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Dutchy of Antioch (Greek/Orthodox/Fuedal.  Unmarried 19 y/o with one daughter.  Dead Uncle was former Emperor.  End point of Silk Road.  Vassal of Byzantines.)

6 (10.2%)

County of Orvieto (Italian/Orthodox/Fuedal.  Unmarried 27 y/o with one son.  Vassal of the Pope.)

9 (15.3%)

Duke of Salerno (Lombard/Orthodox/Fuedal.  Unmarried 31 y/o with many siblings.  Last Lombard ruler I can find.  Can conquer Amalfi.  Independent.)

6 (10.2%)

High Chief of Ryazan (Russian/Orthodox/Tribal.  Married 39 y/o with four sons.  Many claims.  Independent.)

4 (6.8%)

Petty Kingdom of Powys (Welsh/Catholic/Fuedal.  Married 41 y/o with several kids.  Strongest Welsh ruler.  Independent.)

3 (5.1%)

Count of Aargau (German/Catholic/Fuedal.  Married 41 y/o with Son and Daughter.  Controlled by von Habsburg.  Vassal of HRE.)

5 (8.5%)

Duke of Translyvania (Hungarian/Catholic/Fuedal.  Unmarried 19 y/o with many siblings.  Father was former King.  Cousin current.  Vassal of Hungary.)

9 (15.3%)

Count Sigfus of Vestisland (Norwegian/Catholic/Fuedal.  Unmarried 28 y/o with 1 son.  Make Iceland relevant.  Vassal of Island.)

6 (10.2%)

Petty King of Makuria (Nubian/Miaphysite/Fuedal.  Unmarried 27 y/o with 1 son.  Heir of high chiefdom of Alodia.  Independent.)

4 (6.8%)

Count of Trinkitat (Nubian/Miaphysite/Fuedal.  Unmarried 21 y/o with no heirs.  Strongest single county nation in Nubia.  Independent.)

4 (6.8%)

Screw these guys, I want a ruler designed person.  (Suggest a site.)

3 (5.1%)

Total Members Voted: 28

[Twinwolf]

Welp. Will have to just watch, then.

[Persus13]

I picked up Conclave in the Winter Sale, so I'm available for turns again.

EDIT: I will be traveling for most of January, so I won't be able to take a turn during that time.

[PTTG??]

Ok, I'm here and loading the save.

[PTTG??]

Ermenegilda, Father has now died. I doubt you will find him in Heaven. I suppose I should be rejoicing that I must no longer listen to that old cow-headed oaf, and yet... at least he handled the troubles of state with some competence. Now I must take stock of the situation I find myself in, and see if I have the capability to handle these challenges. I beg you indulge my considerations.

First, myself: I am humble, zealous, temperate, and I am a scholar of theology. I must recognize my limitations, however; I am not gregarious, and I see no point in careful considerations. There is one other failing of mine, and know, my dear sister Ermenegilda, I would only tell you; I have no interests in the charms of women.

Now on to my Dukedom.

Spoiler: A rough drawing of a map (click to show/hide)

Father's little adventures have claimed a great deal of Africa and shores of the Red Sea. And two counties in Spain. Father has also left me two holy wars, more for his glory than for God's. My capital in Alexandria is prospering for now, and I have fifteen thousand men at my command.

I have no chancellor, no marshal, no steward. Only that old spymaster Oberto and Valerio the chaplain are on my council now. I must interview replacements carefully. I must find loyalists unconnected to the factions within Ascalon -- one is controlled by countess Nunzi, and one by Mayor Attilio, who has pretensions of controlling my council.

And, now I hold a letter from his Holyness himself appointing me his chancellor. Unworthy though I am, and unprepared though I may be, I will accept my Pope's request.

[PTTG??]

My chancellor shall be the Savin, the count of Mecca. He is married to a cousin of the dynasty and is a powerful lord.

Only one other man is powerful enough to demand a seat on the council -- Attilio, mayor of Amalfi. He leads a troublesome faction, and I see no particular reason to reward him for his disloyalty. His lack of notable skills aside from some capacity for skulking provides further reason not to select him for any task of import.

My marshal shall be Shujah, who has been castrated for some reason. It doesn't seem to limit his fighting ability, at least. finally, my steward shall be Wenzel von Holstein, who is a genius, especially in the field of stewardship.

I've seen to it that the smiths improve our heaviest armor and weapons. (heavy infantry goes to 4.)

I am unable to administer all of the territories I've inherited. I must raise up a new count. The provinces I control in Italy are the farthest from my capital that I do not directly control... That should do.

Hmmm... Baldovino is old and hideously ugly, has no children of his own. These titles won't stay out of the family for very long...

BLAST! Only after I gave him his title did Oberto inform me that Baldovino is his new liege. Well then, I'll have to find the next most qualified man...

ATTILIO!? No! I will not have a traitor as my own spymaster! I'd sooner hire someone from a foreign kingdom!


Perfect! Come, join me as my spymaster!


Grrrr. Looks like I'll have to lower my standards a bit.

Fine, you'll do.

At least I fulfilled my ambition to become a Councillor. Maybe I need to improve my stealth.

