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Can't add much to what's already been said -- just giving a few words of support to Rurik's next grand adventure 
Heh! I actually meant the whole thing: succession (of any kind, this will be my first ever, let alone gavelkindWell I could have just said yes once to answer everything, since you included so many questions in there
), creating a Kingdom, etc! But that too Thanks for confirming - you will see what happened soon.I'll just say well done to keep this up so far. Regarding your last batch of questions, in order to continue using your tribal army on another target, you must declare war on another target before unpausing the game or they will leave. Sucks but it is what it is.
No idea on threat - I turn that off
Laughed when the 'snip snip' happened on Road of Queens, and thought of poor Rurik. At least he'd had all his puppies/kittens by the time it happened. And most appreciated they areCan't add much to what's already been said -- just giving a few words of support to Rurik's next grand adventure
. Just uploading and tidying up now.
Chapter 34: A New Power in the Land (14 - 27 June 879)
Chapter 34: A New Power in the Land (14 - 27 June 879)
Previously, on Blut und Schlacht … with Tver subjugated, Rurik’s mind turns to the realisation of his ambition to create a true Norse Kingdom in Russian hinterland; the Great Tribal Army remains in his service – and hoping for more conquest; Rurik casts covetous eyes on the High Chiefdom of Merya; and the Great Þing held quickly in the captured stronghold of Vyazma helps him formulate his next steps.
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁ ᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
A New Kingdom
With Tver subjugated, Rurik dismissed his levy – as necessary, whether it was peace or war that would follow. His prestige had risen again as a result of his victory over Tver and, with his now small personal regiment and the Great Tribal Army, would be able to summon almost 5,000 warriors for another adventure. But there were other matters to attend to first.
After considering the weighty discussions and advice from the Great Þing of Vyazma, Rurik had decided it was indeed time to establish his new great kingdom. And this in turn would further boost his prestige – vital for attracting troops or building improvements to aid the future development of his military. And so, at Vyazma, on 14 June 879, Rurik decided to take his burgeoning realm to the next level.
A brief battlefield declaration, depicted here with King Rurik holding the feared Hálsbitr, was made. Gumarich der Schreiber ensured multiple missives to this effect were drawn up and distributed to every county in the new Kingdom. Any more formal ceremonies and celebrations, back in Nygarðr, would have to await a more peaceful time.
In doing so, Rurik surprised everyone gathered by deciding not to call the new Kingdom ‘Rus’ (which, naturally, sounded too – well, Russian to his Norse ears). The Norse Rurikid dynasty he sought to establish would rule over the Kingdom of Garðariki. The new emblem of this kingdom would be a mighty axe-bearing white bear, rampant, on a field of red.
The first order of business was to formally secure the line of succession and, as part of the declaration, he nominated Helgi to that role. According to the laws of the time, he could have nominated either one of his other two sons, or indeed one of Helgi’s sons. But he stayed true to his new course – and his relationship with Helgi had never been better.
Helgi may have his flaws, but also his strengths. His prestige is sound in the realm – and he is now hopelessly devoted to his father – and Norse. Will just have to do something about that first son of his, who remains Slavic.
And, once again surprising his officers and attendants, Rurik’s next action was described thus by Gumarich in his private journal:
And, it may confidently be added, no-one there was likely to argue. Unless they wanted their head and the rest of their body to be in separate places simultaneously. Scholars have also theorised that, just as Rurik had altered his appearance after his ordeal in Pisa, he wished to mark another important – and far more pleasant – turning point in his life by once again replacing an old outward appearance with a new one. Many believe it reflected an inner transformation in tangible form. Gumarich included a small likeness of the king in his new raiment in his notes, reproduced below.
Gumarich’s notes reveal the King, somewhat more conventionally, next examined the laws of his new realm, as the Chancellor and Lawspeaker Hrörekr had anticipated he would need to, having provided with prepared documents to enforce his new will. Presented with two choices (and two draft laws), he could make but one for the present. Rurik had the same view as he had discussed previously with Hrörekr:
New Appointments
Now that Garðaríki had been established, there were more minor court appointments available to be made as well. Rurik considered a list provided by Gumarich, as dictated previously by Hrörekr. The King had made his own annotations, which we have discovered in the scroll trove. He even showed here a degree of self-deprecating humour about his cruel … injury!
Some appointments could not be made for lack of applicable candidates, others he could, but at this stage wished to reserve for when they were really needed. And, as he was almost always short of money, save a little salary along the way. But the post of Dróttseti will be a useful one to give – to the right candidate, at the right time. The most important new appointments available are the two new commanders Rurik could now to recruit. The best local talent on offer was not really up to standard and some already have appointments where their presence was required about the lands. Nuyanza was briefly considered to ease his anger over being omitted from the Council, but he was simply not a good enough warrior. Garðaríki – and the plans Rurik had for it - needed skilled soldiers, who were good, loyal Germanic Norsemen. So they would be sought from outside the court.
Given Rurik’s great prestige after the founding of Garðaríki, he was happy to use a little of it to attract good new commanders to the court. First came Snorri af Luki – a fine soldier, if not really skilled in any other area. Next came Þorsteinn af Nöteborg – an even more proficient leader than Snorri, even if his warmth towards the King was not perceived as so great. Rurik did not care overly about that nor for them personally: so long as they performed their roles professionally and obeyed commands faithfully, that would do.
In reviewing his now extended list of commanders, Rurik apprised himself of their skills and specialities. Vsemil, apart from (like Rurik) being an excellent cavalry leader (alas only useful with regiments like the Tribal Army or mercenary troops) would bring his reputation as the Cleansing Flame to bear as a holy warrior of his brand of Slavic paganism against the other false heathen Finns of Merya. Dan had – very usefully – become most adept in the handling of light troops, which always made up the bulk of their forces. Sverker was best used when speed was of the essence – perhaps useful for leading a raiding party or relieving a beleaguered position. The rest were either too new – or simply (like Svetozar) perhaps not good enough to have developed any specialised skills so far.
Before they could even leave the king’s tent following their appointments, Rurik also arranged good Norse brides for both men – all the better to build the future of the realm. A look at the current lists of eligible wives again proved unsatisfactory. And he could not afford these new commanders to be whisked away to some foreign temple like the court tutor. Nor marry a Russian (even if a Norse one). Or a child, for whom men in their mid-thirties would need to wait six years to marry!
Again, fresh blood to court was sought – and found. Two new debutants were soon attracted to court with a few gold coins for their expenses and a good Norse warrior as a husband.
Ambition and War
Despite the achievement of creating Gardariki, it seemed the laws of the steppe decreed that Rurik’s ambition would still remain technically unfulfilled until midnight.
Therefore, to ensure he retained a just Casus Belli [or in this instance a Casus Bellum, surely?] and not knowing what the morrow would bring, Rurik took advantage of this circumstance – as the continuing presence of the conquest-hungry Great Tribal Army in Vyazma, to declare war on High Chief Tyueykezhut of Merya. He would see where the Gods may choose to cast their favour: with him or the heathen Finn. Rurik was sure he knew the answer to that. The True Gods would surely cast down the pretenders.
Released from his obligation earlier that day, the loyal Grimr of Smaleskja would once again be asked to join the war as an ally. Alas, his troops would have to return home in the meantime, awaiting their Chief’s approval to engage in a new war. And, with his recent boost in prestige, if he wished Rurik could raise yet another Tribal Army – but did not think it should be required. He hoped to put his burnished reputation to other uses.
