It's a grand strategy game by Paradox Interactive. Basically you control the head of a noble dynasty during the times of the Crusades. You plot against other nobles, murder, forge documents so that you can invade someone, imprison vassals you don't like, etc. It's quite fun, and though the interface looks hard at first (like DF) once you get the hang of it it's easy. You can play as a Catholic noble (in the base game) or as a Muslim, Pagan, Jewish or even Zoroastrian with the various DLC. You can get it
on Steam, if you want.
So today I got the DLCs for Crusader Kings, thanks to Steam's spring sale. I've been playing vanilla CK2 for quite a while, and always wanted to make a Let's Play, but never really had the time. That, and the fact I've four months of holidays ahead, made me want to see if people would be interested in a community LP.
Basically, you (the readers) will choose the start date, the dynasty we'll play as, (optionally) how you want our initial character to be, and a general plan for the future. I'll start the game up and play for say, two years (or however long you'd prefer) and then post the important/interesting things that happened, with images. Then you comment on that and tell me what you want me to do (in a general sense or for specific things). I'll probably also ask you if any important choices (e.g. the emperor of the HRE demands we join his succession war for the French throne) pop up.
So, first things first:
- What start date? Any from 867 to 1453 A.D. is valid. These are the 'standard' start dates so you can get an idea.
This is the earliest start. Eastern Europe is a mess of (relatively) small Pagan states, Arabia is fragmented, the Muslims control all of Africa plus most of Spain, there's no HRE and again, all of Western Europe is divided into many independent kingdoms.
Arabia
Western Europe
Eastern Europe
The Mediterranean
This is the standard start for vanilla CK. In Arabia the Seljuks have conquered quite a bit of land, while Eastern Europe is still an unholy mess. The African and Spanish caliphates have fragmented, and the Catholic Hispanics also stand divided. France has acquired Aquitaine and the duke of Normandy is about to invade England (which is fighting against Norway, another invader). The HRE has formed and annexed most of Italy, and Ireland is safe from England for a bit, which makes it the easiest place to start.
Arabia
Western Europe
Eastern Europe
The Mediterranean
The Catholics have finally gotten their things together and the Pope calls for a crusade against the Arab Muslims (Saladin, to be precise, who controls Jerusalem). Eastern Europe is cleaner than before, but still pretty messy, as is Scandinavia. France has lost huge chunks of land to the English and Navarra, and the African Muslims are reunited again under the Almohads (in Spain and the west) and the Ayyubids in the east and Arabia. Sicily seceded from the HRE and controls the southern half of Italy, while Pisa and Genoa have conquered Sardinia and Corsica.
Arabia
Western Europe
Eastern Europe
The Mediterranean
A small, one-province state has appeared in Arabia. Said state is going to systematically murder their way west and basically destroy anyone who resists. Positive things about that: Eastern Europe is finally sort-of unified with Cumania and Novgorod (though there are still many annoying mini-states)! Byzantium lost most of its holdings east of Constantinople to the oddly-named Sultanate of Rum (Rome). In Africa-Spain the Almohads are losing one war after another to Castille while the lands south of the Sahara rebelled and formed Songhay and Timbuktu. England is annexing Ireland, but has lost half of its territory in France. The HRE reconquered Sicily, and Pisa and Genoa are still claiming land in Italy (particularly the former).
Arabia
Western Europe
Eastern Europe
The Mediterranean
This is if we want to play a republic. They are not only powerful but everywhere in 1241. Also, the Mongols have rampaged their way through Eastern Europe and towards the HRE, but stopped as Genghis died and fragmented into the Golden Horde, the Ilkhanate and some others. Arabia is still under the thumb of the Ayyubids, while Byzantium has pushed the Sultanate of Rum further east. The mini-states of Eastern Europe are no more (thank you Mongols) and several strong nations have risen in Scandinavia. Timbuktu has renamed itself Mali, while the Almohads have lost all but a foothold in Spain to the huge state of Castille. France is once again filled with red and yellow spots of England and Navarra, and Norway took a good part of Scotland. In Italy, Pisa took more land and Genoa lost it. And in the HRE, the Hanseatic League was created (but is not visible because they're a vassal).
Arabia
Western Europe
Eastern Europe
The Mediterranean
Guess who was first in line for acquiring the other half of the French territories they hadn't yet taken? The English, that's who! But for some strange reason the French said nu-uh and crowned a pretender. Which means the two are going to be fighting and warring and stuff for quite some time. Meanwhile, the Ilkhanate has taken lots of land east of Byzantium. The Muslim states have fragmented and are warring amongst themselves. Sweden is halfway to unifying Scandinavia and the Golden Horde is marchign west. And Mali annexed Songhay. Also Italy has turned into an unholy mess formed mainly by the Papacy, Naples, and Pisa.
Arabia
Western Europe
Eastern Europe
The Mediterranean
- What dynasty/nation? Obviously this is dependent on the start date. I don't mind being a vassal, but we can't play as any rank below count. The character itself that we'll start as isn't as important, since we can modify his traits/name/etc with the Ruler Designer.
- What style would you prefer I play/write with? Maximize all characters and game the system as much as I can (e.g. Murder our wife/husband/sons/parents/other relations to acquire lands)? Be sensible, but still make it funny (the middle ground) Be more story-focused and justify decisions, even choosing 'bad' ones because they fit the character (e.g. Gift money to the Pope and go on all crusades if we have the Zealous trait)? Other?
Do ask if there's anything I missed, I can be a bit forgetful at times.
Author
Topic: Let's Play Crusader Kings II! (Read 3888 times)