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I see a kingdom in the horizon. :)
 
Your games are certainly more interesting than mine are. I guess I should learn to be more adventurous and try to kill more people!

The HRE in CK2 has a lot of opportunity until the Emperor gets to High or Absolute Crown Authority, so part of the fun is taking advantage of the chaos!

am I alone in finding Oberto's fashion choices worrying - moustache (ok if you must), faintly Soviet military uniform (ok if you must) but the gold alice band just looks ... well wrong

did like the revealing of the plot, to play this well you really do have spend quite a lot of time on the character screens checking things out (& that to me is a good thing, it gives the game such a unique aspect)

As your character rises up, there are less useful plots, which kinda sucks. Instead, you spend all your time trying to stop everyone else's plot.

Doubtless Oberto has greatly aided the crusade of his liege, his selflessly taking Sicily should bring about the fall of Cyrenaica soon after! You are certainly hoovering up the Ducal titles and interesting that you are nearing holding enough counties to become King of Sicily but you went in another direction. I look forward to finding out what directon!

Yes, I also wanted to help my liege by keeping him from inadvertently going over his demense limit.

I see a kingdom in the horizon. :)

Well, I certainly don't plan to stand pat...

This AAR is great. It's helped me to decide to buy CK2 when I get paid on Thursday.

Wow. I'm touched! Thank you very much! *runs to submit a bill to Fredrik*

Very good AAR indeed, fun to read. Keep up the good work!

Thank you very much!
 
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Chapter 13 - Bravery at Nice

October 12, 1095: After usurping the Duchy of Genoa, Oberto needed to ensure that the Prince-Bishop of Nice wouldn't be in a position to take it back.

13-DoWNice.jpg


In January, Oberto proves that he is Brave for fighting a battle with 16.5:1 odds. He is a true Paragon of morningSIDEr!

13-Brave.jpg


A cynical person might say that wasn't too brave. But not this cynical person!

13-Oberto.jpg


In April, the Prince-Bishop surrenders and agrees to answer to Oberto (my first non-family vassal count, btw). I'm sure he'll put this little incident past him, right?

13-NiceSurrenders.jpg


With a bit of peace, it's time to expand my holdings to increase my income. This is important given how many holdings I have that produce 0 or near 0.

13-Building.jpg


One advantage to starting in a large realm is that you can generally send your kids off to anyone in the realm for guardianship. Some people like to raise their kids themselves, while some prefer to send their kids off. IMHO, it depends on how good your stats are. If your character has crappy Stewardship, and either crappy Intrigue or Diplomacy, consider sending the kid off for training. In a large realm, you can generally find someone with really good stats and 3-5 positive traits.

Of course, your kids may come back German, but you can't win 'em all. In the HRE, you'll just have to accept that you'll end up with lots of German and Italian kids if you go the guardian route. Since most electors are German, having German kids isn't terribly bad.

13-Guardian.jpg


I have received my first vote to be the next Emperor...despite being one of the most powerful dukes in the realm (4 duchies, 43 total holdings), I will rarely have more than 2-3 votes to be the next Emperor, due to the opinion penalty for being a foreigner. I also have to start worrying about further attempts to increase Crown Authority, as I would run the risk of not being able to declare war on anyone.

13-HRELaws.jpg


For Christmas 1096, the Kaiser gives me some pooping birds. Gee thanks.

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Now that I'm a direct vassal of the Emperor, I can convert to my liege's culture. I'm almost certain the AI never does this.

13-Decision.jpg


Speaking of crown authority...

13-ByzAuthority.jpg


On June 22, 1097, all the arrangements and preparations have been made...it's time to expand outside Italy...

13-DoWMallorca.jpg
 
By converting to German culture, will the other Electors still see you as a "foreigner", or could you potentially become Emperor someday?
 
By converting to German culture, will the other Electors still see you as a "foreigner", or could you potentially become Emperor someday?

No, they will see me as a fellow German.
 
but presume there is a small penalty within Italy for being a 'German'? And how did you manage to become part of the Byzantine Empire?

The alice band still disturbs me ....

Italy is a strange place. Southern Italy is de jure part of the Byzantine Empire, whereas northern Italy is not de jure part of the HRE, but de facto is. Thusly, vassals in Southern Italy get to vote on crown authority in both the Byzantine Empire and the HRE.

And yes, if you become a German and your vassals are Italian/Bohemian/Dutch, you will get the Foreigner malus to relations with them.
 
Italy is a strange place. Southern Italy is de jure part of the Byzantine Empire, whereas northern Italy is not de jure part of the HRE, but de facto is. Thusly, vassals in Southern Italy get to vote on crown authority in both the Byzantine Empire and the HRE.

And yes, if you become a German and your vassals are Italian/Bohemian/Dutch, you will get the Foreigner malus to relations with them.

Correct. The Emperor will be getting foreigner penalties to someone.
 
The alice band still disturbs me ....

