Road of Queens - CKII India AAR

[MK1980]

it's funny that Eupraxias husband gets to wear a crown and she wears that hood thing despite the fact that she is actually the ruler and he is merely her consort. anyway, i kinda like the look of her portrait. guess a true (future) queen doesn't need a crown to look royal

will be interesting to see what she does while she's under AI control. hope the AI doesn't pick some stupid course of action like going for seduction focus. would be pretty lame if that promising young princess ends up being called the "unfaithful" for the rest of her life.

 

[Eurasia]

Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter Five Hundred-Forty-Nine : Running An Empire!

Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork!
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This chapter opens in late May, of the year 898 AD, with the Basileus Niphon noticing the Wall Map had changed. It looked like the Kingdom of Punjab had ONE less Rebellion to worry about.

​

Oh, there was still one Revolt and a war to worry about. But at least the Wall Map looked a little calmer.

That same day the Basileus heard some interesting news. The Princess has made Doux Mukundanarayan her Protostrator.

"Well," remarked the Basileus, "I guess she found a way to raise the Doux's opinion of her."

In June the Basileus felt he needed to do something about his income. "We gave out so many Counties the tax farmers and Vassals just are NOT giving me what I want. We need to somehow increase the flow of coins coming into our coffers." So he ordered a Temple Town for the Temple Complex of Madan Kamdev. This would increase the Trade flowing through the Holding. And that would increase the taxes. And as all his Religious Vassals had a super high opinion of him it was very likely they would have no problem giving him his INCREASED cut of the pie.

Of course with his daughter overseeing the project it would be finished quickly and under-budget.

It was more then a month later, in late July, before anything else of import happened. One of the Basileus's best friends, Reva "The Wicked", was being blackmailed. Basileus Niphon had heard rumors about it before the woman came to him for help. Of course he agreed to help her! (1)

A few days later he received a letter from his Magistros, the blind Duchess Anakhit of Nyingchi, who reported that she had been successful! She had increased the opinion of the Great King Barjena towards her Liege. The Basileus was very pleased.

"Too bad he is at war," mumbled the Basileus, "or I would ask him again to be my Vassal."

In September it was pointed out to the Basileus that his Retinue could be increased even more. So he decided to increase the number of Heavy and Light Cavalry in his Retinue.

"Can never have too much horse," remarked the Basileus to Lord Meow-Meow.

Of course by the end of September things had gone back to normal. Count Kamalnaryan, for example, was trying to find a way to claim the Duchy of Tirabhukti. In other words take the title from his OWN Liege.

"Well tell the Count to stop," commented the Basileus to his Spymaster. "We already have too many plots we can't control."

​

Amazingly enough there was only one Faction - one political movement - against the Empire of Maurya.

"I will give Hisen his independence over his dead body," stated the Basileus Niphon when shown the list.

"Don't you mean YOUR dead body?" asked one of the Courtiers.

"No," replied the Basileus with a smirk.

So we close this chapter with the Basileus in a good mood and the Empire at peace. Mostly.

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Author's End Notes:

1. Historians can't seem to agree on WHY she was being blackmailed. The problem was that she was truly a wicked woman from the point of view of the people of her day. She was a kin slayer and a lover of the same sex. And who knows what else! Of course, by today's standards, nobody would have noticed such things. Now, if she offered milk before the sugar during tea time THAT would have been wicked!

 

[Bullfilter]

There seem to be quite a few people (women especially) who’ve had their eyes put out. Is it a local custom in that part of the world?

 

[Eurasia]

There seem to be quite a few people (women especially) who’ve had their eyes put out. Is it a local custom in that part of the world?

It was a common form of torture of the Greek Byzantine culture in the game. Next to castration.

 

[stnylan]

Well there is independence in death

 

[Eurasia]

Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter Five Hundred-Fifty : Following One's Faith...

...And One's Destiny!​

We open this chapter in late October, of the year 898 AD, with the Basileus Niphon "The Lionheart" receiving a report from his Spymaster.

The Basileus was pleased with the documents that the Mayor had sent him. They should help greatly with increasing the Empire's knowledge.

Around this time the Basileus decided it was time to focus on Faith again. This, of course, would please the Society and his Religious Vassals at the same time.

Also, to be honest, he was getting older and worried about where he would end up when he died. Focusing on prayer and meditation couldn't hurt. But it the end most agree it was likely done to please the religious folks. Which it did.

To help increase the opinion of the Religious folk the Basileus gave to Charity. About a 100 gold coins.

The members of the Society were VERY pleased.

Then there was some news from the Realm of Guge. Chief Ibrahim of Maymana had taken a Temple from Faryab from Har Rai. But as this was happening outside the Empire nobody really cared.

The Basileus walked over to the Wall Map one day in late October. He pointed at the piece of Nepal within his borders. "Before we do anything else I want to take care of that. How can I carve a Empire out of India if I have that spot on my map."

As the Great King Mandandeva II "The Drunkard" had no Allies and wasn't part of a Pact against the Basileus there was nothing to stop "The Lionheart" from declaring war on Nepal. Nepal didn't even have much of a military and three of out the man's four Vassals hated him. And the Realm of Nepal was engaged in a war with Guge. The question was - what would be the excuse for such a war? That was easy - Doux Dionysios "The Lewd" had claims on the region. So war was declared in his name!

