One Catholic and Apostolic Church ( Papal States with blob restriction)

[parats]

They will. But i rarely spotted a converted TO.

 

[mackwolfe]

1470-1490: What to do with France?

I am covering 2 decades this chapter because not much happened from 1470 to 1480. Though plenty happened in the 1480's

I left off having conquered Verona from Venice using Austrian help. I had cancelled my Castilian alliance in order to preserve the French alliance . Now I wait for a chance to expand again. I pass the time by developing Rome with ADM points - which are plentiful now since I have not been blobbing a lot - to hit 30 Dev and get an Age Objective:

(Age objectives - 2 done. Inset shows Poland becoming our 3rd Major Power ally)
I also take the chance to ally Poland , using the slot vacated by Castile. Poland is rivals with Hungary, who is rivals with me , so it makes sense. I am still neutral about their squabble with the Teutonic Order.

My next target was supposed to be Aragon+Castile whose truce would run out in 1473. I estimated that I can beat them with French help . But unfortunately, France declares on England in 1472. And so become unavailable to help, and I shelve my plans to conquer South Italy. And I watch the Ottomans swallow the Knights of St John who were abandoned by their Venetian allies ( my fault).

(Ottomans annex Rhodes. Insets show my truce with Castile expiring, and France declaring on England. France picked Bordeaux for war goal, which was occupied by MOrocco in a separate war. So they fail to earn warscore and this lengthens the Franco-English war )

The loss of the Knights causes me some consternation as I check the expiration of their cores - 1524. Only 50 years ( does anyone know for sure why some cores expire in 50 years and others in 150 years? is it because of incorrect culture). But I remembered from Arumba's you tube that there is a possible event to spawn them on Malta. And I check the wiki and indeed there is :

So all I need to do to make sure this happens is for me to own Malta and then I will cede it to them .


I continue to wait for an opening for expansion. Nothing happens. Then I get a CTA from Poland who is being attacked by Hungary+Austria ( those two are just allies, no PU yet) . I check the ledger. Poland had 16K, Lithuania another 16K. Hungary 24K, Austria 36K. I had 20K. Even with my help, Poland will lose. No point in sacrificing my Austrian alliance. I decline and eat the Prestige hit.
Poland loses of course , and that leads the Teutonic Order to take advantage:

(TO dogpiling Poland after my cowardly refusal to help ).
So I was super duper smart and allied Poland in order to betray them and let the Teutonic Order win against them . Or it was just dumb luck.

Back to Italy. France finally finishes their war with England in 1477, taking 4 provinces . And this makes them available to help me in war with Castile:

ALthough I had enough favors for an offensive war, that only worked against Castile directly and I did not have a CB on Castile. So I have to declare on Aragon again promise the French land. again

Unlike the 1st Aragonese war 20 years ago, where the Papacy was a tiny power compared to their allies, this time we have enough fire power to make a difference. I first overrun Naples and Sicily , while i watch France get clobbered:

At one point I worry about France dropping out. I considered sitting back and letting them lose. But I worried I could not handle the Iberians all by myself if that happened. So I send my army to Southern France. But instead of losing troops in battles alongside the French, I invade Iberia directly.

(fall of Valencia, where I use Canonns for the first time )

My army then moves on to Toledo. While sieging that, I get an important Papal event: Selling of Indulgences .

I chose to take the Stability hit . THis reduces Reform desire by 10%. And also disables the event for other catholics. This should significantly slow down the REformation Which would give me more time to get stronger.

As I capture Toledo, I get news of Austria declaring on Venice :

The poor venetians are getting dogpiled, with Ottomans and Austrians beating them up.

This means I have to hurry up my war in Spain , if I want a chance to grab something out of the Venetian empire. In the peace, I give France Barcelona. Although they wanted more, claiming they did 67% of the work. Balderdash I said. I was the one who capture the enemy capitals. They just fought poorly .

