What's the best county cluster in this game?

[jwalche]

I didn't know there were people that ever raised their own ships

It is very useful to ship out mercenary bands in a hurry, since both the mercenary bands and your own ships appear at your capital. Especially if all your retinue+levy and vassal ships are busy raiding far from your capital.

 

[Manbearpig]

It is very useful to ship out mercenary bands in a hurry, since both the mercenary bands and your own ships appear at your capital. Especially if all your retinue+levy and vassal ships are busy raiding far from your capital.

Obviously it has its situational uses. It just seemed really strange to give up the capital duchy bonus for more coastal provinces for even more personally raised ships.

 

[jwalche]

Obviously it has its situational uses. It just seemed really strange to give up the capital duchy bonus for more coastal provinces for even more personally raised ships.

As your realm grows, whatever additional levy your capital duchy bonus can add becomes not as useful as income and tech bonus from coastal provinces. You get plenty of retinue and vassal levy that you can raise anywhere in your realm by giving the vassal a county where you want to raise it. Your own levy, on the other hand, is quite inconvenient to mobilize for wars. More personally raised ships is just a small added bonus.

 

[Manbearpig]

levy that you can raise anywhere in your realm by giving the vassal a county where you want to raise it

I know, but that's both cheesy AND internal bordergore.

Your own levy, on the other hand, is quite inconvenient to mobilize for wars

It isn't for wars, it's for making your vassals never challenge your authority.

 

[Shadoon4]

I know, but that's both cheesy AND internal bordergore.

It isn't for wars, it's for making your vassals never challenge your authority.

If you're relying on levies to make vassals fall in line, you're either too small or low tech to need the coastal bonuses. Retinues are the armies of powerful rulers, not levies

 

[Manbearpig]

Retinues are the armies of powerful rulers, not levies

I find having both is a more effective deterrent to rebellious vassals

 

[jwalche]

I find having both is a more effective deterrent to rebellious vassals

Do vassals rebel that often? I have never seen a vassal rebelling after I get 5+ counties, in any combination, in my demesne. Except when I purposely going tyrant and trying to imprison them.

If there is a really powerful vassal, then the priority should be neutralizing him with murders and other plots.

 

[Manbearpig]

Do vassals rebel that often?

Every single inheritance? Until you start getting ridiculously overpowered character modifiers as time goes on.

 

[Urzhail64]

I started out in Iceland for HIP...that place is just brutal on armies over the supply limit in the winter. I got absent minded and left a raiding army for too long in a province in the dead of winter..it got whittled down to 500 troops from it's original strength of 1400+ I should've just disbanded right away cause the attrition killed the levy numbers of the fiefs that I raised the troops from too.

 

[Zsrai]

Every single inheritance? Until you start getting ridiculously overpowered character modifiers as time goes on.

Uhhh, if you get rebellions every single succession then you're doing something wrong.