And finally, his own levies were again summoned, but they too would have to first return home to restock, make arrangements for the summer harvest and quickly visit their families. It would take some time for them to return.
The day after the conquest of Tver and the ensuing declaration of Garðaríki, King Rurik awoke to find himself satisfied with the world for the first time in years. He contemplated a new map of the realm and its place in the world around it. And noticed how that chunk of true Garðaríki soil currently cobbled together into the realm of Merya would fit so nicely within it, rounding it out.
In fact, while he still had ambitions for the realm and his dynasty in the future, these did not have the power to drive him as before, either when he became first Exalted Among Men or now as King of Garðaríki. The fulfilment of this latest ambition had of course boosted his reputation even further [another 500 prestige] and his status as a true king (not a 'petty' one) allowed him to expand his personal demesne even further. Perhaps the best of the Meryan counties could be added. Although longer term, he would be looking back to the Baltic, where one or two coastal provinces within the royal demesne would be very useful for the founding of shipyards for those who would come after him – when his personally bound fleet of longships would return to their homes ports. Not to mention the future acquisition of enough Germanic holy sites to reform the faith. But all in good time – for now, there was another war to be won.
Reports soon arrived that his opponent had mustered his own levies – but – as hoped – it was just the troops of his personal demesne (of three counties). For this war, Marshal Helgi was careful to muster the smaller outlying contingents of Garðarikian troops along routes where they should be safe from enemy interdiction and ambush. The main mustering points were the capital (Holmgarðr), Toropets and Tver. Rurik was confident his current main body, based largely on the Great Tribal Army, would be sufficient for the task at first. And he also wished to protect his still small levy base from casualties as much as possible: they could add to the main host or perhaps be formed into secondary armies to hasten the razing of Meryan fortifications to quickly end the war.
As yet, none of Tyueykezhut’s vassals had mobilised to support their liege. This may well have implications for how the war was fought and which territories would be surrendered when victory was won – as Rurik had no doubt it would be. He had assumed that a victory would bring the entire Meryan realm under his control, with Tyueykezhut’s three vassals also becoming his by default. But, if they were not party to the war, would they instead retain their independence? Or – as he hoped – willingly transfer their allegiance to him? All the more confusing ewas the fact that, as some learned lore-masters had remarked at the recent Þing, the current realm of ‘Merya’ was a hotchpotch of four different de jure duchies: Merya (of which Vologda, which Rurik already owned, was a part); Rostov (to which the recently acquired Uglich belonged); Moskva (of which King Dyre of Konugarðr owned the southern part of Mozhaysk) and Murom in the east (of which only Suzdal belonged to in the current Meryan realm of Tyueykezhut).
The map on the left indicates de jure Jarldoms (Duchies) in Merya, that on the right shows which provinces belong to them.
On the March
But for now, the weather is good and the game is once again afoot. All over Garðaríki men are marching to war! If not for Sauron, then for the Glory of the Rurikid Dynasty!
After a week, it appeared Tyueykezhut had indeed taken to the field personally, marching with his main force to Merya from his capital in Yaroslavl, there to unite with his other regiments. This suits Rurik admirably: he is heading to Tver with his main force and would be happy not to be attacking across a river for once! He also notes that his scouts estimate the Meryans are heavily reliant on light forces: the additional heavy infantry and cavalry of the Great Tribal Army should come as a nasty shock to them.
As he sees these reports, Rurik also gives thought to some of the other implications of this war of subjugation: even if Merya’s lands will fall under the de jure claim of the new Kingdom of Garðariki, he assumed the perception of him as a threat to his neighbours would again increase. He decided to order Hrörekr to cease his fruitless efforts to charm Chief Nuyanza of Ingria – there were bigger fish to fry. Instead, the Chancellor would use his skills of statecraft more generally and also work with neighbouring realms to reduce that threat perception. And if any of them were foolish enough to actually believe such protestations of “this will be Rurik’s last external claim as King of Garðaríki”, then so much the better!
On 25 June or the year 879 CE (as Gumarich meticulously noted in his journal) a messenger arrived, intercepting Rurik as he led the army towards Tver. We have those messages and Rurik’s hand-written notes on each. We can well imagine the courier may, after paying his respects, have addressed his king with the age-old:
The good news was excellent. The bad news more irritating than genuinely worrying. And with the new realm laws, if Zhavaronok tried anything, he would be badly smashed down and lose everything he was so generously (in Rurik’s perhaps somewhat biased and self-interested view) left after making his obeisance in Vyazma.
Neither was unexpected.
By 27 June, the Great Tribal Army and Rurik’s personal regiment (182 men left from the original 676 he started with twelve years before) had rendezvoused in Tver. They were temporarily reorganised, though that structure was unlikely to be the one taken into battle. The new commander Þorsteinn would command the left wing once it was constituted. Subordinate commanders for regiments, especially Vsemil – who retained command of the Great Tribal Army regiment) would be sorted out in due course. Orders were issued to Grimr’s Smolenskians to join up as best they could – and they chose to do that via Toropets. The two largest demesne levies – from Holmgarðr and Ladoga – would take a while yet to arrive and would be integrated as they did – or sent off for secondary tasks as necessary. And as far as the Meryans were concerned, having linked up in Merya with the contingent there, Tyueykezhut now decided he would head back north to Yaroslavl again – before his southern regiment could catch him up. Whether it was to defend his capital or attempt a raid into Garðaríki itself was not known.
“Indeed, Vsemil, their necks shall be bitten without mercy, until they surrender,” agreed Rurik, unconsciously fingering his own thirsty battle-axe, Hálsbitr. Another shared similarity of outlook that gave him a degree of affinity with, if not affection for, his Slavic vassal.
“I see, My King,” offered Þorsteinn, keen to make his mark early as a lead commander. “We can reach Uglich by the time he makes it to Yaroslavl. And he will not have time to complete a crossing of the Volga until we are upon him!”
“Yes, that is the plan. Of course, he may turn south again back to Merya, in which case it becomes a game of child’s tag,” said Rurik. “But I have more forces on the way than he will link up with, so time is on our side. And Uglich is a good central position from which to respond to any attempt by him to escape. Let us see what he is capable of.”
Orders were given – and the hunt was on!
Questions
Ch34 Q1: Realm Laws 1. OK, given the unruly vassals I already had and have recently had many more forcibly added by subjugation, to me this was a no-brainer. I need this ace up my sleeve. But there are now some realm laws displayed that either I hadn’t looked at much before, weren’t there or have been added by the recent slab of DLC I got (all bar Jade Dragon now of the major expansions). First question: had I gone instead for Low Tribal Organisation, what do ‘Empowered Council’ and ‘War Declaration Committee’ do (briefly)? And in return for that, would I be able to directly ask my tribal vassals to provide liege levies (which I can’t at the moment), instead of having to ask them as allies? And in light of whatever the answer is, would this be worth pursuing as the next law reform (which can’t be attempted for ten years anyway)?
Per above, I was wondering when I should be generally aspiring to get whatever benefits accrue form giving more power to the council. As opposed to now, where they are just helpful gophers who do things for me but demand nothing and don't get to vote on my decisions!
Ch34 Q2: Realm Laws 2. ‘Low Tribal Organisation’ would (I presume in ten years’ time) give me the next option of changing to ‘Low Centralisation’. The demesne and vassal limit increase figures are simple to understand. Just a wise thing to enact when the chance comes? No real hidden drawbacks? One for the future (20 years off now, I guess), but just curious.