(peace with Castile. France is not happy . Neither are the north Italians)

I immediately wheel my troops around and head to Venice . The venetians have now been declared on by Milan and Ragusa as well. I declare claiming Venice itself, and I manage to land my troops on the island before the Austrians took the fort at Treviso:

It is a simple matter to capture the Venetian capital, and I annex that alone in the peace:

The annexation of Venice will trigger a coalition. But better to take it now, while I have the chearper Excommunicated ruler CB available, and while Austria is still an ally . If I wait too long and Austria takes it, it will be much, much harder to get it later.

The Pope celebrates the annexation of our Rival's Capital with the decoration of the Sistine Chapel:

THis is the second event - alongside the Vatican Library - that gives permanent bonuses for the Papal States . Choices here include -1 unrest, +1 missionary power , or 5% idea discount. MOst players pick the idea discount, but since I will not be blobbing outside Italy , I doubt I will be short on ADM and DIP points. Instead, I go with +1 missionary . Missionary power is hard to come by, and it will be helpful when I try to convert provinces before releasing vassals.

The flurry of annexations triggers a small coalition of North Italian minors. I felt safe , though, with both French and Austrian alliances. Unfortunately, France appeared to be still upset about not getting enough in the last war. They send me a warning about alliance breaking. I try to improve relations, and even spend 10 favors to get 5 trust. But to no avail. The alliance I concluded on 11 November 1444 is no more:

Without France , I felt exposed . I now shared a border with Austria and did not know if they would turn on me in the future. I look for new allies. I manage Portugal ( who is unfortunately weak), and barely get England:

(alliance with England. Note recovery of the Baltic Orders )

I then get another nice event. The Knights can spawn in Malta if I am willing to give it to them. I say yes of course:

Only issues is that they are not immediately vassalizable, citing distance between borders. I guess Napoli to Malta is a long voyage according to Paradox! IN any case, I immediately guarantee and ally them . Otherwise, Tunis would probably gobble them up.

I spend the remainder of the decade doing this:

improve relations and take it slowly until Shadow Kingdom

By my reckoning, the event ought to trigger early in the next Chapter, and I can resume expanion in North Italy.

The only notable event in this decade is Castile declaring war on Scotland for the French throne. It appears that the French king died without an heir, and Scotland got a PU over France. And this was contested by Castile.

I have not intervened in this war yet. I checked liberty desires. France is at 100%, so Scotland will not be invading Spain . But Aragon is also at 100% liberty desire, so I doubt Castile can successfully invade France on their own. If Scotland holds France in a PU, that is not necessarily bad for me . BUt I certainly do not want Castile to successfully contest the PU and end up ruling France . So I may yet intervene. We shall see.

I then get yet another nice event with a permanent bonus: The Swiss Guard. I reply that I want the guard and Switzerland agrees to send the guard. This gives a permanent +10% manpower bonus:

I end the decade being called to war to help Austria against Bohemia. I agree of course:

Austria was going to win this on their own anyways, so I don't know why they bothered to ask . I plan on doing nothing, and just keep drilling my troops in Italy .

One big benefit of accepting the CTA , is that Hungary - fighting alongside Austria as well - leaves the coalition against me:

Soon the Shadow Kingdom should fire and I will have the option to expand in North Italy with less AE concern. Though I still have to be careful.

 

[stnylan]

Patience is a virtue, or so they say.

 

[Tom D.]

Those were two successful decades, despite losing the French alliance - them ending up in a PU under Scotland is even better, as they'll declare independence as soon as they can which means you might be able to re-ally them again. The conquest of Naples and soon to come Sicily will give you a solid base to take the north when AE has cooled down.

 

[Nikolai]

Spanish France would be a disaster...

 

[Badesumofu]

An interesting idea for a run. Delaying Economic is probably fine since you have quite a bit to conquer before you really look at developing. The major pitfall I see immediately is that being PAP you have a government that is among the worst at MP generation which will constrain your ability to develop. That will make the run a little more challenging.

