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Greetings, one and all! This will be my first AAR on the Pdox forums, and for my intro thread I'm shooting big: a megacampaign as house Wettin.
I will be playing these games as close to modless as I can, with the obvious scenario mods in later games. For CK2 I'm starting fully vanilla with one exception: I've made a slight mod to put off primogeniture succession until much later in the game (actually modding Late Feudalism to require 6 legalism rather than 3). As it stands every nation becomes a stable hereditary monarchy very quickly, and that's just no fun!
I have a very small backlog of content saved so the entries will be somewhat irregular. Expect the first posts soon!
It's December 26, the year of our Lord 1066. In the West the Duke of Normandy has just been named king of England, the lands of Iberia are engulfed in religious and fratricidal war to the South, and in the East the newly formed Seljuk sultanate is poised to launch an attack into the lands of the Greeks. The world and the Empire are undergoing rapid change, but thankfully all is quiet in the Saxon Ostmark. The Ostmark is comprised mainly of the castle Gorlitz (the count's seat of power), the city of Bautzen, and the bisphopric of Lebus. Most of the inhabitants are peasant farmers of Slavic and pagan stock. Originally lands of the Germans, the Ostmark fell to Slavic invaders centuries ago and for the past hundred years has been in and out of the hands of the Empire.
Count Dedo von Wettin of Lausitz, the patriarch of the Wettin family and ruler of the Eastern Saxon March.
The Wettin dynasty, a fledgling family within the Empire, has recently come to rule the Ostmark through marriage. The old ruling family, the Geronen, left no male heirs and thus their land passed on to the heiress's husband. Count Dedo von Wettin, a man of 55, is the current ruler of the Ostmark. Chaste, patient, stubborn, and trusting, Dedo is a passable diplomat and administrator as well as an above average commander. His wife, the heiress Oda, is slightly more well rounded. Diligent, honest, ambitious, and cynical, Oda is a skilled diplomat and has an adequate grasp on all other stately matters.
Countess Oda, the wife of Dedo. Heiress of the Eastern March.
The Count has a brother in the Bishop of Munster, but otherwise the family holds no significant land whatsoever.
The remaining members of the house are as follows: Konrad, Dedo's eldest son and heir (an extremely skilled administrator and a sharp military mind with no aptitude whatsoever in diplomatic or courtly matters); Dedo, the second son (a man educated in military matters with an adequate diplomatic mind); Agnes, the firstborn daughter (very skilled in courtly intrigue, but horrifically undiplomatic and unable to run the simplest of households); Adelheld, the secondborn daughter and wife of the duke of Austria (an all around unremarkable woman); Thimo, Dedo's second oldest brother (a reasonable skilled administrator and commander, passable in all other matters); Gero, the second youngest brother (a very skilled administrator with no sense of diplomacy to speak of); and Konrad, the youngest brother of the count (an adequate military mind with no sense for any other stately matters).
The Ostmark is ruled by Dedo and his personal council. His brother Gero and his son Konrad act as the steward and marshal respectively, the bishop Ekkhard acts as the the chancellor, the mayor Wolfgang acts as the spymaster, and prominent noble Erpho von Munster acts as the court chaplain. Dedo himself acts as the steward of his direct liege, duke Otto of Meissen. The other administrative and military positions in the county are taken by various members of the countly family.
The lands of Meissen stretch from the Ostmark to Weimar, including the prominent settlements of Dresden and Leipzig. These lands lie close to the heart of the empire, and comprise some of the finest farmland in Germany. Dedo and the house of Wettin are among the most modest landholding families of the Empire, but times of tumult and change bring great opportunity for those able to seize it.
Welcome to the world of AAR-ing, and may this first endeavor be successful and memorable! And Wettin to boot! Love the House of Wettin. Can't wait to see where you go from here. Opportunity is, indeed, knocking!
The first thing on the block for Dedo is marrying off his children and siblings, as well as formalizing alliances with my current relations. Just as important as growing the dynasty is forging connections and alliances with other houses. An alliance with Dedo's brother Friedrich is formed, as well as an alliance with Duke Ernst of Austria.
