To Iberia and Back Again: From Adventure to Empire
Start Year: 867
Starting Character: Halfdan ‘Whiteshirt’ Hvitserk
Starting Dynasty: Sigurdr; House Hvitserk
Version: 1.7.2 (Bastion)
Iron Man: Yes
Part 1: The Wrath of the Northmen
Part 2: Into the Struggle
Welcome readers! Some of you may know me from my EUIV AAR, Italian Ambitions, which has a history book/narrative format. This AAR, To Iberia and Back Again, will be much different. Whereas I always played EUIV for my own enjoyment, and to use as a basis for AARs, I am very much an achievements hound in CKIII. This AAR is the result of my (ultimately successful) attempt to unlock three particular achievements that seemed to provide the framework for a pretty good story. I plan to keep the focus on gameplay and explain some of the tactics and strategies that have worked for me over the course of the game. My writing style will be very informal and I am always happy to answer readers’ questions.
Before playing CKIII I was never very interested in Norse history or mythology, but I loved many of the game mechanics that came with the Northern Lords pack, particularly the Varangian Adventure CB. I had previously run a rather successful game starting as Hæsteinn of Montaigu where I got the Going Places (As Hæsteinn of Montaigu in 867, hold any Kingdom Tier Title) and Faster than the Fox (As a Norse tribal, control the entirety of Sicily) achievements by launching a Varangian Adventure invasion of southern Italy. Starting as a powerful Northern lord like Hæsteinn, the Varangian Adventure CB allows you to essentially a play choose-your-own-adventure game, since they can overpower pretty much anyone on the map. The Wrath of the Northmen scenario title is very apt. I figured there were other achievement combinations that could yield interesting games. I came up with these:
While playing, I unlocked numerous other achievements as well, which I will mention as I go along. Some I happened into, and others I specifically targeted.
The Varangian Adventure CB is perfect for going after Holidaying in Iberia, since you can pretty much pick wherever on the peninsula you want to land and start working your way into the Struggle from there. If you can land a few alliances with your Northern brethren, you will have your pick of duchies to target.
I had previously unlocked the Iberian Hostilities achievement (win the Iberian Struggle by conquest), so I wanted to aim for a different resolution to the conflict. In this case, I wanted to go for the détente victory since it would represent a full turnaround for the Northern invaders: arriving as vicious conquerors but in the end settling the peninsula’s troubles through peaceful, civilized means. If you do want to go for the military victory instead, Hæsteinn is again a great pick, since he will give you Holidaying in Iberia, Iberian Hostilities, and Going Places should you win the Struggle militarily.
Finally, once the Iberian Struggle was complete, I wanted shift my focus and lead a return to the British Isles, to achieve the ancestral Sigurdr dream of conquering Britain. This would unlock the Blood Eagle achievement. Now, theoretically, you can reverse the order, conquering the British Isles first then finding a way to Iberia. However, I was worried that the Struggle could be ended before I had a chance to finish my northern conquests and then head south. Plus, going to Iberia first seemed the more interesting route and of course informed the title of this AAR. For this game, I decided to go start as Halfdan ‘Whiteshirt’, though Sigurdr ‘Snake-in-the-Eye’, Ivar ‘the Boneless’, and Björn ‘Ironside’ will also allow you to claim the same achievements.
One downside is that I did not think of making an AAR out of this game until rather late, so the early game screen shots are rather sparse. However, I do have all of the key moments, though little in between. I plan for the updates to be relatively brief, and I will not be attempting a sprawling historical epic with this. But I hope to include the fun tidbits and pass along some tips and tactics for any newer players who might be reading this. I hope you all enjoy!
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