I just looked again at your restrictions and it seems you should be allowed to do something like conquer Roussillon and release it as Catalonia to reconquest the rest of their cores. Using Trade Power Marches to control as much trade in Genoa and Venice will serve you well. Ragusa could be a good vassal for you as well.

As an aside, AI France is having a rough time. Beaten to Brittany by England and then PU under Scotland. You definitely do not want Castile to win that war, btw. Castile would likely get them all loyal in time, and be a giant pain in your backside.

 

[mackwolfe]

as they'll declare independence as soon as they can which means you might be able to re-ally them again.

And indeed they did, as you will see shortly. Unfortunately, since I am allied to England and Austria now , renewing alliance not an option.

Spanish France would be a disaster...

Agreed. Luckily it did not pass. See next chapter.

An interesting idea for a run. Delaying Economic is probably fine since you have quite a bit to conquer before you really look at developing. The major pitfall I see immediately is that being PAP you have a government that is among the worst at MP generation which will constrain your ability to develop. That will make the run a little more challenging.

I just looked again at your restrictions and it seems you should be allowed to do something like conquer Roussillon and release it as Catalonia to reconquest the rest of their cores. Using Trade Power Marches to control as much trade in Genoa and Venice will serve you well. Ragusa could be a good vassal for you as well.

As an aside, AI France is having a rough time. Beaten to Brittany by England and then PU under Scotland. You definitely do not want Castile to win that war, btw. Castile would likely get them all loyal in time, and be a giant pain in your backside.

Wecome to the AAR. Hope you continue to follow it. I really liked your input in my USA AAR .

Good point about papacy being bad at MP generation. I cannot disinherit , nor re-elect. So it is worse than republics and monarchies. But Italy is rich and +5 advisors are certainly within reach. Since I will only own Italian lands, virtually all advisors should be correct culture, so promoting them shoud not be an issue.

Regarding taking a province and releasing a country. Yes, this is absolutely allowed by my rule. The limit on expanding outside Italy is a soft limit. I could even annex a whole country if I want to, as long as I can stomach the over-extension. ANd I may annex whole countries to convert them first before releasing. This is likely to be my main strategy to spread the faith

I may very well release Catalonia in future ( thinking about releasing Avignon already). And as for Ragusa, it certainy comes up in next chapter.

 

[Badesumofu]

Thanks. I've been trying to keep up with reading AARs, but mostly reading them in bulk when finished. Which is really not as good because you can't participate and as everyone says, commenters are the lifeblood of these things.

Yeah, by being the Papacy you're losing out on about 3 - 5 MP per month depending how aggressively you disinherit/re-elect. But that's just another challenge of the run. Playing within your own culture group does mean almost all your advisors will be promotable which is a nice benefit. I played my recent game with a similar restriction but then I extended it to allow myself to own and core accepted culture land after I inherited Tuscany. It was interesting because it forced me to try different things and one of the things I learned was just how useful Trade Power Marches are. They cost no MP to set up, minimal AE if you use reconquest after releasing them as an OPM, they provide great quality troops with Send Officers, and well placed trade power is worth a lot more than vassal tax anyway.

 

[mackwolfe]

1490-1500: Crossing the Adriatic

The 1490s open with the Shadow Kingdom event:

Finally north Italy is outside the HRE's protection .

This is followed soon by the election of a new Pope, Marcellus II , 5/5/3 . Very lucky stats. Castile is curia controller now.

You may notice in the screenshot that I had an army in Romagna ready to pounce on Ferrara and the small coalition. And I was about to declare, but then remembered this advice:

Patience is a virtue, or so they say.

So I decided to wait till Austria was done with their Bohemian war, and would be able to help . Luckily, patience pays off as one after another the coalition members quit. And when I declare on tiny Lucca, they only have Florence and Ragusa as allies:

I enlist the willing help of my Genoese ally just to make an easy war even easier.
I first target Florence, sieging their capital, and then forcing them to release Pisa ( direct annexation would have caused a widespread coalition):

I immediately start to improve relations with Pisa . I then get military access from Austria and capture Ragusa . In the peace, I annex Lucca and vassalize Ragusa .