Ch34 Q3: Realm Laws 3. If this (Vassal Obligation Laws) was here before, I’d either not seen it or forgotten about it (maybe it’s a new Kingdom level thing). Looks like these are part of the ‘only one every ten years’ limit. Again, any here you think are worth aspiring too, in any particular order, or that need precursor tech advances or law changes? I see them appear in AARs every so often, but don’t really know what they do or how useful they are. Not after a full description (that can always be sought on the wiki, I guess): just broad thoughts and advice, shared experience, etc. Relative values may also differ from feudal to tribal realms, I’m assuming.
Ch34 Q4: Merya, Subjugation and Titles. So, above you have my working hypothesis on what happens next:
a) Rurik still gets all the current Meryan realm lands on victory, even the ‘undeclared’ vassals.
b) Though I’m hoping, because they won’t have had any titles stripped off them directly, it will just be swapping one liege for another and the others won’t be as angry about the change of management as Tyueykezhut.
c) The Jarldom of Merya title would transfer across ready-made, with that fourth Jarldom (whether Merya or another, determined by some unseen pecking order of seniority/value) going to Helgi.
d) I could then also create Rostov if I wanted to (though don’t see why I would as yet).
Any additional or contrary views or advice always welcomed. Will need to come to grips with all that by the time the victory is secured and Tyueykezhut becomes the next to be forced into ignominious subjugation. Rurik is nothing if not grand and arrogant these days. This is a way for him to substitute figurative for actual cohones!
Previously, on Blut und Schlacht … with Tver subjugated, Rurik’s mind turns to the realisation of his ambition to create a true Norse Kingdom in Russian hinterland; the Great Tribal Army remains in his service – and hoping for more conquest; Rurik casts covetous eyes on the High Chiefdom of Merya; and the Great Þing held quickly in the captured stronghold of Vyazma helps him formulate his next steps.
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁ ᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
A New Kingdom
With Tver subjugated, Rurik dismissed his levy – as necessary, whether it was peace or war that would follow. His prestige had risen again as a result of his victory over Tver and, with his now small personal regiment and the Great Tribal Army, would be able to summon almost 5,000 warriors for another adventure. But there were other matters to attend to first.
After considering the weighty discussions and advice from the Great Þing of Vyazma, Rurik had decided it was indeed time to establish his new great kingdom. And this in turn would further boost his prestige – vital for attracting troops or building improvements to aid the future development of his military. And so, at Vyazma, on 14 June 879, Rurik decided to take his burgeoning realm to the next level.
A brief battlefield declaration, depicted here with King Rurik holding the feared Hálsbitr, was made. Gumarich der Schreiber ensured multiple missives to this effect were drawn up and distributed to every county in the new Kingdom. Any more formal ceremonies and celebrations, back in Nygarðr, would have to await a more peaceful time.
In doing so, Rurik surprised everyone gathered by deciding not to call the new Kingdom ‘Rus’ (which, naturally, sounded too – well, Russian to his Norse ears). The Norse Rurikid dynasty he sought to establish would rule over the Kingdom of Garðariki. The new emblem of this kingdom would be a mighty axe-bearing white bear, rampant, on a field of red.
The first order of business was to formally secure the line of succession and, as part of the declaration, he nominated Helgi to that role. According to the laws of the time, he could have nominated either one of his other two sons, or indeed one of Helgi’s sons. But he stayed true to his new course – and his relationship with Helgi had never been better.
Helgi may have his flaws, but also his strengths. His prestige is sound in the realm – and he is now hopelessly devoted to his father – and Norse. Will just have to do something about that first son of his, who remains Slavic.
The following is non-verified material from Wikipedia: no assertions are made as to its accuracy!
Garðaríki (anglicized Gardariki or Gardarike) or Garðaveldi is the Old Norse term used in medieval times for the states of Kievan Rus'. As the Varangians dealt mainly with Northern Ruthenian lands, their sagas regard the city of Holmsgardr (Holmgarðr, Veliky Novgorod) as the capital of Garðaríki.
The meaning of the word Garðaríki is usually interpreted as garðr + ríki: "the kingdom of cities", or "the realm of towns", which probably referred to a chain of forts along the Volkhov River, starting with Lyubsha and Ladoga . These forts had to assert themselves especially against the Khazar Khaganate until the end of the 9th century and therefore they developed the first East Slavic state which is known as Kievan Rus'.
Map showing Varangian or Rus' settlement (in red) and mid-9th century Khazar influence indicated with blue outline.
Garðaríki (anglicized Gardariki or Gardarike) or Garðaveldi is the Old Norse term used in medieval times for the states of Kievan Rus'. As the Varangians dealt mainly with Northern Ruthenian lands, their sagas regard the city of Holmsgardr (Holmgarðr, Veliky Novgorod) as the capital of Garðaríki.
The meaning of the word Garðaríki is usually interpreted as garðr + ríki: "the kingdom of cities", or "the realm of towns", which probably referred to a chain of forts along the Volkhov River, starting with Lyubsha and Ladoga . These forts had to assert themselves especially against the Khazar Khaganate until the end of the 9th century and therefore they developed the first East Slavic state which is known as Kievan Rus'.
Map showing Varangian or Rus' settlement (in red) and mid-9th century Khazar influence indicated with blue outline.
And, once again surprising his officers and attendants, Rurik’s next action was described thus by Gumarich in his private journal:
“Bring forth my … barber!” exclaimed the newly self-proclaimed King Rurik of Garðaríki. He had, apparently, been regrowing his hair and beard during the recent campaign. “If I am now truly a king, I shall appear both Norse and Kingly!”
While this was perhaps a slightly unusual first action on taking the new throne, his men had grown used to his eccentricities in recent times, wrote Gumarich in a marginal note.
While this was perhaps a slightly unusual first action on taking the new throne, his men had grown used to his eccentricities in recent times, wrote Gumarich in a marginal note.
And, it may confidently be added, no-one there was likely to argue. Unless they wanted their head and the rest of their body to be in separate places simultaneously. Scholars have also theorised that, just as Rurik had altered his appearance after his ordeal in Pisa, he wished to mark another important – and far more pleasant – turning point in his life by once again replacing an old outward appearance with a new one. Many believe it reflected an inner transformation in tangible form. Gumarich included a small likeness of the king in his new raiment in his notes, reproduced below.
Gumarich’s notes reveal the King, somewhat more conventionally, next examined the laws of his new realm, as the Chancellor and Lawspeaker Hrörekr had anticipated he would need to, having provided with prepared documents to enforce his new will. Presented with two choices (and two draft laws), he could make but one for the present. Rurik had the same view as he had discussed previously with Hrörekr:
“So, I have a choice between increase organisation a bit, giving more powers to the council in return for some more control over the levies of my vassals because we are tribal. Or being able to revoke titles from traitorous or unlawful vassals. Let me think – for the blink of an eye!”
Ch34 Q1: Realm Laws 1. OK, given the unruly vassals I already had and have recently had many more forcibly added by subjugation, to me this was a no-brainer. I need this ace up my sleeve. But there are now some realm laws displayed that either I hadn’t looked at much before, weren’t there or have been added by the recent slab of DLC I got (all bar Jade Dragon now of the major expansions). First question: had I gone instead for Low Tribal Organisation, what do ‘Empowered Council’ and ‘War Declaration Committee’ do (briefly)? And in return for that, would I be able to directly ask my tribal vassals to provide liege levies (which I can’t at the moment), instead of having to ask them as allies? And in light of whatever the answer is, would this be worth pursuing as the next law reform (which can’t be attempted for ten years anyway)?