Once the conflict was official launched the Queen's Chinese Honor Guard was called forth to join the Royal Guard.

The Levies from the Basileus's own Demesne were called forth and told to rally in the County of Sikkim. Even with the full military called forth, minus the Vassals' Levies, the Empire was still turning a profit.

The Kingdom of Nepal was already digging itself into debt.

Soon it was November and, even as the soldiers marched off to war and the vultures gathered, the Basileus was working on his religious nature.

He had become Humble.

So we close this chapter with another war to fix the Wall Map and the Basileus becoming Humble.

 

[Surt]

Humble ... he shouldn't be called the Lionheart, but the Fox.

 

[Bullfilter]

I just can’t imagine Niphon as actually humble! I can however see Lord Meow-Meow giving him one of those cynical feline “oh really” looks. Probably then curling up to sleep and see if the silliness and pretence were over by the time she woke up!

 

[stnylan]

Following @Bullfilter 's comment above, I don't know if you have seen many of the tv episodes of David Suchet playing Hercule Poirot, but there is an early one where the question of humility. This did rather remind me of that.

The wall map is a never-ceasing Sisyphean labour.

 

[Eurasia]

Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter Five Hundred-Fifty-One : War And Plots

Dagger, Dagger, Who Has The Dagger?​

This chapter opens up in November, of the year 898 AD, with reports showing that the Nepal forces were in the Kingdom of Guge waging their war. They even seemed to be winning it.

As the Basileus pondered how the Kingdom of Nepal would handle TWO wars he received news from his Spymaster. The Baroness Vijnayavati of Teliagarhi was trying to kill the Mahendrani of the House of Pala.

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The Basileus sighed. "On one hand the young girl will grow up to be trouble as she thinks she is entitled to some of my titles. On the other hand she is somewhat related to me and is only 3 years old. Tell the Baroness to back off."

A few days later Mayor Komitas with more news on another plot. The Duchess of the Shantideva Raj was plotting to kill the Count of Mangyul.

"What is it with all the plots to kill children?" complained Basileus Niphon. "Tell her to stop!"

The Basileus went to his Wall Map to check the process of his military. Some of the Levies had joined the Army of Doux Hisen and now the mixture was marching towards the war zone. The rest of the Levies were still in transit.

Then in December there was horrible news. A member of the Society had been taken and burnt at the stake! "That makes no sense!" exclaimed the Basileus. "Did they think he was a witch?"

Nobody on staff knew the answer to that.

Then the Spymaster was back with another murder plot. Ivar Yanxizk was planning to kill Dan of Qamdo. It seemed the older man was the young boy's Heir.

"But the boy is only 5 years old," pointed out the Basileus.

"Children are easier to kill," replied Mayor Hierotheos. "And he is Norse. Are you sure you want me to stop him?"

The Basileus sighed. "Tell Ivar to stop. I don't like the idea of children being killed."

It was the Protostrator who finally brought Basileus Niphon some cheerful news. It seems one of the Defensive Pact created to oppose him had disbanded.

"Maybe the members came to their senses?" mumbled the Basileus to himself upon reading the report.

"Or the Mongols killed them all," added Paschalis of Nyingchi. The Lord Meow-Meow gave a amused ear flick at that idea.

Basileus just sighed. "Yes, well, as long as the Pact is no more."

So we end this chapter with a bunch of plots, an ongoing war, and one piece of good news.

 

[stnylan]

All these people wanting to kill children. Why can't they pick on folks their own size?

 

[Bullfilter]

War, attempted murder of minors, burnings at the stake ... all is right with the world!

 

[Surt]

Another road kill, or burning? is that a special Indian hobby to burn people alive or do they share it with the Europeans?

 

[MK1980]

it's funny that the defense pact disbanded right when niphon is already in the process of winning another war that will probably spawn a new defense pact right away.

more headaches for poor niphon

to be honest i stopped playing with defense pacts quite a while ago. they are kinda optional (disabling them doesn't even block achievements). but when i still played with pacts, i usually stopped declaring wars over small titles (duchies or counties) completely and looked for opportunities to conquer kingdoms (usually through dynastic claims of some unhappy uncles with strong claims and no loyalty to their current liege).

if you consolidate your vassals into a few strong super vassals (which is fairly safe when the kingdom titles are handed out as viceroyal) they will also be strong enough to subjugate weaker foreign realms on their own - which expands your realm without triggering defense pacts (since the pacts target you, but not your vassals)

 

[Eurasia]

Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter Five Hundred-Fifty-Two : Early Disaster

“Quick! Eat It All Before The Invaders Show Up!”​

This chapter opens in mid December, of the year 898 AD, with the Basileus at the Wall Map. The staff had been doing their best to make sure the Wall was updated daily. It showed that the rest of the Levies had finally formed up into Army of Bihikkhu Eugenios and were following in the footsteps of the main army.