This causes some AE generation . But thanks to having one diplomat dedicated to improving relations with outraged nation ( using the diplomacy feature in macro builder), I manage to keep Hungary out of a coalition .

Now the reason I vassalized Ragusa is that I obviously cannot annex and core them, being against my Italy-only rule. I looked at their ideas. Lots of trade and naval ideas. As Badesumofu indicated earlier, they make a good trade power march. They will be a big help in the eventual war on the Ottomans. I intend to eventually feed them Greece and the old venetian possessions in the Eastern Med.

After the peace I spend several months to diplo-vassalize Pisa. This required hiring a Diplomat for +1 Dip Rep and building to the force limit , but eventually they accept. Meanwhile, Castile loses the war of the French Succession:

France has 100% LD and as Tom D said earlier, they will fail to keep France in chains. If you read the peace treaty carefully, you will notice that I got a nice gift from Scotland. They released Naples from their Castilian bondage .With no allies, Naples was easy pickings. But first I needed to refresh my claims which had expired. So I spend the time hitting the Venetians:

(DOW on Venice. Inset shows France becoming independent again , and Papacy making it to Great Power Status)
Venice is allied to the Knights. This would be a good opportunity to vassalize them . The war is quite easy. I land simultaneously on both islands:

(Papal troops landing in Crete and sieging Malta. Inset announces start of Aragonese war of Independence )

While waiting for those sieges, I declare on Naples. And when the sieges finish, I vassalize the Knights and annex Venice completely:

I feed Venice to Ragusa via a combination of transfer occupation during war and grant province after the peace . So to clarify my rule about not blobbing outside Italy, I can annex land. I just cannot core it . So here I annexed Durres but did not core it, and I later granted it to Ragusa . And this is the first instance where my conquest behavior is adjusted because of this rule. Normally I would have annexed Crete myself so that I can fabricate on Mamluks and later invade Egypt on the way to India. Not this run .

As for the knights, I would have preferred to have diplo-vassalized them. But force vassalization will do , and with that I have one of the 3 vassals needed for the Holy Trinity . I intend to later feed them their cores in Rhodes and Sugla. And use them as another naval force in the mediterranean alongside Ragusa.


Annexation of the last remnant from Naples is done soon after:

We are starting to snowball.


Having taken care of South Italy, I turn north. I target Ferrara, whose land inconveniently separates my province of Verona from the rest:

On their side they had Milan and my soon-to-be-ex ally Genoa. On my side, I enlist Austria ( so they end up fighting their own ally Hungary - a double bonus since growing Austrian power is always a concern for me )

The war goes well . I avoid any pitched battles, letting Austria do those. Instead I keep my army together and siege their forts one by one :

After taking Ferrara itself I capture Mantua, Firenze, Milan, Piedmont and finally siege Genoa . And I discover that the blockage of Genoa alone gave enough warscore to have them release Corsica .

(Genoa peacing out and spitting out Corsica as independent OPM)

I then peace out Milan, releasing Parma and Mantua:

Obviously I had enough WS to annex land, but AE was the limiting factor here .
And finally, I peace out the main belligerent:

I annex Ferrara, which fulfills a mission and gives me a land connection to Verona. And I release Modena .

I immediately start to improve relations with the newly released countries. I get a mission to vassalize Parma which is done just before the end of the decade:

I am now working on vassalizing Mantua, Modena and Corsica.

This brings us to the end of the century. I want to post some status screenshots, as I feel this will be a transition point. So far I have played this campaign pretty much the standard way. I expanded as much as possible, and did not roleplay much . But once all Italy is unified, things will change.