It has been only a few days that I've been Duke, and yet it feels like years. I'm sure that once I have cemented my power, time will fly by, but as it stands I've yet to even consider how to complete these holy wars.

Father's last orders included sending the army in Hayya north into the forces of the Baladid revolt. More alarming is the siege against the more northerly forces, which are seriously outnumbered. I've 900 men from Medina I can send north

I have a prison full of men and women from father's reign. I never bothered to look into his records and don't care who he crossed. I think I will ransom off whom I can and simply free the rest.

Wait, this Ashraft character has apparently been imprisoned for 26 years, thrown in prison when he was 8. and he is apparently my own vassal, and would be very important if he was released. Perhaps he should remain here for the next few years. Indeed, perhaps I should let sleeping dogs lie. If my

Oh, and there is one more thing, Ermenegilda; I must consider my betrothal to Augusta. She is a distant cousin. And eleven years younger than I. What was Father thinking? On the other hand... This might allow me a visible reason to avoid her as much as possible.

Speaking of, Gonzalo has arrived and taken his place as my spymaster.

[Zanzetkuken The Great]

You know, the church in this reality will have a really hard time being against homosexuals, when their single most important vassal for several years was gay.  It'll be even more difficult if he manages to be the second Orsini to earn the title of 'the Great'.

[PTTG??]

You know, the church in this reality will have a really hard time being against homosexuals, when their single most important vassal for several years was gay.  It'll be even more difficult if he manages to be the second Orsini to earn the title of 'the Great'.

They should have had bigger problems with the whole "thou shalt not kill" business, but hey.

February 1264:
Huzzah! What a glorious victory!



Who would have thought that a shy, humble priest such as myself could achieve so much in war? The glory of this war has given me the prestige needed to claim control of the Fatimid Emirate.



Bah! I'll have to use more direct means to prevent Countess Matild from taking control of Jerusalem. For now I must wait to see if she dares declare war on a fellow Christian.

March 1264:
Father never told me how boring sieges are. Six thousand men are trying to starve a mere two thousand out of the fortress at Quena. It will likely be months.

May 1264:



With the surrender of Sinai, one of Father's two holy wars have ended.

Later May 1264:
The entire revolt has collapsed; the holy war has ended inconclusively as the rebels I was fighting have rejoined their empire. At least I am able to dismiss my vassal's troops. As of today, I control these territories:



Now I must raise up a new vassal to administer these new territories. Let's see, there's this Jofre fellow, he's older than I and is a military man as well. I'll be able to re-organize those territories eventually if needed.

August 1264:
I am concerned.



I've worked hard to ensure that my council is loyal and content, and this is what I am presented with? I will monitor this cautiously.

Oh, and Augusta just turned 16. I guess I should marry her before she becomes an old maid? Gonzalo seems to be ignoring me...

Any thoughts on how to deal with these factions?

[Zanzetkuken The Great]

Any thoughts on how to deal with these factions?

Build up cash via the absurd amount we get per month, and wreck their armies piecemeal.  When they form up large, call in mercenaries.  Not Holy Orders, though.  They won't fight other Christians.

As well, maybe set up a plot to assassinate the latter guy.  The former is an old woman, so she may die during the war.  Latter is a bit more threatening.

Edit: Hang on, I thought you could only join one plot at a time.  Why are there some identical looking people in both plots?

[Iituem]

If I remember correctly, your betrothed should be a genius, at least.  Not too helpful given Fiorello's flaming homosexuality, but if he's forced to engage in heir production it might be to his advantage.

[Persus13]

You know, the church in this reality will have a really hard time being against homosexuals, when their single most important vassal for several years was gay.  It'll be even more difficult if he manages to be the second Orsini to earn the title of 'the Great'.

Medieval church politics were much more complex than that.

Edit: Hang on, I thought you could only join one plot at a time.  Why are there some identical looking people in both plots?

That's the factions screen.

Can we get an image of your character screen?

[PTTG??]

Sure, here's the screen:

[Persus13]

Thanks a lot, somehow was expecting a lot worse than Shy and Arbitrary.

[PTTG??]

October 1264:
I am on my way to facing a 5600-man siege from some rabble in Ascalon. Balaban's host.

However, I am also carefully considering the factions. They could certainly outnumber my forces. IF things come to a head, I will have no choice but to allow greater council power.

Later October 1264:
Pope Sergius VI has died. The new pope is Pope Nicolaus III, a notedly dull man.

November 1264:

Surprise reinforcement mean that they now outnumber us. But there's no turning back now... In fact, I feel invigorated by the challenge. The men now say they have a brave Duke. Perhaps.


December 1264:

We have won the day!

There is nothing for it; I have avoided facing Lord Mayor Attilio far too much. I will have him arrested today, in the shadow of today's victory.



Now what do I do with him, Ermenegilda? I suppose I must act swiftly, but my options are limited. I think it would be best simply to banish him; I would even obtain his wealth and split up his titles. On the other hand, executing him would solve the problem permanently, and hopefully send a message, but it would also anger my vassals unduly, and leave his lands consolidated. Very well, I will banish him.