The next priority for Dedo is seeking allies within the duchy of Meissen, and to this end he marries his daughter Agnes to count Adelbert of Paulen. Paulen separates the eastern and western portions of the Duke's lands, a county of great strategic importance making Adelbert a valuable ally indeed. To the same ends he marries Gero to Uta, the daughter of the count of Thuringen. With these two allies Dedo now has the support of the major landholders within Meissen who aren't related to the duke, should the duke attempt to claim the Ostmark for himself he will face stiff resistance. Once allies are secured within the duchy, Dedo looks outward for his other children and relatives. There are a few of viable bachellorettes for Dedo's two sons, but he decides on two in particular: Hedwig Billung and Richinza von Zahringen. Hedwig, a very old woman for someone unmarried at the age of 31, is the sister of the duke of Saxony, Richinza is the eldest daughter of the duke of Baden and Carinthia. These marriages will provide the house with much prestige, the Billungs and the Zahringen's are two of the most powerful families in the German realm. The remaining unmarried brothers, Konrad and Thimo, are married to Hedwig Hupoldinger (daughter of count of St. Gallen, a direct vassal of the emperor) and Sibylle d'Ivera (sister of the count of Bourgogne, another count with imperial immediacy). All of these marriages are to prominent imperial families, greatly elevating the status of the house.
Once the marriages have been finalized, Dedo moves on to the business of governance. With a council loaded with members of the countly family, Dedo has a golden opportunity to pass laws he otherwise wouldn't be able to pass. The most pressing concern at the moment is the minuscule tax base the count is able to pull from, this will be the first priority. The count suggest an increase in taxes on the citizens of Bautzen, along with a decrease in the amount of troops the city is required to provide to make the tax increase more palatable. As one would expect the mayor of Bautzen is vehemently opposed to such a measure, but the rest of the council is either apathetic or supportive. The tax increase passes with a 5-1 majority with bishop Ekkhard and the count chaplain swayed to support the measure by the combined arguments of Dedo, Gero, and Konrad after a good deal of debate.
The tax increase passes, much to the chagrin of the people of Bautzen.
The next month passes with Dedo focusing on the business of governance. But Dedo, a hunter at heart, has been distracted by rumors of a majestic white stag roaming the forests of Meissen. Dedo dispatches a group of soldiers to investigate the rumours, hoping to find the stag for himself.
While waiting for the news of the stag, the duke of Meissen follows Dedo's lead and instigates a vote on increasing urban taxes in the duchy. Ever the pragmatist, Dedo agrees. Strengthening the duchy is always a noble goal, and if Dedo should come into possession of it a strong tax base would be very welcome. Three months pass and finally news returns. The soldiers Dedo had set out have verified the rumors, and Dedo makes plans to set out as soon as possible. There's nothing as exciting as a grand hunt!
While away Dedo receives disturbing news: his heir Konrad has contracted the great pox! Who Konrad contracted this disease from remains a mystery, Hedwig is uninfected and he refuses to disclose a name. Not only is this a great health risk, but it brings much embarrassment to the house.
The perils of lust.
After three weeks of fruitless searching, the count comes across an isolated cottage. Approaching in hopes of finding news about the stag, the woman offers to sell Dedo a potion to make him a better hunter. Dedo's aspirations to become a great hunter get the better of him and he readily agrees, paying the woman and guzzling the potion down. The woman failed to mention which type of hunt the potion was meant for, though. Much to the surprise of the hunting party, the count decides to return home.
Let the hunt begin...
After months on the prowl Dedo finds his target: Gretrud von Haldensleben, the wife of his courtier Godebold Babenburger. Late one evening, while Godebold is attending to some business, Dedo makes a trip up to her chambers. Gertrud welcomes him in, a successful hunting trip...
Welcome to the world of AAR-ing, and may this first endeavor be successful and memorable! And Wettin to boot! Love the House of Wettin. Can't wait to see where you go from here. Opportunity is, indeed, knocking!