First, is religious map and tab:

No reformation yet of course. Reform desire stands at 67%. Twenty years ago it was at 40% , when I forbade the sale of indulgences. So I estimate the reformation will hit at this rate between 1510 and 1520 . I hope I get another event to delay it further .
The infidels had made inroads into Iberia, and are rolling back the reconquista. And have expanded in the Balkans. This needs to be remedied, although my actions are certainly to blame for this .
Tech and ideas:

I am keeping up on tech. I took Economic idea group as my second . This is my first campaing ever in eu4 I take it . I hope to use the Dev discount to build up Italy . And the construction discount is helpful too,

Economy and trade:

Taxation is by far the highest component , thanks to increased efficiency from Economic ideas. But eventually trade should surpass it . I may very well be taking Trade at some point.

FInally, MIlitary tab:

I am running an all professional army . I have built lots of barracks ( any province giving 500 + improvement was targeted ) . I may start to built regimental camps to increase the force limit soon . I think I will end up taking Quantity ideas at some point .

I do intend to eventually expand via either Exploration ideas in the New WOrld, or via Expansion ideas in Africa and Asia ( the finisher allows fabricating claims in Colonial regions, but I may do better just with Exploration and Colonist hopping ) . For exploration, I will need to get coring range from Italy to Arguin , which is I think the closest colony to us. Currently that is at distance of 342, with our range at 275. So I think the 3rd idea in Exploration may get me there. Arguin is currently held by my ally Portugal, by the way .

 

[Badesumofu]

If you can control the trade in Genoa with subjects then colonising the new world might not be a bad idea. I am thinking with the no-coring rule you will struggle to build a really profitable TC empire since you can only realistically take ex-colonies. You just won't control enough trade to get much out of it, I suspect. I don't see any real way around the need to grab Arguin regardless of which way you choose to colonise, though. And yeah, Dip7 + Explo 3 will get you there.

If you can get a good CN in Caribbean and one in Mexico then between trade and tariffs you could make quite a lot. Colonise 5 provinces in Mexico then stomp the natives and you will quickly have a huge and very wealthy CN. As you saw in your last game, Trinidad is part of the Caribbean, and if you get a CN that holds it, they will colonise across the strait into Brazil. That can be either good or bad depending on your situation, but something to be aware of either way.

You could pull trade from the new world through Sevilla into Genoa. Catalonia can cover all the CoTs in Genoa that aren't part of Italy, and maybe something released out of western Iberia to control Sevilla. You should have tons of spare prestige to dump into placates since you won't be disinheriting.

These runs with restrictions are good because they force us to think of new ways to achieve old goals.

 

[mackwolfe]

If you can control the trade in Genoa with subjects then colonising the new world might not be a bad idea .....If you can get a good CN in Caribbean and one in Mexico then between trade and tariffs you could make quite a lot......Catalonia can cover all the CoTs in Genoa that aren't part of Italy, and maybe something released out of western Iberia to control Sevilla.

Thank you for laying out a concrete plan for what was so far a nebulous idea in my head. I think having a vassal control Sevilla and Valencia is a must . I guess it will be Ragusa in the East , and Catalonia most likely in the West . UNless Granada can be converted and vassalized. Yes, Granada is still alive an kicking in 1510. In fact, this will be one odd run because of my actions. I just played to 1510. No colonialism yet. I peeked at the F10 map , and this is what I see:

Spoiler: F10 view in 1510

No one besides Iberians had taken Exploration ideas. And both Portugal and Castile are getting clobbered by Morocco. I may not have much competition if I colonize.

These runs with restrictions are good because they force us to think of new ways to achieve old goals.

Exactly. I will soon be facing the difficult problem of how to beat Ottomans when you cannot out-blob them. I will need allies. Good ones.

 

[Badesumofu]

I would probably look at two vassals to the West, one for Genoa and one for Sevilla. Lyonais is an inland CoT for Genoa, so your Catalonia will need be expanded through Narbonne and Laungedoc at some point. Spreading it from there to Porto and it's getting quite large. Question is when it starts getting hard to keep it loyal. Though it's more efficient to stack placates on a single vassal than spreading them thin.

