Let's play Crusader Kings 2

Crusader Kings II is an odd mix of strategy game, RPG, and medieval drama simulator, developed and published by Paradox, who also made the Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron and Victoria series (among other things). You play the role of a feudal lord in medieval Europe, where you have to contend with threats from both within - ambitious vassals, jealous family members, and disgruntled courtiers - and without - pagans, infidels, and fellow Christians who covet your lands.

Whereas Paradox's other strategy games encompassed the entire world, CK2 is much smaller, stretching from Spain in the west to Persia in the east (expanded to India with the release of a recent expansion), and from the northern half of Africa in the south to Iceland in the north.

(colors indicate independent realms; black indicates provinces that can't be controlled)

Originally the game limited you to only playing Christian noble lords, but numerous expansions have widened it to include all religions and non-noble mercantile houses, all with special mechanics unique to them. For our playthrough, we will be playing a minor Christian lord, as it's still (IMO) the most interesting and varied way to play.

Since there is a lot of things going on in CK2, I'm not going to do an up-front information dump; instead each update will explain things as needed. But for now, we need to select a lord!

Count Herbert of Vermandois
History: The Carolingian (aka Karling, the spelling used in-game) dynasty was born from Charles Martel ("Charles the Hammer"), who came to prominence in 732 after he halted the expansion of the Umayyids at the Battle of Tours, quite possibly saving all of Europe from being converted to Islam. Impressive as that was, he was in turn eclipsed by his grandson, Charlemagne, the first emperor in western Europe since the fall of Rome. His sons in turn divided western Europe into what would become France, Burgundy and the Holy Roman Empire.

By 1066, however, the Carolingian dynasty has all but faded, controlling only the county of Vermandois in northeastern France, with only three surviving direct heirs of Charles the Hammer and Charlemagne: Count Herbert, and his brothers Eudes and Pierre.

Gameplay: Since Herbert is a vassal of France, a relatively stable country, aggression against other vassals will be difficult, so most early expansion will have to be done through intrigue and marriage. This however also affords him a degree of protection.

Count Werner of Habsburg
History: Whereas the Carolingian dynasty is in its twilight, the House of Habsburg is seeing the first light of dawn, and a glorious day it will be. By the thirteenth century the House of Habsburg had become a major diplomatic and military power; after 1438 they would hold the throne of the Empire, uninterrupted, for just over 300 years. Much of their success came through shrewd marriages, which greatly (and peacefully) expanded their territory.

For now, however, they are still small, weak and lacking in influence. While the height of their historical prominence came after the timeframe of CK2, there's no reason why they can't get a jump start.

Gameplay: Unlike France, the HRE is rife with internal conflict, so until Werner gains some territory and manpower he'll be at constant risk of being attacked by opportunistic fellow vassals, although he'll be able to do the same.

King Murchad mac Diarmata
History: The Ui Cheinnselaig family traces back to Ennae Cennselach, King of Leinster, whose son Eochu slew High King Niall Noigiallach. Murchad himself is not very noteworthy; Irish "kings" are comparable in power and holdings to counts or dukes in the rest of Europe.

Gameplay: Ireland is often called "newbie island"; it's small, isolated, and every other lord is just as weak as you are. It's relatively easy to become High King of Ireland within Murchad's lifetime. A unified Ireland has a fighting chance against England and Scotland, giving him and his heirs even more opportunities to expand. As a bonus, Murchad's elderly father is the King of Leinster, and once he dies Murchad will gain another county.

King Sancho of Aragon
History: One of the five kings in Spain belonging to the House of Jimena, Sancho is the King of Aragon and would later also become King of Navarre. He was one of the three participants in the War of the Three Sanchos, which saw him in conflict with kings Sancho IV of Navarre and Sancho II of Castile, the latter having defeated the other two.

Gameplay: Despite his "kingdom" consisting of a single county, Sancho is in a great position to expand; his title gives him claims on most of eastern Spain, and his four cousins are all allied with him. Defeating the Muslims to the immediate south should give him enough resources to bring the Duke of Barcelona to heel.


So who should I play?

I vote for Sancho. Not only for the name, but so you can kill those dirty muslims and prevent them from ever trying to take our freedom in the future.

THE HAMMER

I vote Werner. Sounds like a mans man pick.

MELISSA PLS REPLY

wat

Sancho

Sancho it is!

FUCK

Philistines.

