An upcoming CKII Let's Play

[Sudanna]

Crusader Kings II, for those unfamiliar, is a game of grand strategy, dynastic roleplaying, medieval intrigue, and wacky hijinks. You start at some date in history as the ruler of some realm, control it until they die, and then play as their heir. This continues until either the end date in 1453, until you lose all of your territory, or until your dynasty is wiped out. The fun's not necessarily in creating a world-spanning empire so much as in making the game interesting; it's the kind of game where it's fun to lose.

 

Previous games of mine have involved an Irish Caliphate, the restored Roman Empire sharing a border with the Holy Roman Empire, an Empire of Scandinavia stretching from Finland down to the boot of Italy, the entire Byzantine Empire becoming a merchant republic, Iceland becoming Israel, and more. Like I said: wacky hijinks.

 

Here are some maps!

Terrain:

 

 

Political:

 

 

Religious:

 

 

 

As you can see, there's a lot of stuff to choose from. That's where you come in! This LP is going to have audience participation. Which means, sometimes I'll ask you guys what you want me to do next, and you'll tell me. Starting with the start! Who should we play as?

 

Now, I don't expect a specific name or anything, but what general sort of thing would you like to see? There's a couple things that will determine who we play as, so look at the maps, take in the options, and tell me what looks interesting.

 

What religion should we be? A loyal Catholic, beating back the pagans and heretics? A Byzantine Orthodox, striving to mend the Great Schism? A mighty Norse viking, conquering in the name of Odin? A Sunni Muslim, standing firm against the Crusades? A Hungarian Tengri, sitting at the very doorstep of the Catholics? A Jew, seeking to restore the Kingdom of Israel? Religion will determine a lot of who I will and will not be friends with, and sharing a border with a religious enemy is a good way to expand(or die horribly). Different religions also have some unique mechanics: Catholics have a lot of politicking around the Pope, pagans can try to reform their religions to put them on equal footing with the Abrahamic faiths, Muslims have the Shia/Sunni and Mutazili/Ashari internal divides, there's a lot of stuff there. Or just pick whatever sounds coolest!

 

Where should we start? Central Europe? The British Isles, as an invading Norse pagan or the Catholics resisting them? Scandinavia, as a jarl fighting for dominance? The Near East, as a Muslim consolidating the empire to stand against the Crusades? Africa, as a doomed West African pagan, an emerging Muslim emirate, or a fading Miaphysite Christian? Russia, as a Romuva or Suomenusko pagan in a sea of petty duchies? Our neighbors are going to be a big part of our lives, since we'll probably end up killing each other or desperately banding together to avoid being killed by someone else. Bordering a huge empire as a tiny county would be a death sentence, but ruling a huge empire would be too easy. A lot of small duchies in one area means a lot of opportunity and scheming, but it might be hard to get ahead. Remember, losing is fun!

 

As a similar question, what level should we start at, and should we be independent or not? There are four levels of rulers in CKII: counts, dukes, kings, and emperors. The difference is pretty much entirely in how big of a realm you're in charge of and who can and cannot be your vassal. Think of vassals like governors: the Byzantine Emperor can't possibly manage every little thing about his huge empire all by himself, so he puts a duke in charge of part of it. All four levels can be independent rulers, but we could also start as someone's vassal - scheming to steal the throne from underneath them, of course. I'd rather we not start as anything higher than a duke: a lot of the fun in CKII is clawing your way up from nothing, and things can settle down a lot when you're a powerful, independent leader.

 

If you guys really want to make an informed decision, there's a wiki with a lot of information. But you by no means need to; pick whatever sounds the coolest and I can suss out the details and make it work. Making it work is another thing that's fun.

 

One last note: this LP is going to be in-character. I'll be writing this from the point of view of the person we're playing as. The characters in CKII are the most important part, far more so than the realms, religions, or wars. After all, what are any of those without people? Characters are mostly randomly generated as you go along, and their personalities and relationships can be surprisingly complex. So there'll be no dry, clear-cut progression of power generation through generation. People are not that cooperative. People are more entertaining. But remember, losing is fun, and so is roleplaying. Whether these two are related remains to be seen.

[Lilith]

given how Eurocentric Paradox games can sometimes be, "emerging Muslim emirate in Africa" sounds like a fun breath of fresh air. start at duke level i guess? i'm not an expert on African history during the Crusades so i don't know if it makes more sense for us to be independent or not

[Ouroboros]

I vote for Near east muslim count.

[Edgwyn]

I believe that the Sunni's were dominant at the time, at least in the Mediterranean basin, so I would go with them as there will be enough problems dealing with the crusaders and mongol hoards. May be start in the Nile Delta region.