Because at the moment, these are my relevant Council Laws (he said tongue-in-cheek):
Per above, I was wondering when I should be generally aspiring to get whatever benefits accrue form giving more power to the council. As opposed to now, where they are just helpful gophers who do things for me but demand nothing and don't get to vote on my decisions!
Because at the moment, these are my relevant Council Laws (he said tongue-in-cheek)
:
Per above, I was wondering when I should be generally aspiring to get whatever benefits accrue form giving more power to the council. As opposed to now, where they are just helpful gophers who do things for me but demand nothing and don't get to vote on my decisions!
Ch34 Q2: Realm Laws 2. ‘Low Tribal Organisation’ would (I presume in ten years’ time) give me the next option of changing to ‘Low Centralisation’, providing the following:
The demesne and vassal limit increase figures are simple to understand. Just a wise thing to enact when the chance comes? No real hidden drawbacks? One for the future (20 years off now, I guess), but just curious.
The demesne and vassal limit increase figures are simple to understand. Just a wise thing to enact when the chance comes? No real hidden drawbacks? One for the future (20 years off now, I guess), but just curious.
Ch34 Q3: Realm Laws 3. If this was here before, I’d either not seen it or forgotten about it (maybe it’s a new Kingdom level thing).
Looks like these are part of the ‘only one every ten years’ limit. Again, any here you think are worth aspiring too, in any particular order, or that need precursor tech advances or law changes? I see them appear in AARs every so often, but don’t really know what they do or how useful they are. Not after a full description (that can always be sought on the wiki, I guess): just broad thoughts and advice, shared experience, etc. Relative values may also differ from feudal to tribal realms, I’m assuming.
Looks like these are part of the ‘only one every ten years’ limit. Again, any here you think are worth aspiring too, in any particular order, or that need precursor tech advances or law changes? I see them appear in AARs every so often, but don’t really know what they do or how useful they are. Not after a full description (that can always be sought on the wiki, I guess): just broad thoughts and advice, shared experience, etc. Relative values may also differ from feudal to tribal realms, I’m assuming.
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁ ᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
New Appointments
Now that Garðaríki had been established, there were more minor court appointments available to be made as well. Rurik considered a list provided by Gumarich, as dictated previously by Hrörekr. The King had made his own annotations, which we have discovered in the scroll trove. He even showed here a degree of self-deprecating humour about his cruel … injury!
Some appointments could not be made for lack of applicable candidates, others he could, but at this stage wished to reserve for when they were really needed. And, as he was almost always short of money, save a little salary along the way. But the post of Dróttseti will be a useful one to give – to the right candidate, at the right time. The most important new appointments available are the two new commanders Rurik could now to recruit. The best local talent on offer was not really up to standard and some already have appointments where their presence was required about the lands. Nuyanza was briefly considered to ease his anger over being omitted from the Council, but he was simply not a good enough warrior. Garðaríki – and the plans Rurik had for it - needed skilled soldiers, who were good, loyal Germanic Norsemen. So they would be sought from outside the court.
Given Rurik’s great prestige after the founding of Garðaríki, he was happy to use a little of it to attract good new commanders to the court. First came Snorri af Luki – a fine soldier, if not really skilled in any other area. Next came Þorsteinn af Nöteborg – an even more proficient leader than Snorri, even if his warmth towards the King was not perceived as so great. Rurik did not care overly about that nor for them personally: so long as they performed their roles professionally and obeyed commands faithfully, that would do.
In reviewing his now extended list of commanders, Rurik apprised himself of their skills and specialities. Vsemil, apart from (like Rurik) being an excellent cavalry leader (alas only useful with regiments like the Tribal Army or mercenary troops) would bring his reputation as the Cleansing Flame to bear as a holy warrior of his brand of Slavic paganism against the other false heathen Finns of Merya. Dan had – very usefully – become most adept in the handling of light troops, which always made up the bulk of their forces. Sverker was best used when speed was of the essence – perhaps useful for leading a raiding party or relieving a beleaguered position. The rest were either too new – or simply (like Svetozar) perhaps not good enough to have developed any specialised skills so far.
Before they could even leave the king’s tent following their appointments, Rurik also arranged good Norse brides for both men – all the better to build the future of the realm. A look at the current lists of eligible wives again proved unsatisfactory. And he could not afford these new commanders to be whisked away to some foreign temple like the court tutor. Nor marry a Russian (even if a Norse one). Or a child, for whom men in their mid-thirties would need to wait six years to marry!
Again, fresh blood to court was sought – and found. Two new debutants were soon attracted to court with a few gold coins for their expenses and a good Norse warrior as a husband.
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁ ᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
Ambition and War
Despite the achievement of creating Gardariki, it seemed the laws of the steppe decreed that Rurik’s ambition would still remain technically unfulfilled until midnight.
Therefore, to ensure he retained a just Casus Belli [or in this instance a Casus Bellum, surely?] and not knowing what the morrow would bring, Rurik took advantage of this circumstance – as the continuing presence of the conquest-hungry Great Tribal Army in Vyazma, to declare war on High Chief Tyueykezhut of Merya. He would see where the Gods may choose to cast their favour: with him or the heathen Finn. Rurik was sure he knew the answer to that. The True Gods would surely cast down the pretenders.
Released from his obligation earlier that day, the loyal Grimr of Smaleskja would once again be asked to join the war as an ally. Alas, his troops would have to return home in the meantime, awaiting their Chief’s approval to engage in a new war. And, with his recent boost in prestige, if he wished Rurik could raise yet another Tribal Army – but did not think it should be required. He hoped to put his burnished reputation to other uses.
And finally, his own levies were again summoned, but they too would have to first return home to restock, make arrangements for the summer harvest and quickly visit their families. It would take some time for them to return.
The day after the conquest of Tver and the ensuing declaration of Garðaríki, King Rurik awoke to find himself satisfied with the world for the first time in years. He contemplated a new map of the realm and its place in the world around it. And noticed how that chunk of true Garðaríki soil currently cobbled together into the realm of Merya would fit so nicely within it, rounding it out.
In fact, while he still had ambitions for the realm and his dynasty in the future, these did not have the power to drive him as before, either when he became first Exalted Among Men or now as King of Garðaríki. The fulfilment of this latest ambition had of course boosted his reputation even further [another 500 prestige] and his status as a true king (not a 'petty' one) allowed him to expand his personal demesne even further. Perhaps the best of the Meryan counties could be added. Although longer term, he would be looking back to the Baltic, where one or two coastal provinces within the royal demesne would be very useful for the founding of shipyards for those who would come after him – when his personally bound fleet of longships would return to their homes ports. Not to mention the future acquisition of enough Germanic holy sites to reform the faith. But all in good time – for now, there was another war to be won.
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁ ᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
Reports soon arrived that his opponent had mustered his own levies – but – as hoped – it was just the troops of his personal demesne (of three counties). For this war, Marshal Helgi was careful to muster the smaller outlying contingents of Garðarikian troops along routes where they should be safe from enemy interdiction and ambush. The main mustering points were the capital (Holmgarðr), Toropets and Tver. Rurik was confident his current main body, based largely on the Great Tribal Army, would be sufficient for the task at first. And he also wished to protect his still small levy base from casualties as much as possible: they could add to the main host or perhaps be formed into secondary armies to hasten the razing of Meryan fortifications to quickly end the war.
