone playing in India will indeed find out about the aristocratic Rajput groups

 

[Clownie]

believe me anyone playing in India will indeed find out about the aristocratic Rajput groups

Heartily did I laugh.

 

[Rabid]

Delhi is a good start for Mughals if you don't mind culture shifting. Do it now before it gets nerfed in 1.14! (will be based on development rather than raw no. of provinces, making it probably impossible to shift to Afghan culture without dropping tons of provinces).

 

[TheMeInTeam]

The last option with an achievement, if you're up to the challenge, is Naguar. They're among the most thankless starts in India though, as a poor OPM with an awful ruler. Stacking their achievement with others for India, however, is rewarding if you can manage.

 

[MrParadux]

Delhi is a good start for Mughals if you don't mind culture shifting. Do it now before it gets nerfed in 1.14! (will be based on development rather than raw no. of provinces, making it probably impossible to shift to Afghan culture without dropping tons of provinces).

Advanced Change Culture (Expansion Feature)
Currently, the change culture feature for EU4 is a bit limited. It only allows you to change a province to your primary culture, and does not care if that province is right next to your core lands, or way off on the other side of Siberia. The new expansion expands on this feature by giving you more options in what culture you want to change a province to. The options you have to choose from are as follows:
* Primary Culture: As before, you can choose to change a province to your primary culture. This is made 25% cheaper if the province borders any province of your primary culture.
* Adjacent Owned Culture: Instead of changing a province to your primary culture, you may choose to spread any adjacent owned culture there, whether that culture is accepted or not. For example, if you are playing as England and want to expand the Gascon culture so that it is easier to keep it as accepted, you could choose to replace the Basques in Labourd with Gascons instead of replacing them with Englishmen. This is 25% cheaper than a normal conversion (same as spreading adjacency primary culture).
* Original Culture: If a province has already been culture converted, and you want to bring the original culture of the province, you can now always do so (for example, restoring the Basques to Labourd after the Gascons forced them out in our example above). This is 50% cheaper than a normal culture conversion.

Those without the expansion will still only be able to change provinces to their primary culture, but will get the 25% adjacency discount.

So you will be able to culture shift to pretty much anything with the DLC since you can change cultures to adjacent ones. You still have to own the DLC and invest the diplo points though

 

[Rabid]

I'd forgotten about that feature but you're right - though it will also add another large additional cost, right now you can culture shift to Afghan just by beating up Timurids and then moving capital.

 

[Stadhouder]

Malwa is one you're not considering, though their flavor events are less their starting ruler is complete god mode. They're smaller development wise than the other two though.

Malwa was the one I was think off when I saw the thread title, they're not that big, but can grow big quite quickly and there starting ruler is amazing.

 

[Clausewitz_]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I am going to go with Juanpur to get familiarized with the region, but after that i am considering Malwa for a more challenging game. After those 2, hopefully the new expansion will be here and i will test out the new features on Bahmanis and Vijayanagar. I only wanted Sunni nations because i had already decided the Shia and Hindu nation i will be playing.

 

[Cragspyder]

Wait a second, what new Bahmanis/vijay features? Or you just mean the new features like Estates?

I don't think anything will change with Bahmanis/Vijay that won't change with everyone else, or did i miss something?