Part 1: Coming out swinging
(apologies if this is too long, but there's a bunch of stuff to cover)

While the Reconquista started in 718 has made significant gains, more than half of the Iberian Peninsula is still under Muslim control. Fortunately, they are divided and easy prey for the close alliances shared by the five Christian kings.

Selecting the nearest Muslim lord - Emir Ahmad - shows a list of diplomatic options; being of a different faith, however, most of them are of limited use. Declare War is the one I'm interested in. This brings up another list, this time showing the claims available.


Like in other Paradox strategy games, simply wanting to go to war is not enough; you need to have a valid reason. In this case there are two types of wars available: holy war, or de jure claims. Holy wars can be declared on any neighbour of a different religion; if successful, they grant control of an entire duchy. De jure claims mean the ruler has a recognized right to a county; in this case, Sancho, as king of Aragon, has valid claims on all five counties belonging to Ahmad.

Now, it might seem like Holy Wars are strictly superior, but there's a catch: any of the defenders neighbours of the same religion can join in, whereas only allies can join conventional wars. Fortunately, none of Ahmad's neighbours are particularly strong, so Holy War is our best option, since we can get three counties in one war.

Our first order of business is to call in our allies. Allies are not guaranteed to join your wars (it depends on much they like or dislike you and your enemy), but in holy wars against nearby foes the chances are usually very good; in this case, all four of Sancho's cousins answer our call.


With that out of the way, let's take a closer look at levies, the core component of armies in CK2.

What is a levy? A levy is a non-standing army, composed of soldiers drawn from the peasantry and freemen, who were usually obligated to provide one man per family. A common misconception is that they were little more than scared farmers with pitchforks sent off to die in hordes; in reality they could be quite effective and disciplined in battle with proper leadership and training. However, because they were still ultimately farmers or workers pulled from their jobs to fight, prolonged deployment could cause severe hardship and economic strain on both their families and the realm as a whole.

The screenshot above shows the levies available to the realm. Demesne levies are those drawn from your personal holdings; they always get the full amount, barring penalties. Vassal levies are those provided by lords that serve you, which is a percentage of their total levies based on realm laws and how much they like you. In Sancho's case he only has two vassals, and both have barely any troops to begin with, so most of his come from his demesne.


(in a strange twist of fate, our Marshal, who is commanding the left flank, is also named Sancho)
The levies themselves are divided up into a number of different troop types. From top to bottom they are:
light infantry - weak but come in large numbers
heavy infantry - solid melee combatants
pikemen - extremely effective against cavalry
light cavalry - decent in melee but excel at running down routing troops
heavy cavalry - proper knights, devastating against anything but pikemen
archers - vulnerable in melee but dominates skirmish phases

That should be enough info about levies. Let's take a look at the map:

Sancho (green troop bars), his allies (blue) and his enemies (red) have all raised their levies and are consolidating them. Sancho only has around 1700 troops but his allies bring a total of just under 10000; Ahmad doesn't stand a chance.

While some of Sancho's allies engage the enemy forces, Sancho himself lays siege to Saraqusta castle along with the rest of the allied army.

Sieges, as in real life, are long slogs that basically come down to camping an army outside of a castle or city until they run out of food and surrender. Depending on how fortified it is this can take anywhere from a few weeks to over a year. Due to this it is preferable to rack up as much war score as possible by defeating armies, but in most cases you will have to at least capture the county or counties you are fighting over.

Each county can have multiple holdings: castles, cities and churches. Castles are the most heavily fortitied; cities and churches fall much quicker. Saraqusta has one of each.



After about five months Sancho and friends capture Saraqusta castle. Along with it we get a prize: Yusuf, the son of the Emir! Combined with the capture of the castle this adds greatly to the warscore.

One final pitched battle later, the war score has reached 100%, and surrender can be forced. The duchy of Aragon is back in the hands of its rightful lord. Yusuf is released as part of the peace deal. I should've ransomed him during the war for a bit of extra gold.


One last look at the map with Sancho's new territory:

Much more befitting of a king than the single county he had at the beginning.

Anyways, that's it for this update. If you have any questions about what's going on or what any of the numbers or icons mean, please ask. After all it's no fun if nobody understands what's happening.

I understand that you want to win

You should have forced Yusuf to be your wife

Part 2:
13 July, 1067
With the Duchy of Aragon (core of the larger Kingdom of Aragon) retaken in full, Sancho is now in a better position to push more aggressively into the lands of the Muslims.