As yet, none of Tyueykezhut’s vassals had mobilised to support their liege. This may well have implications for how the war was fought and which territories would be surrendered when victory was won – as Rurik had no doubt it would be. He had assumed that a victory would bring the entire Meryan realm under his control, with Tyueykezhut’s three vassals also becoming his by default. But, if they were not party to the war, would they instead retain their independence? Or – as he hoped – willingly transfer their allegiance to him? All the more confusing ewas the fact that, as some learned lore-masters had remarked at the recent Þing, the current realm of ‘Merya’ was a hotchpotch of four different de jure duchies: Merya (of which Vologda, which Rurik already owned, was a part); Rostov (to which the recently acquired Uglich belonged); Moskva (of which King Dyre of Konugarðr owned the southern part of Mozhaysk) and Murom in the east (of which only Suzdal belonged to in the current Meryan realm of Tyueykezhut).
The map on the left indicates de jure Jarldoms (Duchies) in Merya, that on the right shows which provinces belong to them.
“The implications of acquiring this rats’ nest of mixed claims, titles and territories is all a bit too much for a simple soldier such as me!” exclaimed Rurik as he contemplated the map Gumarich handed him to illustrate the tangled situation.
“I will take as much as I can first, then figure out the details later, he continued. "But Gumarich, do write to Chancellor Hrörekr to seek some advice on all this, and what I should do when we crush the enemy in total defeat.”
“Yes, My Great King,” replied the faithful scribe and secretary. “My own knowledge of the law and advice from previous moots would indicate that you may well receive the formal Jarldom of Merya from High Chief Tyueykezhut as part of the settlement. And you would then also own all the territory of the de jure Jarldom of Rostov, should you wish to create it. With all three of your sons now heirs to established Petty Kingdoms or Jarldoms (Holmgarðr, Belo Ozero and now Tver), my understanding of the succession laws is that another new Jarldom would revert to Prince Helgi’s inheritance - though there could be some shuffling around in the current mix of Jarldoms. Any more on top of that would be distributed to Princes Eilif and Dyre.”
“Are you sure of all that Gumarich?”
“Reasonably confident, but not certain My Liege. This situation is new to our realm, especially now it is a true Kingdom. I still think it best to seek specific advice from the Chancellor and his experts in such things.”
“Very well, prepare a letter to that effect to Hrörekr.”
“I will take as much as I can first, then figure out the details later, he continued. "But Gumarich, do write to Chancellor Hrörekr to seek some advice on all this, and what I should do when we crush the enemy in total defeat.”
“Yes, My Great King,” replied the faithful scribe and secretary. “My own knowledge of the law and advice from previous moots would indicate that you may well receive the formal Jarldom of Merya from High Chief Tyueykezhut as part of the settlement. And you would then also own all the territory of the de jure Jarldom of Rostov, should you wish to create it. With all three of your sons now heirs to established Petty Kingdoms or Jarldoms (Holmgarðr, Belo Ozero and now Tver), my understanding of the succession laws is that another new Jarldom would revert to Prince Helgi’s inheritance - though there could be some shuffling around in the current mix of Jarldoms. Any more on top of that would be distributed to Princes Eilif and Dyre.”
“Are you sure of all that Gumarich?”
“Reasonably confident, but not certain My Liege. This situation is new to our realm, especially now it is a true Kingdom. I still think it best to seek specific advice from the Chancellor and his experts in such things.”
“Very well, prepare a letter to that effect to Hrörekr.”
Ch34 Q4: Merya, Subjugation and Titles. So, above you have my working hypothesis on what happens next:
a) Rurik still gets all the current Meryan realm lands on victory, even the ‘undeclared’ vassals.
b) Though I’m hoping, because they won’t have had any titles stripped off them directly, it will just be swapping one liege for another and the others won’t be as angry about the change of management as Tyueykezhut.
c) The Jarldom of Merya title would transfer across ready-made, with that fourth Jarldom (whether Merya or another, determined by some unseen pecking order of seniority/value) going to Helgi.
d) I could then also create Rostov if I wanted to (though don’t see why I would as yet).
Any additional or contrary views or advice always welcomed. Will need to come to grips with all that by the time the victory is secured and Tyueykezhut becomes the next to be forced into ignominious subjugation. Rurik is nothing if not grand and arrogant these days. This is a way for him to substitute figurative for actual cohones!
a) Rurik still gets all the current Meryan realm lands on victory, even the ‘undeclared’ vassals.
b) Though I’m hoping, because they won’t have had any titles stripped off them directly, it will just be swapping one liege for another and the others won’t be as angry about the change of management as Tyueykezhut.
c) The Jarldom of Merya title would transfer across ready-made, with that fourth Jarldom (whether Merya or another, determined by some unseen pecking order of seniority/value) going to Helgi.
d) I could then also create Rostov if I wanted to (though don’t see why I would as yet).
Any additional or contrary views or advice always welcomed. Will need to come to grips with all that by the time the victory is secured and Tyueykezhut becomes the next to be forced into ignominious subjugation. Rurik is nothing if not grand and arrogant these days. This is a way for him to substitute figurative for actual cohones!
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁ ᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
On the March
But for now, the weather is good and the game is once again afoot. All over Garðaríki men are marching to war! If not for Sauron
, then for the Glory of the Rurikid Dynasty!After a week, it appeared Tyueykezhut had indeed taken to the field personally, marching with his main force to Merya from his capital in Yaroslavl, there to unite with his other regiments. This suits Rurik admirably: he is heading to Tver with his main force and would be happy not to be attacking across a river for once! He also notes that his scouts estimate the Meryans are heavily reliant on light forces: the additional heavy infantry and cavalry of the Great Tribal Army should come as a nasty shock to them.
As he sees these reports, Rurik also gives thought to some of the other implications of this war of subjugation: even if Merya’s lands will fall under the de jure claim of the new Kingdom of Garðariki, he assumed the perception of him as a threat to his neighbours would again increase. He decided to order Hrörekr to cease his fruitless efforts to charm Chief Nuyanza of Ingria – there were bigger fish to fry. Instead, the Chancellor would use his skills of statecraft more generally and also work with neighbouring realms to reduce that threat perception. And if any of them were foolish enough to actually believe such protestations of “this will be Rurik’s last external claim as King of Garðaríki”, then so much the better!
On 25 June or the year 879 CE (as Gumarich meticulously noted in his journal) a messenger arrived, intercepting Rurik as he led the army towards Tver. We have those messages and Rurik’s hand-written notes on each. We can well imagine the courier may, after paying his respects, have addressed his king with the age-old:
“My King, there is good news, and bad news … which would you like to hear first?”
“Give me the good news first!”
“Give me the good news first!”
The good news was excellent. The bad news more irritating than genuinely worrying. And with the new realm laws, if Zhavaronok tried anything, he would be badly smashed down and lose everything he was so generously (in Rurik’s perhaps somewhat biased and self-interested view) left after making his obeisance in Vyazma.
Neither was unexpected.
