Crusader Kings 2 night

[small502]

So recently I've been playing a LOT of CKII. Ive been curious about how the game would play with a lot of people. I say we should get a large game going sometime!

[Boss Llama]

Fantastic game, but it can really eat time! I've got around 75 hours in my single player game, and am perhaps half-way through it. Currently running an empire consisting of the kingdoms of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Africa, Egypt, Acquitane, Brittany, France, Andalusia, Aragon, Castille, Galicia, Léon, Navarra, and Portugal, and some assorted counties in the Mediterranean and in modern-day Italy and the holy lands.

Holy Roman Empire, you're next! You owe me Burgandy!

[small502]

Ive put in about 82 hours in now though i never succeed in winning... The HRE is a pushover when you finally fight em! All you need is a few mercenary bands. They take out themselves by size alone

[Boss Llama]

Hehe, I figure it'll be something I deal with after my heir becomes king - don't want to have my current oldster die in the middle of a huge war. That, or I'll marry my son to some HRE descendent with a weak claim, then assasinate their king in the minority of the right heir and declare war to press my daughter in law's claim or something. Worked against France!

I can levy an army of around 50,000 without mercs at present, and they can do some pretty serious damage. I usually end up using mercs for rebel control at home while the troops are away, but they do definitely have a strong upside for some types of seiges and rapid response. Always fun to mix it up (though I swear, a couple of my dukes are gonna get slapped if they keep whining about levies!).

[BigBiker05]

I'm down, I have 125 hours played none multiplayer.

[small502]

The HRE is a pain to take over! In war they're push overs but if you do a complete invasion you're stuck in their elective monarchy D: i took it over by taking it over by small scale duchy and kingdom attacks. It lets you dominate with out having to become them

[small502]

Alright cool! three is good but in a game this big more is better

[flyingdutchman]

hey all, sorry that I'm late this this thread. I was actually checking to see if anyone else had anything on here about the game. I've had it for a little while and done some tinkering about with it (~3 hours) and it certainly plays differently than some of the other RTS games that I've played. I would love to be able to watch the game and maybe try to be a part of it.

I would love any resources that any of you have. Tips, links or whatever else.

[Boss Llama]

Here's a link to a basic wiki: http://crusaderkings-two.wikia.com/wiki ... gs_II_Wiki

As far as learning the game, I don't think there's anything that's a substitute for time in the saddle. I'm 100 hours in, and I continue to find and learn new things fairly regularly. I don't really think of this as an RTS to be honest, because I spend a good deal of time with it paused so I can sort through things. As your realm expands, actions like arranging marriages and child education, maintaining vassal relationships that don't lead to internal confrontations or jealousy, and upgrading buildings in each territory can take heaps of time. It's worth it to make sure it's done right!

One thing that I can suggest as a tip, that is entirely worth doing, is making sure you maintain clean de jure claim lines for every territory in your realm. Make sure every baron, mayor, and bishop is vassalized only to their proper county, and that every county is vassalized to its proper duke. Better yet, just give the de jure duke control of everything under his dukedom all at once, and he will sort out his demense for you so you don't have to worry about it. Do NOT allow anybody but your own immediate heir to control things in multiple dukedoms. When creating new barons/counts/dukes, make sure they do not currently control anything (the "Ruler>No" option in your Realm person finder will eliminate these folks), and make sure they do not stand to inherit anything in the future! Pull up the profile on any person you're thinking of enobling, and be sure they are not an heir, and do not have any pressable claims. If they do, they are liable to use their newfound power to launch an internal war, and once somebody controls things in unrelated areas, it's a mind-numbing (and decades long) process to try and set things right again. Also, the less power they have individually, the less likely they can either rebel successfully, lead a faction well, or otherwise create a succession crisis.

Example:

VIEW CONTENT:

In my current game, I am the King of Ireland, Scotland, and Jerusalem, and have control of a small chunk of central Italy as well. I started with Ireland (as Duke of Connacht).

