One of the greatest challenges in EU is to see if you can take a non-European country and attempt to compete with the historical colonial empires. In this case, I wanted to try my first hand in EU4 with Ceylon.
Chapters
Strategic Considerations
Goals
Ground Rules
Augurs and Divinity
With that, our story opens in the year 1987. That is, the Buddhist year 1987, which equates to the Christian year 1444. The cool winds of Kārttika carry something different in them than usual. What might it be?
"Dharma," the father tells his young son, the Prince.
Their bare feet make hardly any noise, as they make their way step-by-step across the cold damp sand. Instead, there are the sounds of the wind in their ears, and the waves along the beach. And the trees whipping their fronds back-and-forth frenetically. The birds, though, were hushed at the end of the day.
"You can sense this cool wind? It is your Dharma. A righteousness which you will bring with you in coming days."
The son gazed northwards, where stars appeared in the distance above the windswept sea.
"How can you be so sure, father?"
"In this, you must trust me, my son. In due time, I will teach you what it means to wield your divinity."
The pair walked quietly along the sand, as if alone. Yet behind them walked over two hundred retainers: monks, guards, and servants, a panopoly all arrayed in two quiet lines trailing far behind the king and his son. All this day, they had listened to the priests make their prophetic interpretations of the King's recent dreams. He had apparently been visited by Maithree (Maitreya), the buddha of the future.
In his dream, the king was told there would one day be a great war upon the seas. And, that if their current fate was not altered, their kingdom would be known as "The Last Island in the World." Like the kings of Thambapanni, their nation would be tricked by demons in disguise. Eventually, a great armada would come down upon them, enslaving, even exterminating, their people. Yet, if they were to learn enlightenment from these auguries, then their fate could be changed. If they embraced the lessons of mercy, compassion, and enlightenment, then hereafter the Kingdom of Kotte would be known as "The First Island in the World."
Contemplating this, the royal father and son walked eastwards into the gathering darkness along the strand. No more words need be spoken now. It was time to contemplate the nature of their destiny.
Chapters
- 1. Ruminations (1444-1450)
- 2. A Melancholy Heir (1450-1460)
- 3. Strange Entanglements (1461-1470)
- 4. Narapati Ava's Wars (1461-1470)
- 3. Strange Entanglements (1461-1470), Annex I
- 5. Fateful Decision (1471-1474)
- 6. Seven Factors of Enlightenment (1475)
Strategic Considerations
- Ceylon is no longer a two-province minor (TPM) from EU3. It is now one province minor (OPM). Which means you have very little room to make mistakes.
- Ceylon is Buddhist, while the nearest neighbors on the subcontinent are Hindu. While royal marriages and alliances are possible, it likely means facing a lot of direct enmity and rivalries.
- Going for a colonization-based empire will heavily tax Diplomacy and Admin trees.
- There are uninhabited islands in the Indian Ocean which can be colonized without requiring Quest for the New World (QFTNW). This means that there is an option to take "Expansion" as a national idea first, to get the colonist, as well as the +1 merchant, and, in due time, the +2 diplomatic relations. However, eventually "Exploration" will also be needed, meaning that the first two choices (Tech 4 and 7) are likely going to both be Diplomatic trees.
- Admin will be taxed by stability, as well as making cores of new colonies and any expansion on the continent.
- Military power should be a simple matter of teching up, since it will not be particularly taxed with any national ideas.
- Besides the challenges of any Subcontinent and South Asian rivals, this is also a test to see what sort of position Ceylon can get into by the 16th-17th Century, to be able to weather any colonial expansion of the Western powers.
Goals
- Be the Bodhisattva: Lead Ceylon to Bliss in this Illusory World (i.e., survive & thrive)
- Achieve Enlightenment: Spread Buddhism
- Sail on, Ceylon: Become a global colonial power (reach the New World and Africa)
- Teach Humility: Beat up a few of the big powers in the game to show you're not a push-over.
- Optional: Westernization is a possibility, but not required.
Ground Rules
- This is a challenge to see if Ceylon can become a colonial power on par with European powers.
- It is not a test to see how much of a he-man I am; this will not be an "ironman" game.
- This is my first EU4 game. As such, there will be adjustments that I will make as a player in order to understand the new mechanics. (e.g., I restarted the game entirely five times when I was just learning how to balance initial purchases and learning how not to bankrupt a nation before I even unpaused the game).
- I reserve the right to "save scum" quite a bit (i.e., roll time back to a place that sucks less) in order to see if it these goals are indeed achievable. This will be especially true when all the colonies in the world pop-pop-pop due to near-constant native uprisings. (It's one of my least-favorite mechanics in the game.) However, if I mess up in a war, or if I get an occasional bad event, I'll keep it. Not everything needs to go my way.
- Follow missions as much as possible, but it is alright to cancel a mission if it turns out to be well-nigh unachievable (i.e., make friends with someone who is your enemy).
Augurs and Divinity
With that, our story opens in the year 1987. That is, the Buddhist year 1987, which equates to the Christian year 1444. The cool winds of Kārttika carry something different in them than usual. What might it be?
"Dharma," the father tells his young son, the Prince.
Their bare feet make hardly any noise, as they make their way step-by-step across the cold damp sand. Instead, there are the sounds of the wind in their ears, and the waves along the beach. And the trees whipping their fronds back-and-forth frenetically. The birds, though, were hushed at the end of the day.
"You can sense this cool wind? It is your Dharma. A righteousness which you will bring with you in coming days."
The son gazed northwards, where stars appeared in the distance above the windswept sea.
"How can you be so sure, father?"
"In this, you must trust me, my son. In due time, I will teach you what it means to wield your divinity."
The pair walked quietly along the sand, as if alone. Yet behind them walked over two hundred retainers: monks, guards, and servants, a panopoly all arrayed in two quiet lines trailing far behind the king and his son. All this day, they had listened to the priests make their prophetic interpretations of the King's recent dreams. He had apparently been visited by Maithree (Maitreya), the buddha of the future.
In his dream, the king was told there would one day be a great war upon the seas. And, that if their current fate was not altered, their kingdom would be known as "The Last Island in the World." Like the kings of Thambapanni, their nation would be tricked by demons in disguise. Eventually, a great armada would come down upon them, enslaving, even exterminating, their people. Yet, if they were to learn enlightenment from these auguries, then their fate could be changed. If they embraced the lessons of mercy, compassion, and enlightenment, then hereafter the Kingdom of Kotte would be known as "The First Island in the World."
Contemplating this, the royal father and son walked eastwards into the gathering darkness along the strand. No more words need be spoken now. It was time to contemplate the nature of their destiny.
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