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By 27 June, the Great Tribal Army and Rurik’s personal regiment (182 men left from the original 676 he started with twelve years before) had rendezvoused in Tver. They were temporarily reorganised, though that structure was unlikely to be the one taken into battle. The new commander Þorsteinn would command the left wing once it was constituted. Subordinate commanders for regiments, especially Vsemil – who retained command of the Great Tribal Army regiment) would be sorted out in due course. Orders were issued to Grimr’s Smolenskians to join up as best they could – and they chose to do that via Toropets. The two largest demesne levies – from Holmgarðr and Ladoga – would take a while yet to arrive and would be integrated as they did – or sent off for secondary tasks as necessary. And as far as the Meryans were concerned, having linked up in Merya with the contingent there, Tyueykezhut now decided he would head back north to Yaroslavl again – before his southern regiment could catch him up. Whether it was to defend his capital or attempt a raid into Garðaríki itself was not known.
“Vsemil, Sverker, Þorsteinn, Dan – attend me!” called Rurik as the scouts reported the latest developments to him as they convened a hasty council of war in Tver.
“I believe we have an opportunity now to catch and smash Tyueykezhut’s main force before he can link up with his last levy contingent or cross the Volga into our country,” continued Rurik.
“These filthy Finnish scum will be cleansed of their false gods by my shining blade!” exclaimed Vsemil, the light of holy war in his eyes.
Rurik wisely refrained from making any remarks at this point about Vsemil’s false infidel beliefs. There was a time and place for everything, after all! And, Gumarich noted, Rurik’s mild (to this point) affliction of ‘madness’ had not suddenly made him either stupid or impolitic, even if he was no less zealous than ever.“I believe we have an opportunity now to catch and smash Tyueykezhut’s main force before he can link up with his last levy contingent or cross the Volga into our country,” continued Rurik.
“These filthy Finnish scum will be cleansed of their false gods by my shining blade!” exclaimed Vsemil, the light of holy war in his eyes.
“Indeed, Vsemil, their necks shall be bitten without mercy, until they surrender,” agreed Rurik, unconsciously fingering his own thirsty battle-axe, Hálsbitr. Another shared similarity of outlook that gave him a degree of affinity with, if not affection for, his Slavic vassal.
“I see, My King,” offered Þorsteinn, keen to make his mark early as a lead commander. “We can reach Uglich by the time he makes it to Yaroslavl. And he will not have time to complete a crossing of the Volga until we are upon him!”
“Yes, that is the plan. Of course, he may turn south again back to Merya, in which case it becomes a game of child’s tag,” said Rurik. “But I have more forces on the way than he will link up with, so time is on our side. And Uglich is a good central position from which to respond to any attempt by him to escape. Let us see what he is capable of.”
Orders were given – and the hunt was on!
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Questions
Ch34 Q1: Realm Laws 1. OK, given the unruly vassals I already had and have recently had many more forcibly added by subjugation, to me this was a no-brainer. I need this ace up my sleeve. But there are now some realm laws displayed that either I hadn’t looked at much before, weren’t there or have been added by the recent slab of DLC I got (all bar Jade Dragon now of the major expansions). First question: had I gone instead for Low Tribal Organisation, what do ‘Empowered Council’ and ‘War Declaration Committee’ do (briefly)? And in return for that, would I be able to directly ask my tribal vassals to provide liege levies (which I can’t at the moment), instead of having to ask them as allies? And in light of whatever the answer is, would this be worth pursuing as the next law reform (which can’t be attempted for ten years anyway)?
Per above, I was wondering when I should be generally aspiring to get whatever benefits accrue form giving more power to the council. As opposed to now, where they are just helpful gophers who do things for me but demand nothing and don't get to vote on my decisions!
Ch34 Q2: Realm Laws 2. ‘Low Tribal Organisation’ would (I presume in ten years’ time) give me the next option of changing to ‘Low Centralisation’. The demesne and vassal limit increase figures are simple to understand. Just a wise thing to enact when the chance comes? No real hidden drawbacks? One for the future (20 years off now, I guess), but just curious.
Ch34 Q3: Realm Laws 3. If this (Vassal Obligation Laws) was here before, I’d either not seen it or forgotten about it (maybe it’s a new Kingdom level thing). Looks like these are part of the ‘only one every ten years’ limit. Again, any here you think are worth aspiring too, in any particular order, or that need precursor tech advances or law changes? I see them appear in AARs every so often, but don’t really know what they do or how useful they are. Not after a full description (that can always be sought on the wiki, I guess): just broad thoughts and advice, shared experience, etc. Relative values may also differ from feudal to tribal realms, I’m assuming.
Ch34 Q4: Merya, Subjugation and Titles. So, above you have my working hypothesis on what happens next:
a) Rurik still gets all the current Meryan realm lands on victory, even the ‘undeclared’ vassals.
b) Though I’m hoping, because they won’t have had any titles stripped off them directly, it will just be swapping one liege for another and the others won’t be as angry about the change of management as Tyueykezhut.
c) The Jarldom of Merya title would transfer across ready-made, with that fourth Jarldom (whether Merya or another, determined by some unseen pecking order of seniority/value) going to Helgi.
d) I could then also create Rostov if I wanted to (though don’t see why I would as yet).
Any additional or contrary views or advice always welcomed. Will need to come to grips with all that by the time the victory is secured and Tyueykezhut becomes the next to be forced into ignominious subjugation. Rurik is nothing if not grand and arrogant these days. This is a way for him to substitute figurative for actual cohones!
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁ ᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
The Great Hunt is on – and Tyueykezhut of Merya is the unfortunate prey. But he will escape with his life if he bends the knee to the new Great King of Garðaríki!
The Great Hunt is on – and Tyueykezhut of Merya is the unfortunate prey. But he will escape with his life if he bends the knee to the new Great King of Garðaríki!
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Empowered Council will make other items start appearing on the council laws screen. In and of itself, it doesn't do much that I can recall, but it's required for the rest. Though at some point (I can't recall if tribal governments need increased tribal organization first) it can enable factions who will strive for increased council powers.
The war declaration committee means you'll need the council's approval to declare war at all (I can't recall if it's absolutely required or if they just become really unhappy if you go against them). It's a straight up/down vote, but there's lots of favor trading and diplomacy that can influence it, beyond the councilor's personalities. It can be really helpful to put loyalists in as your advisers.
For low tribal organization, the wiki says that the bonus is title revocation. Presumably one that can be used against all vassals (or at least all tribal vassals), but beware: other vassals won't like it if you do so without a suitable excuse. Direct levies (and taxes) aren't until high tribal organization, and can actual lead to fewer troops (if convenient in that they're directly controlled).
Tribal organization is ultimately required for reforming to a feudal kingdom. However, not being an unreformed pagan is also required (either by reforming the religion or adopting a religion of the book). And the tribal organization laws also include a series of escalating opinion penalty, so while you need to start enacting them well before you convert, you may not want to do so too early.
All vassals will probably become unhappy about it (both a small ongoing opinion penalty and a larger time-limited one). And they'll occasionally form factions to decrease it. They'll probably also form factions to decrease tribal organization, too.
When you get big and powerful, making feudal vassals give you a little taxes instead of just troops can make you wealthy, too. If I play a Byzantium game, that's one of the first things I do. Other than that, it's pretty situational and the defaults are good.
You know, I'm not sure off the top of my head.
@Ihdrendur covered most of the high points, so I'll just go over a few areas of uncertainty:
Empowering the War Declaration Committee also means that council members cannot form or join factions while the Council is content. There are basically two ways the Council can become discontent: By default immediately after a new succession, and by the ruler defying / overruling a council vote (which also, naturally, comes with an opinion hit for being a tyrant) -- so yes, you can overrule your council if you disagree with the outcome; just be aware that there are consequences, and plan accordingly.