I will distribute some small gifts among the most angered vassals and in time we will have some stability.

Days later:

I must admire his boldness. Let it not be said that I am unmerciful; I will allow him house arrest.

April 1265:
Iiinteresting... Duke Baldovino has declared his intention to attain greater power for the Papal council. While I am of course of the opinion that councils of Dukes should have no formal power, the Papal council is a different matter.... Yes, it makes a great deal of sense that I join in this faction. Together, we are much more than half of the Pope's own forces.

May 1265:


July 1265:
The faction for increased council power in my own domain is once again stronger than my own loyal forces. I cannot arrest everyone in my domain; I may have to aceed to their demands in the interests of avoiding a war.

[PTTG??]

July 1265:
Pope Sergius has appointed me as a Commander as well as his chancellor.

November 1265:

Well then. I will take up my loyal troops and set sail.

December 1265:

But of course! I'll put on my shabbiest finery and subtly join in with the smallfolk's conversations!

January 1266:


I knew this day would come. My only loyal troops are outnumbered, lead by one of the conspirators, and almost all loaded on ships in preparation of sending them to England. I truly do have no choice.

I will ensure that Bruto dies, of course.

February 1266:
My chaplain had died. In selecting a replacement, I have discovered that Shujah has orchestrated a revolt in the council; he called in a favor he had with my steward, who in turn was owed a favor by Gonzalo.

I see there is now no choice but to clear house entirely. To drain the fetid swamp of entrenched Councillors. Luckily none of them are powerful vassals.

Later February 1266:
I've gained some knowledge of skullduggery. Time to pick a new goal... You know, it would be good to have an heir, terrible though the thought is.

It seems that the next greatest threat is Countess Nunzia inexplicably trying to bring about gavelkind succession in the duchy. I'm not sure what she expects to gain, but she and her supporters have 93% of the strength I do.

Hopefully this crusade will help weaken the rebel forces. Yes... I'll form them into an army and send them on hopeless sieges. They'll lose enough men to be no threat to me for some time.

May 1266:

Well, time to find another new chaplain...


The boatload of sacrificial troops is still on its way. For now I will fight conservatively with my loyalists.

September 1266:

Apparently all it took was killing a few Aztecs. Who'd have thought?

October 1266:

I do not have time to deal with this. Make him disappear.

Later:


November 1266:
Blast! We've run out of money! This crusade is ruinous! My men have made some progress in securing Devon, but now I would be wise simply to retreat. When the rebellious troops arrive, at least I can ensure their death is swift and inexpensive.

January 1267:

My vassals' troops dispatched the revolvers after a few days.

February 1267:
ANOTHER revolt, this time in Almansa. I'll see if there are enough defenders to handle it there.

April 1267:

Finally. Hopefully they'll be crushed; I've already lowered the ships, so they'll never return. But my expenses are still absurdly high. I'm not sure how I can restore a positive income.

June 1267:

That's one conspirator down.

January 1268: Several more conspirators and disloyal vassals have been sacrificed by the Aztecs. And we're only ten months from restoring a positive balance! '68 is looking up!

February 1268:

Well now, I will see what this text has to say... (It grants Illumination, +0.05 Prestige and Piety per month!)

April 1268:
Pope Sergius V has been succeeded by Pope Gregorius VIII.

July 1268:
Countess Matild has finally succeeded in fabricating a claim on Jerusalem.... Only days later, she went through with the claim....

October 1268:
We have paid off our debts from the crusade. In celebration, my steward has stepped down.

November 1268:

THEY SAID IT COULDN'T BE DONE! Now let's never do that again.

March 1269:
I've been reading that mysterious book. It still eludes me.

June 1269:
I've become a mystic from reading the book. I suppose this will be useful.

Later June:

ONE TIME!
ONE SINGLE TIME! I knew it was a bad idea!

Also later June:

Well I guess she'll do. Too bad it couldn't have been a son, but I'm not going to be picky. On a day like this, it makes a man think of his legacy... I should find a suitable regent. Oh, and "Alisia" won't do at all. I'm naming her after you, Ermenegilda.

July 1270:
Some of the townsfolk are doing something new. I suppose. (upgraded town infrestructure)

August 1270:
France and the Holy Roman Empire have gone to war following HRE's upraising of an antipope. I will serve as the Pope's commander, and I believe I can even afford to raise up the vassals.

Meanwhile, the Aztec Crusade has slowed to a halt. We had almost won, but much of our progress has been lost.

February 1271:

A few days later, King Endre of Hungary just faked his own claim on Jerusalem. It's been my week, that's for sure.

On the other hand, I am a lunatic mystic duke, that's pretty awesome.

[PTTG??]

May 1272:
We have achieved a new height of majesty. (Upgraded Majesty tech to 5)

September 1272:

Technically, they can't prove I'm NOT a werewolf.

November 1272:

It's beautiful. Gonna send him to get to work.

What's Savin's problem? Angry because he's been outclassed?

Here's the stat page of my new favorite loyalist.

Actually, I can make Glitterhoof my designated regent, and I figure I aught to ask my daughter first, just in case the three-year-old has any useful input. What does she think?