This is the religious map mode. Beige indicates Catholic, and green indicates Muslim. The white county on the west coast is Santiago, a Holy Site. Each religion has a number of Holy Sites; possessing them strengthens the authority of the religion, reducing the chance of heresies springing up, among other things.
Checked green-on-biege indicates a Catholic province ruled by a Muslim lord. Lands like this are always a juicy target; conquered counties of different religions take much longer to be productive. So the next target will be the three counties in the middle of the screen shot, the Duchy of Toledo, currently ruled by Emir Yahya of the House of Dhunnunid (an Emir is equivalent to a Duke).

Unlike the first war, however, this one will not be as lopsided; the central position of Toledo means almost all of the Islamic realms in Spain will be able to join in. Still, I'm fairly confident that it will end in victory, particularly since the retaking of Aragon has provided Sancho with nearly 5000 more troops.

As before, our allies all join in. Only one Muslim lord has joined in so far but more will likely join in the coming months.


Ouch. Being maimed is the more severe of the two "wounded" traits, and is unlikely to ever go away. Fortunately Sancho is still young and otherwise healthy so he shouldn't wind up dead any time soon.
On the bright side, Sancho's wife Isabel is pregnant. This will be Sancho's first (and hopefully not last) child.


Another blow scored for Christianity.


Aragon is now the largest Christian kingdom in Spain, with 7 counties and 23 individual holdings. So large, in fact, that Sancho can no longer control it all himself. Time to create a vassal!


Of the various non-landed members of Sancho's court, his spymaster Vermudo seems like the best option. By doing this he will become a lord in his own right, with Sancho as his liege, and he will be obligated to provide some of his troops if requested. As an additional bonus, granting a fief to a character makes them like you a lot more for a long time.

The King of Leon, one of Sancho's allies, has managed to get himself into a Holy War of his own, but unlike Sancho his war is not going very well. Sancho will lend a hand, of course.


During the war Sancho's child is born, a child named Onega. Since the blood laws of Aragon are agnatic-cognatic, she can potentially take the throne, but only if no male heirs are born.

Sadly, due to the King of Leon's incompetence, the war is lost. Since it was an offensive war, no Christian lands were taken by the enemy, but it cost him dearly in wealth and prestige.


Sancho has tasted success and he likes it. Ambitious is a great trait for a ruler but a bad one for a vassal; ambitious characters are better at everything but will actively work against anyone from whom they stand to gain something.


Another child on the way (and this time I remembered to get a shot of the popup).

While the two wars to date have both been against Muslims, the Duke of Barcelona is becoming a serious threat. Barcelona is traditionally a part of Aragon but Duke Ramon-Berenguer refuses to submit to our rightful rule. He is currently attempting to expand to the south, into lands that are also rightfully ours. It might be necessary to nip this in the bud. By taking the capital of Barcelona, Sancho will send him a very pointed message: one way or the other, Aragon will be whole again.

Because the Duke of Barcelona has only slightly fewer troops than Sancho does, it is a good idea to tip the scales by employing mercenaries.

Mercenaries are bands of troops that require a large initial investment to hire as well as a large monthly upkeep. However, they are often better than regular levies and can be hired and put into action very quickly.


A son is born. Osorio will be the next King of Aragon, barring an early death.
(interesting note: the game's random name generator prefers names from your family tree, so if you name a kid something stupid like Dongs you may end up with AI members of your dynasty naming their children Dongs III or whatever in a few generations)


Sancho's sister Urraca has been caught in a most insidious plot to kill Sancho's newborn child. Such villainy has earned her a room in the dungeon.


Barcelona has been taken and Duke Ramon's ambitions have been quashed.
Not long after, Sancho's murderous sister Urraca dies in the dungeon. No big loss.

In the west, one of Sancho's allies - the King of Castile - is winning a war to take the kingdom of Leon from his other ally. This could be a dangerous state of affairs; with both kingdoms Castile will be stronger than Aragon, and also capable of snatching up Muslim lands that Sancho might be eyeing.

That's it for this update. A final look at the map of Spain for this session:


Oh, and something I should have said when I started this LP: if anyone has names for kids, go ahead and list them. I don't care how stupid they are, if you suggest them they'll get in eventually. Specify if they're for boys, girls or either.

Your kingdom gettin' swole. Also, fucking useless-ass King of Leon and your evil sister. It's like FF8 all over again and you're the only competent one.

Name your next two babies Slothgor and Destiny's Child.

Part 4
6 June, 1073
With the near-total focus on warfare in the previous two updates you might get the idea that CK2 is mostly a wargame. So for this update I'm going to go into detail about other things, since they're just as, if not more important than, the warfare aspect.