There's never really a "good" time to surrender power like that if you can help it, but if you have to (voluntarily) give up power, best to do so when everyone likes you -- it may be a rough ride every now and again until you manage to feudalize, but once that happens you can gradually reassert your ruler's authority and tie up loose ends.
On a tangential note, since it's going to be more important as you gradually give more power to your council in your quest to raise Tribal Organization, take note of the five main Councilor Stances, which heavily factor into how they'll vote on a given issue:
The main thing to keep in mind is that you're actually (slightly) reducing your vassal cap. The numbers listed are the absolute bonus you get over the default, and you already get a +10 to your Vassal Limit from Minimal Centralization. Basically, as you go further up, you're trading the ability to manage more vassals for the ability to control more territory directly. Other than that, pretty straightforward.
The chief thing to remember about your vassal preferences is that your vassals prefer to "play to their strengths" and don't want to give up the one thing they specialize in: Feudal lords prefer sending cash to troops, and city / merchant republic vassals prefer sending troops to cash. Otherwise, Ihdrendur pretty much nails it -- once your realm gets big and advanced enough that you can maintain sizable retinue forces and hire mercenaries for extended periods of time without breaking the bank, you can afford to relax your feudal vassals' levy restrictions.
I think that, now that you're a king-tier ruler, you'll simply force duke-tier Merya to swear fealty to you while he keeps his vassals and titles, but otherwise the logic should be sound -- if you were of equal rank to your target, you'd gain their top-rank titles, and all vassals they had would become sworn directly to you.
Empowering the War Declaration Committee also means that council members cannot form or join factions while the Council is content. There are basically two ways the Council can become discontent: By default immediately after a new succession, and by the ruler defying / overruling a council vote (which also, naturally, comes with an opinion hit for being a tyrant) -- so yes, you can overrule your council if you disagree with the outcome; just be aware that there are consequences, and plan accordingly.
There's never really a "good" time to surrender power like that if you can help it, but if you have to (voluntarily) give up power, best to do so when everyone likes you -- it may be a rough ride every now and again until you manage to feudalize, but once that happens you can gradually reassert your ruler's authority and tie up loose ends.
On a tangential note, since it's going to be more important as you gradually give more power to your council in your quest to raise Tribal Organization, take note of the five main Councilor Stances, which heavily factor into how they'll vote on a given issue:
- Loyalists will basically support the ruler so long as they themselves aren't being directly harmed.
- Pragmatists want a strong realm overall and will support de jure wars and the ruler paring down over-powerful vassals, but they will also tend to veto "military adventurism" if the opposing realm is too powerful, and they don't want to see anyone getting too powerful -- including the ruler.
- Glory Hounds are basically the inverse of the Pragmatists, supporting "glorious" wars to expand the realm and break the might of powerful foes (basically the "Leeroy Jenkins" Council Stance). On the plus side, they want to see the realm strong and will support attempts at centralizing power -- but at the same time, that same respect for strength tends to mean they'll oppose you weakening powerful vassals without cause.
- Zealots, as the name might suggest, will pretty much support anything that weakens religious enemies and oppose anything that harms pious members of the same faith.
- And finally, Malcontents are basically the inverse of the Loyalists, opposing anything the ruler wants unless they personally stand to gain from it.
The main thing to keep in mind is that you're actually (slightly) reducing your vassal cap. The numbers listed are the absolute bonus you get over the default, and you already get a +10 to your Vassal Limit from Minimal Centralization. Basically, as you go further up, you're trading the ability to manage more vassals for the ability to control more territory directly. Other than that, pretty straightforward.
The chief thing to remember about your vassal preferences is that your vassals prefer to "play to their strengths" and don't want to give up the one thing they specialize in: Feudal lords prefer sending cash to troops, and city / merchant republic vassals prefer sending troops to cash. Otherwise, Ihdrendur pretty much nails it -- once your realm gets big and advanced enough that you can maintain sizable retinue forces and hire mercenaries for extended periods of time without breaking the bank, you can afford to relax your feudal vassals' levy restrictions.
I think that, now that you're a king-tier ruler, you'll simply force duke-tier Merya to swear fealty to you while he keeps his vassals and titles, but otherwise the logic should be sound -- if you were of equal rank to your target, you'd gain their top-rank titles, and all vassals they had would become sworn directly to you.
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A new Kingdom to stand astride the world. I have to say i didn't expect that, but it did make me smile when I "saw" it happen.
Q1 - Tribal Organization is your pathway to Feudalism. You can't go feudal without max tribal organization, so damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead. Empowered Council simply means that - your councilors become more assertive about bending the Kingdom to their will. Unfortunately, two powers will be given to the council every time you increase your tribal organization. Empowered Council and War Declaration Committee are actually a net benefit. With War Declaration Committee, any vassal that is on the council won't join a faction. So if you throw those vassals that hate you onto the council, they very suddenly have power to lose. They can still murder you though, so watch out.
Q2 - Centralization is nice and all but not really needed at this point I wouldn't think. At least not while you are tribal.
Q3 - Not worth bothering with at this point. It's very micro. The only one that you need worry about while tribal is the tribal slider, but you have other priorities at the moment IMO. The other 3 are for feudal vassals - barons, mayors, and bishops.
Q4 - I'm actually going a different way and treating this as a primer on vassal management. As a King, you can now have Ducal vassals, which can have Count vassals of their own. 3 vassal counts hate your guts? Make one a Duke and make the other 2 counts his problem instead of yours. They'll plot against him instead of you for the most part. (They can still join assassination plots within the Kingdom, so be careful) 1 vassal count hates your guts? Make a friendly Count in his duchy the Duke, and bury the hater. Flood those haters with the Court Chaplain and the "Settle Tribe" councillor option (forget which one it is lol) to make them your religion & culture.
Also, make the time to start revoking those Slavs. Once you're done with Merya, start strengthening your realm from within in order to make those Organization hits less painful. You're going to have to keep raiding, a lot, so it isn't like you won't be doing anything. But let that threat decay and handle some internal politics.
Edit - Pagan subjugation only seizes titles of a higher or equal rank to your own, As a King subjugating a Duke, you'll have a shiny new Duke that hates your guts.
Q2 - Centralization is nice and all but not really needed at this point I wouldn't think. At least not while you are tribal.
Q3 - Not worth bothering with at this point. It's very micro. The only one that you need worry about while tribal is the tribal slider, but you have other priorities at the moment IMO. The other 3 are for feudal vassals - barons, mayors, and bishops.
Q4 - I'm actually going a different way and treating this as a primer on vassal management. As a King, you can now have Ducal vassals, which can have Count vassals of their own. 3 vassal counts hate your guts? Make one a Duke and make the other 2 counts his problem instead of yours. They'll plot against him instead of you for the most part. (They can still join assassination plots within the Kingdom, so be careful) 1 vassal count hates your guts? Make a friendly Count in his duchy the Duke, and bury the hater. Flood those haters with the Court Chaplain and the "Settle Tribe" councillor option (forget which one it is lol) to make them your religion & culture.
Also, make the time to start revoking those Slavs. Once you're done with Merya, start strengthening your realm from within in order to make those Organization hits less painful. You're going to have to keep raiding, a lot, so it isn't like you won't be doing anything. But let that threat decay and handle some internal politics.
Edit - Pagan subjugation only seizes titles of a higher or equal rank to your own, As a King subjugating a Duke, you'll have a shiny new Duke that hates your guts.