The more you can develop your own land, the bigger army you can field, and the less LD your vassals will get from the relative power of all vassals modifier. In my game I allowed myself to spread out a bit more than you are, France + Low Countries + Tuscany and Liguria is quite a lot of land (about 90 provinces). I consciously left the Ottomans alone for most of the game to ensure I had a rival for PP. I doubt you'll have that problem with your smaller land-base and worse MP generation. I'd advise Quantity after Exploration. In your situation I think it will give the biggest bang for your buck militarily.

 

[Legosim]

Great read so far!

 

[mackwolfe]

1500-1510: Begone Aragon

The last chapter saw rapid expansion of the Papal states, with vassalization of Ragusa , annexation of Naples last remnants, and release of several OPMs in North Italy .

I start the decade trying to figure out how to finally kick Castile and Aragon out of Italy. Combined , they are still a formidable foe for our fledgling state. My current allies, England and Austria , would not help me in an offensive war. I look again for a French alliance. They refuse becaue I am allied to their rivals. I start to improve relations with France and seriously consider breaking the English alliance. But then I make a diplomatic error that puts a French alliance permanently out of reach: I declare Ottomans as my rival.

Because Ottomans had allied France , rivaling them upset the French and pretty much killed the idea of a new French rapprochement.

So I bide my time. But I don't have to wait too long, for France declares a conquest war on Castile in 1502:

This is a golden opportunity an I take it .

(DOW on Castile/Aragon+Provence)

Militarily, the war is a repeat of the previous one where I overrun Italy and then send my army toward Iberia. On the way there, I get the second big event affecting Reform Desire:

I ban Simony, dropping desire back to 60%. This should push reformation into the 1520s , I think. The price is 1 stab hit, but it is worth it. And soon after, it is the last ( and final) such event:

I ban the sale of Relics , dropping liberty desire all the way down to 50%. Now the reformation should really be far in the future . Which means the age of Exploration will drag on for quite some time. A short Reformation age should help my main mission because it shortens the time Centers of Reformation are active .

Back to the war. After taking Sicily's fort., I detour to Ragusa where I stackwipe a Provencal expeditionary force. This talks some sense into Provence who peaces out and gives me Nice in the process:

(annexation of Nice from Provence )

Then I invade Iberia, taking Valencia and then Toledo - while the Spanish armies are fighting in France . The poor Iberians can barely deal with the 2 enemies they have, when they get dogpiled by Morocco:

(Morocco declares on Castile, while I siege Castile's capital)

This is mixed news for me. Castile is convinced to peace out, but now I have even more Christian land getting lost to the infidels. At least I get Castile completely out of Italy:

IN addition to taking the Italian islands, I take Baleares as well. I am not allowed to core the Baleares, but they only cause 5% over-extension, so I will hold on to them until I am ready to release Catalonia .

Immediately after the peace, I start the annexation of Pisa, and vassalize Modena:

I also vassalize Corsica soon after. Then I declare on Florence's remnant to continue the Unification of Italy .

Another easy war . In the peace, I take Arezzo to complete a mission and Cuneo, the mountain fort that controls the coastal approach into Itally:

As @Tom D. said earlier, the Alpine passes present a natural broder for defense, and this is the first such fort secured.

The addition of Nice and Cuneo meant I had a new exclave disconnected from the rest of my land . To remedy that problem, I declare on Genoa:

Genoa has some heavy hitting allies , notably Lithuania ( who is apparently independent now). Genoa has a big presence in the Black sea region and that is why they are allies with Lithuania. So I again enlist the help of Austria. The Pope and the Emperor have been working well together. So far.

I let Austria deal with the Lithuanias while I focus on sieging Genoa down :

(view of the war . Lithuania attacks Ragusa, while I focus on Genoa. Note Castile losing badly in their wars)

While the Christian powers fight each other, the Ottomans start to consolidate their grip on the Middle East , with their first Mamluk war:

This is definitely NOT good news . I am in no position to intervene at the moment, and the 2 countries that usually form a bulwark against Ottomans - Lithuania and Austria- are at each others' throats.