Titles are titles a character currently possesses, and claims are titles they have a personal right to, but do not currently hold; this doesn't include De Jure claims, which I'll talk about later. Sancho possesses (obviously) the Kingdom of Aragon, as well as the Duchy of Aragon and a number of counties. He doesn't have any claims, although in this case he doesn't really need them to expand, as you've seen already.

The family pane is mostly obvious. Skulls indicate that a family member is dead, with white skulls indicating a natural death and red skulls indicating a death from some unfortunate occurance; assassination, slain in battle, etc. Wards are children that the character is currently tutoring. Proper education can make a huge difference in how your kids turn out, so finding good tutors can be almost as important as arranging good marriages for them.

Blood drops indicate relatives; the big ones in the screen shot represent close family, smaller drops represent more distant kin, and black drops indicate bastards. The crown indicates your heir; since your heir has to be of your family anyways, a blood drop isn't shown.

In the center-right of the character pane is the characters traits and abilities. Abilities influence how good a character is, and traits are physical or psychological features that modify your abilities, as well as affecting the choices and options you have available. Additionally, AI controlled characters will play to their traits.


This is Sancho's son, Osorio. While characters cannot get married until they're both 16, they can have marriages arranged for them as soon as they're born. Marriages are generally done for one of two purposes: forging alliances, or expanding. For the former you want to marry (or arrange for your kids to marry) powerful lords, preferably ones of an equal or higher rank than yourself. For the latter, you want to marry people with titles or claims that your children (or your grandchildren) can inherit.

Also you might notice that he has no traits and almost no abilities; these will come as he grows up and is educated, although the parents also have an inherent impact on their kids (in particular, some traits are "genetic" and have a chance of being passed down if one or more parents possesses them).


Clicking the two rings on a character in your court will bring up a list of eligible marriage candidates. The list is sorted by importance, with independent lords and children of kings at the top, and lowborn (non-noble) characters at the bottom.
In this case, the best option is probably Jacinta, second daughter of King Garcia II of Galicia. She's of similar age, and while she has no titles, she's third in line for the crown. This means that when her father dies she will get a claim to the throne that may come in handy somewhere down the line.

Betrothals can be broken, but doing so will result in animosity between the two rulers who made it. Sometimes it's worth it, though, if a much better marriage candidate shows up.



This screen is where you can start/cancel plots, examine known plots and any prisoners you might have, and make various decisions that can affect your realm. There's a variety of plots but as the name might indicate, they all involve a measure of skulduggery. Plots are hidden until discovered, and most are considered dishonourable and possibly grounds for imprisonment. None of the ones available to Sancho are useful at the moment, though.


Factions are the in-plain-sight counterpart to plots. They're all political in nature and involve vassals making demands from a liege on threat of rebellion. An independent lord can't join or form a faction, he can only be the target of one. Fortunately Sancho isn't the target of any. Yet.

That's it for now. It's just a short one but I will do another tomorrow or the day after.

GO BUTCHER A CIVILIZATION!!!!

DONT WORRY STILL PLENTY OF THAT TO COME

Part 5
22 June, 1073
With the other Spanish kings engaged in a succession battle, we are wide open to claim more Muslim-ruled lands. The Emirate of Badajoz has two Christian counties (out of four total), which makes it a more valuable goal than the solidly Muslim lands in the southern half of Spain.

Of concern is the possibility that the Muslim rulers to the south of the Straight of Gibralter will join in. However, they are engaged in their own wars, so if the war is quick risks should be minimal.

Unfortunately, a most unfortunate occurance has... occured.

Weakened by the grievous injuries inflicted on him years ago, Sancho has passed away in the prime of his life, leaving an infant son with the crown. This in immensely dangerous position to be in; a child ruler is a prime target for any member of the family that has a claim of their own to the throne. On the other hand, since Sancho is dead, any truces he had with other lords are now gone, which means Osorio doesn't have to wait the whole 10 years Sancho would have.

Despite every Muslim ruler in Spain joining in the war, the might of the allied Spanish kings is too great.

However, during the war, something major has happened:

Sancho II of Castille has succeeded in his succession war against Leon and now holds both crowns. Even with the addition of Badajoz, Castille is now almost as large as Aragon - 10 counties in Castille vs. 12 in Aragon. Fortunately, if I'm aggressive enough, they won't have any room to expand further.