Ireland has five dukedoms. Three of them are my desmense. One belongs to my heir apparent (and is always immediately transfered to that same person upon assumption of the throne), and one belongs to an ancient ally. All counties in the dukedoms belong directly to their respective dukes.

Jerusalem has four dukedoms. I kept the central one in my desmense to maintain a local powerbase for my kingship claim, since it is a long way from home. The other three dukedoms are held by newly created dukes with absolutely no claims on anything else anywhere in the world, whether by blood or inheritance. To find these individuals, I used the people finder to invite people to my kingdom from foreign courts who had desireable stats and my religion, and occasionally used the intruige menu to invite people raw out of the ether. A side note: if you ever find yourself facing the event series that is basically a "Robin Hood" plot, use the option to hire them as employees when you get it... Robin will join your court and is a statistical badass.

I have the central states of Italy under my control, but they are not nearly enough to begin working towards a kingship yet. I maintain the heir of my heir as a duke in Italy, and use it as a good halfway port between my British and Jerusalem holdings. I will hold off doing anything too ambitious in Italy until I can secure the Empire of Brittania for myself - see below.

Scotland I only just conquered. I haven't had time to sort it out yet, but it has five dukedoms as well, and suffice to say each duke will be sovereign over the entirety of their own de jure territories, but not a lick more. My intention is to use this is a depository for a cadet branch of my family. It's very important to hold this reliably, however, because...

I married a sovereign duchess in her own right who controls three full dukedoms in central England and Wales, with claims on a couple others. She does occasionally pull me in to side conflicts, which would be annoying if not for the fact that our child, my heir, is also her heir! By marrying her I ensure that when play passes to my next generation, I will not only control everything I already have, but about a huge swath of England as well - without bloodshed! The small amount of bloodshed now, with my entire army against individual counties, is completely worth it. This will push me very close to the territory requirements I'll need in order to declare the Empire of Britannia, which will give me causus belli to seize what I don't have. I can use the claims my successor will inherit from my wife as grounds to seize whatever holdings I need to reach that point.

If you do find yourself wanting a territory but you only have a weak claim, remember that if you can trigger a succession crisis (killing the ruler while the heir is a minor, for example), you can then legitimately press your claim. Also, if your ruler is very old and near death, that's when to do all the things various people dislike, like upping your crown authority, raising taxes, murdering rivals, banishing troublemakers and seizing their lands, etc. When you die and your heir takes over, they get to keep the benefits (authority, money, claims, land), without the negatives (tyranny, bloodthirsty, etc).

[The Domer]

hey all, sorry that I'm late this this thread. I was actually checking to see if anyone else had anything on here about the game. I've had it for a little while and done some tinkering about with it (~3 hours) and it certainly plays differently than some of the other RTS games that I've played. I would love to be able to watch the game and maybe try to be a part of it.

I would love any resources that any of you have. Tips, links or whatever else.

The best way to learn this game is by playing it. It has a steep learning curve, but it's rich and rewarding. I'd recommend starting as a count or duke in Ireland (often dubbed as "Tutorial Island" by folks online).

[Kilgore Trout]

I've recently gotten back into this game and I'd be up for a multiplayer game. If it's too difficult to get everyone on at once we could try playing a succession game, where each person plays a character until they die and passes the save onto the next person.

[OmgOhnoes]

Just FYI, Paradox has CK II and released DLC on for 75% off on their site. It's for steam keys.

[Boss Llama]

Thanks for the heads-up. Some good deals there if folks need and want the main expansion packs.

[flyingdutchman]

Quick question that hasn't been clearly answered anywhere that I've looked:

I know that I can invite a courtier from another county/duchy to my court and press his claim. Is there ever any way that I can get the title if I go to war and win?

I'm about 26 hours in now and there are a number of things that I have picked-up but there are some things that I just haven't smoothed out yet.

Also, what's your preferred law of succession and why?

[flyingdutchman]

Edit: deleted double post