And in the west, I watch with concern France grow at the expense of Castile. Remember that France is allied to the Ottomans

In the peace, France forces Castile to free Aragon . This is probably good news for me, since it means I can release Catalonia and eat into Aragon without fighting Castile. In fact, I really need a friendly Castile at this time, as a bulwark against Moslem expansion .

Back to Italy, I finally manage to convince Genoa to part with its Italian provinces:

All Genoa has now are its possessions in the East. I hope they manage to hold them against the Muslim tide.

With that annexation, I have almost all of Italy south of the Po river. I am really eager to finish the unification so that I can focus on rolling back the Green tide:

NOtice the Reform Desire at only 58% since I rolled it back by banning Simony and Relic sales. Doing some math, it was at 51.6% in January 1503. It is now at 58.8% in 1510. At this rate , about 1% per year, it should hit 95 sometime around 1540 .

The Reformation is not the only major event getting delayed in this run. Colonialism has not spawned yet.

And as I mentioned earlier, only Castile and Portugal have taken Exploration. I am now 8 years away from getting my 3rd idea group, and I think it is time for the Papacy to take up the banner of Exploration and spread the Gospel to the New World.

 

[mackwolfe]

I would probably look at two vassals to the West, one for Genoa and one for Sevilla. Lyonais is an inland CoT for Genoa, so your Catalonia will need be expanded through Narbonne and Laungedoc at some point.

Good points. I do have a limit on number of vassals due to diplo relations . I need 3 for the HOly Trinity ( sure I can break those once achievement secured, but for role play it would be nice to keep them ) . Ragusa and Catalonia would be #4 and #5 . I also need some ally slots to assemble an anti-Ottoman force .

I'd advise Quantity after Exploration. In your situation I think it will give the biggest bang for your buck militarily.

Hmm. This is a tough decision. Yes, quanitity would let me punch above my weight. But exploration is nice for the role play ( the Apostolic part of the title) , and also as a source of merchants and money .
But right now my most pressing need is manpower. I am loathe to start hiring mercenaries in large numbers ( I have hired a few already) so as to keep Professionalism high. So maybe I should go with Quantity . I have at least 8 years to decide .

 

[Badesumofu]

Quantity isn't needed immediately, you are doing just fine with your conquests, I think. France eating into Catalonia is bad news, you can eat the rest of Aragon in a single war now though. France is going to be a big problem, I think.

It is interesting to see those reform desire events. The Reformation fired in around 1500 in a game I'm playing now. I guess AI PAP doesn't take the stab hits. Speaking of stab - can you buy stability from, er, yourself? Or do you have to pay ADM for it all. Never played PAP as you can probably tell.

 

[parats]

Could be funny to fight otto and a blobbed france for the sake of Jerusalem.

 

[stnylan]

I think one has an unfortunate risk of being a Papal sandwich between a baguette and a pide

 

[mackwolfe]

Speaking of stab - can you buy stability from, er, yourself? Or do you have to pay ADM for it all

I do not accure Papal Influence. ANd I cannot buy any of the nice goodies the other catholics get. Totally unfair, as I am tasked with protecting them all and I get nothing in return . And i don't even get to control my own curia most of the time . PAP is powerful mostly because of those early events ( Vatican Library and Sistine Chapel) and geographic location in Italy , and many countries wanting to be nice with us for PI generation.
But otherwise, it is missing some key features other countries have . e.g no royal marriages .

As for Stab specifically , yes, I have to spend ADM . But at least I do not lost stab when Pope dies . I have mostly maintained up by events so far .

I think one has an unfortunate risk of being a Papal sandwich between a baguette and a pide

Apt description. You made me hungry for some Pide . I use it with almost everything . It is , IMHO, best bread ever.

 

[Tom D.]

You're speeding towards unification faster than I had expected, I'm almost embarrassed my own unification of Germany took 2 centuries longer . On the other hand I'm not a quick blobber or expansionist as you might know so that probably explains it. Also lucky you with that quite young 5/3/3 ruler, another blessed run it seems .