Throwing away the momentum I have now would be silly, so immediately after the first war concludes, another is declared on the Dhunnunid Emirate for control of Valencia to my south, another duchy that rightfully is mine. I use a holy way, since it will allow me to take the entire duchy, and not just a county.

Unlike Badajoz there are no Christian counties in Valencia, so for a while it will be nothing but unproductive extra land.

After winning the siege of Castello, the wife of the Emir is captured.

Since he doesn't like her, he is not willing to pay a ransom for her. So for now she'll stay in the dungeon.

Interestingly enough, while at war with the Dhunnunids, the Abbadids declare war on me.

I'm not sure why, since with my allies I greatly outmatch him.

Shortly after, Valencia is mine. Time to stomp some Abbadids into the dust. Before that, though, a short detour to discuss a very nice feature added in one of the earlier expansions.

Retinues
Whereas levies are finicky things that must be raised and consolidated before use, retinues are an elite personal guard that never stands down. On top of that, their composition can be carefully planned by the player, allowing much finer control over what kind of troops you field and the tactics they use in battles. Retinues are generally greatly superior to levies, capable of defeating 2-3x their number, or more.

Retinues in some ways resemble mercenaries; they replenish themselves while active (levies need to be disbanded and reformed to recover strength) and they cost a chunk of gold when initially hired. However, unlike mercenaries, they only cost gold when recovering their strength; otherwise they are free of upkeep.
Retinues come in 500 man units, and the number of retinues your realm can have is based on its total holdings and personal demesne upgrades, modified by technology. The actual amount of retinues depends on the type, since certain retinues cost more than others in terms of capacity; a retinue of 500 light cavalry takes up twice as much capacity as a retinue of 500 light infantry.
In my case, I'm going to go with an even mix of Defense retinues (300 pikemen, 200 archers) and Skirmish retinues (400 archers, 100 heavy infantry). This combination results in both a heavy, durable melee force, along with the ability to deliver devastating arrow volleys. I have just enough for one of each.


In a great coup, my forces capture the Abbadid Emir. When you capture the leader of a war against you, you can immediately force a surrender, freeing them in the process. However, I'm already winning, so instead I ransom him for a hefty 145 gold.

Amusingly enough, a week later I also capture his brother and sister during a siege, who I ransom for another 10 gold each.

After a few field battles with the Emir's pathetic army, I am able to push for his surrender. Because I'm the defender, no land changes hand, but surrendering a holy war is extremely costly for the attacker.

(side note: "Surrender" means YOU are surrendering; "Enforce Demands" means the enemy is being asked/forced to surrender.)
Not only does it cost him a large amount of gold, prestige and piety, it weakens the moral authority of the Sunni faith as a whole, while strengthening Catholicism. The constant wars have drained my coffers, but between ransoming the Emir and winning the war, I've made it back, plus extra.

Shortly after, I receive a call-to-arms to defend an ally against... rebels?

Well, obviously they must be some pretty scary rebels to warrant bringing in an al-

...

With my levies recovering and my retinues at full strength, I can afford to disband my mercenary squad, saving me a big chunk of monthly upkeep. To celebrate, I declare war on the child Emir of the Amirids, who still holds a few counties that are rightfully mine. Since it isn't a holy war this time, and he has no allies, it's a short and simple war. Less simple is the final war against the Afrasids on the west coast.


There are many such random events in the game; if I showed all the minor ones that popped up, this LP would be a dozen pages long. They add greatly to the experience and immersion, however. This one is the result of a skilled steward collecting taxes. Sometimes, especially if the steward has low skills, it can result in him being beaten and injured instead.


With the surrender of the Afrasids, Aragon now stretches from coast to coast. It is nearly twice the size of Castille, the second-largest of the Christian kingdoms in Spain.


Of course, it is still nothing compared to the behemoths that are France and the Holy Roman Empire. Although France seems to have lost Normandy to the English.

Aragon has expanded drastically (seriously, compare the last shot with the last one from the previous update) and the triumph of Christianity (and me) in Spain is now all but certain; once the remaining fragments are dealt with, the only remaining roadblock to total domination of the Iberian peninsula will be my own allies.

That's it for this update. As always, all suggestions, questions, or names for kids are welcome (I still haven't had a chance to use the two posted, since Sancho died before he had any more).

RIP Sancho. You will be remembered you beautiful, maimed cripple. But the real question is, how did the rebels fare? Maybe they were just peaceful demonstrators, brah.

Also, name two other kids Nathaniel and Superfly.

Burn italy to the ground.

SANCHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!