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[snelg]

Well I am playing as Trier, and for some reason, my neighbor (forgot the name) who has the same number of provinces (2), smaller population, same trade goods, less/worse merchants in the CoT's, more/more expensive non economy related advisors, and a non economy related idea (I have an economy related one) has similar income to me, yet has 4 more armies (me 6, him 10).

He has had no inflation increase for the past dozen years, I have my army maintenance all the way down, I even have more advanced tech allowing me to build buildings earlier then him..... The only reason I can think of is war subsidies or taxes but he isn't at war. He is however allied with Burgundy but I don't see how that can get him money. I am baffled at how he can maintain such an army while I have a smaller one yet am at the edge of going negative per year.

There are a couple of things affecting how high force limit you can get. How high tax income is for instance.
But also things like government (feudal monarchies get a 20% bonus ),
national ideas (grand army gives another 33% I believe) and
sliders (going full land gives you another 25% and Land combined with serfdom and quantity makes the actual cost 1/3 or so).
Also, having vassals can increase your force limit a lot (at least in Divine wind).
I don't think they're the emperor, but that gives a HUGE amount as well. Especially for a smaller country.

edit: You can find some more information here:
http://www.paradoxian.org/eu3wiki/Force_limit#Force_Limit

[Micro102]

Well I am playing as Trier, and for some reason, my neighbor (forgot the name) who has the same number of provinces (2), smaller population, same trade goods, less/worse merchants in the CoT's, more/more expensive non economy related advisors, and a non economy related idea (I have an economy related one) has similar income to me, yet has 4 more armies (me 6, him 10).

He has had no inflation increase for the past dozen years, I have my army maintenance all the way down, I even have more advanced tech allowing me to build buildings earlier then him..... The only reason I can think of is war subsidies or taxes but he isn't at war. He is however allied with Burgundy but I don't see how that can get him money. I am baffled at how he can maintain such an army while I have a smaller one yet am at the edge of going negative per year.

There are a couple of things affecting how high force limit you can get. How high tax income is for instance.
But also things like government (feudal monarchies get a 20% bonus ),
national ideas (grand army gives another 33% I believe) and
sliders (going full land gives you another 25% and Land combined with serfdom and quantity makes the actual cost 1/3 or so).
Also, having vassals can increase your force limit a lot (at least in Divine wind).
I don't think they're the emperor, but that gives a HUGE amount as well. Especially for a smaller country.

edit: You can find some more information here:
http://www.paradoxian.org/eu3wiki/Force_limit#Force_Limit

Thx I'll have to check out what he has. Maybe I am already past my force limit.

[snelg]

Thx I'll have to check out what he has. Maybe I am already past my force limit.

Remember that the force limit isn't a hard-cap either. It is possible to go over it, especially as a small country with a good trade income.

[Micro102]

Yeah but it costs more. I can only assume they are somehow getting their cap really high, and mine is really low, and I am going over it while they are under it.


And while I'm posting I might as well ask, I was playing as aztecs, and I skipped years until the 1500's.... I have seen no Europeans. I thought they were suppose to come earlier.

[snelg]

Yeah but it costs more. I can only assume they are somehow getting their cap really high, and mine is really low, and I am going over it while they are under it.


And while I'm posting I might as well ask, I was playing as aztecs, and I skipped years until the 1500's.... I have seen no Europeans. I thought they were suppose to come earlier.

I believe it varies quite a bit. Playing cherokee I spotted a ship from portugal around 1500 but didn't see a colony until some 100 years after that. When I finally got the maps for Europe things were quite messed up as all colonisers except Spain had been severely beaten up or annexed. And Spain were busy kicking around in north Africa. . . Finally got a border with Prussia and westernised.
if all goes well for them, I'd expect them to hit the first islands in the carribean and eastern south America before 1500. But they CAN attack the natives as soon as they find them (sometimes a lot sooner), I'm not sure excactly what makes the AI go after natives though.

[Dutchling]

I'm playing as Muscovy and I've vassalized most (5) of the Russian minors and annexed one or two. I just started a war to annex another minor.
Novgorod guaranteed it but I didn't think that would matter because I've beaten Novgorod two years earlier. Only Novgorod was allied to Kiev (holds most of Lithuania) and Sweden. And Sweden was allied to Bohemia.
Luckily Bohemia wasn't the emperor and is too far away to do anything but Sweden decided to not go the historical way and helped Novgorod. Kiev also has a slightly larger army than I expected.
My army in then north is now completely annihilated and the only reason the southern army still exists is the fact that I keep attacking the Kiev army to keep it's morale down. They keep fleeing but because my army is twice as small I can't kill them.