Maybe it's a magic band with amazing powers naggy has chosen not to disclose: +1 German, +2 Swan-keeping, +3 protection against assassination :)
 
Maybe it's a magic band with amazing powers naggy has chosen not to disclose: +1 German, +2 Swan-keeping, +3 protection against assassination :)

Nah, Oberto is rocking the "Lemmy", minus the mutton chops. That alice band is just him being so metal! I'm sure when he walks in to court, he demands that the lute players start up 'the ace of spades'...
 
Going German should stop a repetitive line of Oberto's. A King named Adolf - nothing good can come of it. The Hohenstuafen's wrecked their dynasty trying to bring southern Italy into the Holy Roman Empire and here's your Parmese family able to do it -give it to them on a plate. Impressive,
 
Maybe it's a magic band with amazing powers naggy has chosen not to disclose: +1 German, +2 Swan-keeping, +3 protection against assassination :)

Hrm...or at least, Oberto might believe that it protects him...

Nah, Oberto is rocking the "Lemmy", minus the mutton chops. That alice band is just him being so metal! I'm sure when he walks in to court, he demands that the lute players start up 'the ace of spades'...

"It's A Long Way To The Top"

Going German should stop a repetitive line of Oberto's. A King named Adolf - nothing good can come of it. The Hohenstuafen's wrecked their dynasty trying to bring southern Italy into the Holy Roman Empire and here's your Parmese family able to do it -give it to them on a plate. Impressive,

I can always go German after all the kids are born, besides, culture is easy to flip with guardianship.

With pointers. :laugh:

So long as they don't assassinate each other...
 
Chapter 14 - Restless children, plots, and beaches

August 18, 1097: Oberto Palpatine asks for his own fief to govern. I told the young padawan that he is not yet ready.

Oberto: "Oberto, you must learn patience."
Oberto: "Yeah yeah yeah, patience. How long will that take?"

14-Fief.jpg


If you promise to arrange it, they come back and ask before you've really had time to go conquer something for them.

Meanwhile over in Mallorca, the two sides are taunting each other.

Mallorca: "Come over here so we can whip your ass!"
Lombardia: "We left our swim trunks at home...you come over here!"

14-Mallorcataunting.jpg


In December, 6 Dukes and a Doge launch a plot to overthrow Kaiser Sieghard (who came to power when I wasn't looking. This bears watching...as a loyal vassal, I'm helping by invading two islands that have nothing to do with anything.

14-PlotforEmpire.jpg


In August, Menorca falls to siege and the army moves on to Mallorca, wiping out the enemy army with ease. The battle is used in the award-winning military textbook, the Book of Maó.

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On December 28th, Oberto's wife, Princess Emma of France, passes away.

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In accordance to European custom, Oberto arranges a marriage that very same day, since he's over his demense limit. Since there aren't any good dynastic candidates out there, I pick a spouse for stats (specifically, stewardship).

14-Octreda.jpg


In January 1099, more Mallorcan troops arrive and start to besiege Menorca. I quickly move troops over by boat and beat them, then ping-pong them to death by using the boats so that I always arrive at the other island first.

In April, I can Amass Wealth again, so I do. Meanwhile, Emperor Sieghard raises troops from my levies to fight off the ducal plot against him.

In December, while sitting around tanning in Mallorca, Oberto realizes that he's not all that Brave. Maybe the realization that he wouldn't always hves 16:1 odds dawned on him?

14-Bravelost.jpg


In August 1101, with the siege in Mallorca still going on, the ambition of Amass Wealth completes, giving me 1 more Stewardship.

That lets me try a new plot...

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Councillors that are willing to join plots against you give very high plot power...

14-Plot-Steward.jpg


In October, while the plot is developing, the war in Mallorca ends.

14-Mallorcapeace.jpg


The next day, it's time to enact the plot. Always try to get as much plot power as you can before enacting the plot, so that you have a better chance. One advantage - as far as I know, if the plot succeeds, there is no chance of detection!

14-Plotpower.jpg


Poor Count Ugo accidentally slipped and plunged a knife into his heart. 20 times. He had a vigorous grip on the knife. To celebrate, we'll Amass Wealth again. (I suspect that this ambition will be nerfed in a future patch, given that it's an easy infinite + stewardship loop.)

14-Ugodead.jpg
 
Since there aren't any good dynastic candidates out there...

This bit has always confused me a bit when I've read this. What do you mean by good dynastic candidates? What makes a good dynastic candidate?
 
As a vassal, you either want shot at a claim you can use in the next generation, or you want an alliance within the realm. As an independent ruler, you want a shot at a claim, or an alliance with someone that can be useful.
 
As a vassal, you either want shot at a claim you can use in the next generation, or you want an alliance within the realm. As an independent ruler, you want a shot at a claim, or an alliance with someone that can be useful.

Oh okay, so if you could marry a woman who's second or third in line for the throne of somewhere, that's what you'd want?
 
Having claims on duchies is useful, so yeah.