By the first month of the new year, 899 AD, the Army of Doux Hisen had started the siege of Bhaktapur in the County of Kathmandu. The Castle had 861 Defenders.

But there was a problem. The local warehouses and farms could not support the over five thousand soldiers. Men were starting starve!

By February the reinforcements arrived and made things even more terrible. With over seven thousand soldiers in the County there was no way to feed them all. Historical records and eye witnesses reports suggested that over five hundred had died already!

The local Commanders decided to split the forces. An force under Baron Pushyavarman was sent to attack Nepal’s holdings to the west.

By March the Army of Doux Hisen was no longer having supply issues. Mostly because the damage had already been done. Over two thousand soldiers had died from the original seven thousand!

One day in March the Spymaster brought the Basileus news of another uncovered plot. The Basileus was somewhat happy to hear news that did NOT involve starving soldiers. It seemed the Countess Amrapali of Lhatse, who was her husband’s own Spymaster, was planning to kill the Countess of Mudgagiri.

“Interesting,” murmured the Basileus as he glanced at the report. “The Countess Chrysogone is somewhat related to me. Slightly. Tell the Countess Amrapali to stop her plotting.”

By the ides of March the two Armies were doing much better. With their lower numbers they could now easily find enough food, fresh water, and wood for their fires. Still, Basileus Niphon wasn’t very happy with all the deaths even before the first battle had been fought!

So we end this chapter with a simple plot and a disaster of logistics.

 

[stnylan]

I mean he has the levies to lose, but it is rather wasteful.

Edit: I also think you may have double-posted

 

[MK1980]

sieges in mountain terrain and/or winter can be very costly if you don't check the supply limit before sending the troops. winter reduces the normal supply limit by several thousand points.

mountains have an extra 10% attrition potential on top of the baseline 5% for all land terrain. and winter adds another 10-20% on top of that (depending on the severity of the winter). so if you send too many soldiers through the mountains in a severe winter you can lose up to 35% of your soldiers *per month* until the army size shrinks below the supply threshold.

 

[Bullfilter]

Now that is severe attrition - worse than a decimation! Are any enemy forces large enough to worry about anywhere nearby?

 

[Eurasia]

Now that is severe attrition - worse than a decimation! Are any enemy forces large enough to worry about anywhere nearby?

They're total military force is smaller than one of my armies AND they are fighting in Guge territory right now.

 

[Eurasia]

Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter Five Hundred-Fifty-Three : Let The War PROPERLY Begin!

Sieges In Medieval India​

This chapter opens in March, of the year 899 AD, with the military forces of the Empire split in two. One carrying out a siege and one still marching to its target County.

In April, as Basileus Niphon waited for news from the front, he received news from within the Empire. News about another plot.

"Why is it when I go to war plots seem to INCREASE?" the Basileus asked Lord Meow-Meow who just shrugged.

It seemed that Count Isaakios was plotting to claim the Duchy of Gauda from his insane Liege.

"I thought he had already tried that?" The Basileus turned to his Spymaster and said, "Tell him to stop. Not like getting the claim will help him. He can't fight for it."

A few days later news came from the Army of Baron Pushuavarman. It had arrived in the County of Mustang and had started the siege of the Town of Chhonhup. The Castle had already been taken by the forces of Guge.

​

Then, near the end of the month, there was some amazing news. It seems the Great King Mandandeva of Guge had been MURDERED! The plot had been traced back to the Great King Mandandeva of Nepal.

The NEW Great King, the 13 year old Dilipapala of the House of Ayudha, was STILL winning the war. So in the end this murder had done nothing but make the Great King of Nepal look like a murderous King. Well, a more murderous King. And a kin slayer.

In June, as the Basileus was waiting for more news he was alerted to two things. One, there was a new hunting bird available AND, second, there was a new book in the library on the art of writing poetry. As the Basileus was always interesting in the craft of writing he eagerly went to take a look at the new book.

Amazingly enough the Basileus received two pieces of news at the same time. The Castle of Bkaktapur had fallen to the Army of Doux Hisen. The Royal forces (or Imperial forces) had no losses while all 861 Defenders had been wiped out.

At the same time the Town of Chhonhup had fallen. The Army of Baron Pushyavarman had lost 70 soldiers while wiping out the 434 Defenders.

Both Armies moved onto the next target. Doux Hisen soon surrounded the Town of Lalitpur which had only 239 men. Mostly townsfolk and tradesmen armed with wooden pitchforks, frying pans, and pointy sticks.

Baron Pushyavarman's soldiers had marched on to the Temple of Tetang which they soon encircled with barriers and campfires. The 299 Defenders, mostly Warrior-Priests, were armed with spears, swords, and their Faith.

This good news was added to his enjoyment of the new book. It was like adding rum whipped cream on top of yummy banana pudding bread. It made him want to write! Or eat. (1)

So we close with good news as the military forces send news of a few victories to the Emperor.

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Author's End Notes:

1. The only reason the Basileus didn't write something right there and then was because Lord Meow-Meow had a habit of trying to eat the quills. Many historians suggest this makes her the first poetry critic.

Banana Pudding Bread With Rum Whipped Cream and Caramel Sauce​