This is the first real war in this game so far

[Micro102]

I have no Casus Belli to anyone around me, they are all allied or guaranteed Independence by guys who can instantly crush me (why won't anyone guarantee me independence? ) And very few people, even ones who love me, won't make alliances with me. What do i do? I'm still playing as trier.

[Tarran]

For Casus Belli:

If you're a kingdom, you can gain a Casus Belli on people with a disputed throne (who are also kingdoms) via using the Fabricate Claim (or something like that) spy option.

For not being able to do anything:

Well, I can't think of anything that could help you. Just wait. Sometimes, games require waiting.

[Micro102]

It's been dozens of years 

And I don't have a king.

Need faster speed up button.

[snelg]

If you're small and stability comes cheap you can go to war without a casus belli. It's going to cost some infamy but depending on your goals it might be worth it. Getting some vassals might be a good idea since they'll be your best friend forever after 2 infamy/stability to declare war (if it's in the HRE you'll probably get a couple of them) and 4 infamy each to peace. Even without casus belli.
You'll get half their tax income, half their force limit and won't have to deal with unlawful imperial provinces, higher tech costs or higher stability costs.

[Tarran]

If you're small and stability comes cheap you can go to war without a casus belli. It's going to cost some infamy but depending on your goals it might be worth it.

He's Trier: He's HRE. He's alone without allies. He's a minor. Declaring without a CB in the empire is suicide since the emperor will defend any HRE nation that has been DOW'd with no CB.

[AussieGuy]

What would be a good smallish nation for a less then average player? I played one game of great Britain, but I tend to dislike playing a superpower, and not making a small nation big.

[Lightning4]

Kind of a difficult question, which really depends on your definition of superpower. Though I can list off a few (European) nations you might want to look at.

Scotland - Though once you kick off England you're probably in the same position as your last game. A little tougher doing it, I'd imagine.
Teutonic Order - Technologically advantaged but surrounded by larger nations.
Italian nations - Most of them have at least a few provinces to work with. Naples and Milan are the biggest.
Burgundy - Tough if you're playing In Nomine, France is a killer. Otherwise I've heard they can basically be just as strong as France, so it might not be a good choice if you're looking to avoid superpowers.
Aragon - Not terribly weak but you have to worry about France sooner than Castille.
Brittany - Again, if you're playing In Nomine, you're going to be in for a challenge.
German nations - There's a few modest sized ones mixed in between all the OPMs. Bavaria and Brandenburg come to mind. Though whether you want to be part of the HRE politics, well, that's up to you.
Holland (Or nearby OPMs) - Possibly another choice. Starts really small but can easily become one of the wealthiest nations.
Portugal? - Not exactly large, though some consider it a superpower. Good if you're aiming for colonies.

These are the nations I can think of. Not terribly small, but not really superpowers. They shouldn't be too hard to play.

Now if you're aiming for something non-European, well, I can't make any suggestions there. Though I wouldn't go for an African or New World nation if you're still relatively inexperienced at the game.

[Tarran]

Hmmm... a few I can think of off the top of my head:

Bavaria: Somewhat large (I think three provinces), semi-decent expansion options. Extremely safe location.
Naples: Direct access to Mediterranean. Half of Italy. Not bad, many expansion options. Relatively safe location.

...

That's all that I can think off. Most of the other, medium sized nations are either too hard (for a less-than-average player), too easy, or I haven't played them before.

[snelg]

If you're small and stability comes cheap you can go to war without a casus belli. It's going to cost some infamy but depending on your goals it might be worth it.

He's Trier: He's HRE. He's alone without allies. He's a minor. Declaring without a CB in the empire is suicide since the emperor will defend any HRE nation that has been DOW'd with no CB.

That really depends on who is the emperor and how good they are doing. Sometimes it's enough for them to be busy somewhere else not to join the war at all or if they're busy in France/Burgundy you can get away even if they join the war. Though Trier might be a little close in that case.
If there's no way the emperor is going to let you be there's usually some targets outside the empire as well. With some military access you can go pretty much anywhere in Europe unless everyone hates yourr guts. And they probably won't get to you.

If there's no targets at all you can get a casus belli by claiming thrones either through royal marriage or espionage. This works really well in the HRE since when you inherit provinces of the same cultural group you get a core on them. Most of the HRE is the same cultural group.

Well, if all else fails there's the reformation coming up after 1500. Grab the Unam sanctum national idea and enjoy casus belli on all heretics.