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Will do the consolidated respond in detail in due course, but almost all the vassals hate me anyway - in fact, after this war is done, I’d like them to start hating me enough to give me a decent excuse to eliminate them!Edit - Pagan subjugation only seizes titles of a higher or equal rank to your own, As a King subjugating a Duke, you'll have a shiny new Duke that hates your guts.
But useful vassal management points - might try a few of them out.
finally found some time to reply
Why are you using the promote commander and present debutante decisions? I never used them and always called people from the people finder tool. Maybe I was doing something wrong but I think there was a better selection there. Not that the ones you got were not good enough, I just was too lazy to fire the decision and just grab whoever I liked from the pool.
On the other hand, if you are going to go for the empire of Rus next, northern provinces would be already a part of it so a very small plus points for them.
I am not sure if the title of Jarldom of Merya (Duchy of Jaroslavl) will transfer to you. To my understanding, there is a strong chance that the High Chief of Merya will be your vassal and keep his vassals. If nobody has the Jarldom of Rostov, you could create it (I always do when I have the chance to because 1- prestige 2- somebody else might create and beat me to it 3- why not 4- probable slight obsessive compulsive disorder). One problem in your case might be about having too many jarldoms is a shrinking demesne after succession, but if you have 7 Jarldoms in the end Helgi will inherit 3 while the others will inherit 2 so he will have around 7-9 demesne provinces if I am not mistaken. How many demesne do you have now / prefer to keep?
The good news is excellent, the bad news is not so bad. Some Jarldom to give to a good Norse lad.
I mainly played a horselord, but I think I kept ALL the duchy and kingdom level titles in my empire. I'm a title hoarder and I found that I always prefer replacing a problematic vassal than giving away all my preciouusss titles. Your vassal management tips sound promising though.
I have only a little experience with those so I'll pass but I find it that instead of revoking a title I like just waiting for them to revolt and hand the title to me on a platter better.
It's nice that the Norse have a court vulva. No wonder though there are no available candidates. Maybe you can find one among the Byzantines
Why are you using the promote commander and present debutante decisions? I never used them and always called people from the people finder tool. Maybe I was doing something wrong but I think there was a better selection there. Not that the ones you got were not good enough, I just was too lazy to fire the decision and just grab whoever I liked from the pool.
Well, this made my case about declaring the kingdom later nearly completely moot.
This has been a constant source of worry for me. If there is some obstacle on Baltics, you can try the polar sea as well but Baltic is the better target.
On the other hand, if you are going to go for the empire of Rus next, northern provinces would be already a part of it so a very small plus points for them.
Population boom in 9 months.
I am not sure if the title of Jarldom of Merya (Duchy of Jaroslavl) will transfer to you. To my understanding, there is a strong chance that the High Chief of Merya will be your vassal and keep his vassals. If nobody has the Jarldom of Rostov, you could create it (I always do when I have the chance to because 1- prestige 2- somebody else might create and beat me to it 3- why not 4- probable slight obsessive compulsive disorder). One problem in your case might be about having too many jarldoms is a shrinking demesne after succession, but if you have 7 Jarldoms in the end Helgi will inherit 3 while the others will inherit 2 so he will have around 7-9 demesne provinces if I am not mistaken. How many demesne do you have now / prefer to keep?
The good news is excellent, the bad news is not so bad. Some Jarldom to give to a good Norse lad.
I mainly played a horselord, but I think I kept ALL the duchy and kingdom level titles in my empire. I'm a title hoarder and I found that I always prefer replacing a problematic vassal than giving away all my preciouusss titles. Your vassal management tips sound promising though.
Nomadism is so different than playing anything else in CK2 that my typical vassal tricks just really don't work. And those are just easy tricks, nothing in depth. Make it someone else's problem lol. I've tried nomadism, and I struggle with it to be honest. I think the big difference in vassal management is that in nomadism you don't want powerful vassals and your personal prestige can make up the difference of any opinion hits, with any other government type you get penalized for having too many duchies and/or too many counties to the point that eventually it all just falls apart on you. You have to learn to deal with vassals, try as you might to avoid it
I guess yes there is big difference in mechanics between nomads and others. Prestige is very important indeed, but I am ok with powerful vassals as long as I am clearly more powerful than them and there are at least 2 of the same power level so they squabble against each other instead of setting their eyes on my position as the khagan. Although, the main trick is to give a lot of 1-2 holding provinces to your vassals. They care about who has how many provinces but real power comes from empty holding slots so you can have 10 4-5 holding provinces and give all your vassals 8 1-2 holding provinces and even though they will not think that you are hoarding counties you will eclipse them in power even if some of them gang up on you.
I haven't been able to see last weekend so have some catching up to do...
Just leafing through comments though, vassal issues aren't so much problems as 'which solution am I willing to pick?', for there are many ways to get rid/diffuse/fob off any vassal who isn't a perverted powerful duke or king tier. Since you are tribal, and the leader of raids, bribery is actually a very cheap option for the most part. Most of your vassals earn almost nothing in revenue, whilst you can earn hundreds in raiding. Plus leading them in a successful war really increases their respect. And since you are on gavelkind as well, you are far and away the most powerful person in the realm in terms of land and manpower, so realistically they can't do much to you anyway aside from plot to kill you. And as we know, that works out...almost never.
Just leafing through comments though, vassal issues aren't so much problems as 'which solution am I willing to pick?', for there are many ways to get rid/diffuse/fob off any vassal who isn't a perverted powerful duke or king tier. Since you are tribal, and the leader of raids, bribery is actually a very cheap option for the most part. Most of your vassals earn almost nothing in revenue, whilst you can earn hundreds in raiding. Plus leading them in a successful war really increases their respect. And since you are on gavelkind as well, you are far and away the most powerful person in the realm in terms of land and manpower, so realistically they can't do much to you anyway aside from plot to kill you. And as we know, that works out...almost never.
They are your titles, so why do others get upset when you press your claim, Skraelings.
True words! Given we haven’t been to Greenland yet, I think we can use the term here? It is going to be a long haul trying to convert the whole of Rus into a Norse Germanic realm! One province’s religion converted so far ... still, Eurasia’s Road of Queens gives me hope. If he can slowly create a Greek Buddhist kingdom in India I can try the equivalent in Gardariki!
To All: will try to get the next Thing done this weekend to respond to all your comments and play through another session.
True words! It is going to be a long haul trying to convert the whole of Rus into a Norse Germanic realm! One province’s religion converted so far ... still, Eurasia’s Road of Queens gives me hope. If he can slowly create a Greek Buddhist kingdom in India I can try the equivalent in Gardariki!
You might get lucky that the dukes also try to convert wrong culture, so you might want to start with converting them?!?
I would if I could, but I believe I need to either reform the Germanic religion and/or progress to Feudalism (or some other advance) before I can force that. Unless becoming King grants me that right (don't think it does?). For now, I've been relying on my Godi to slowly convert my central provinces first. And I will replace any rebellious count/duke with a good Norse Germanic character whenever I can.
A bit of shameless cross-promotion here: I have started a new AAR (another of my little side-projects) using the old EU Rome game! It promises to be short, sharp and quick-fire. For those that are familiar, a little more in the 'Quick and Dirty' style of my HOI3 France AAR, but this time being played live rather than off saves.
The reference is in my signature and also below. Please drop on by - I'd love to see you! Forget about all these wannabe Roman Empire successors of CK2: watch the original and best as it tries to grow from a small-middle sized regional power into the biggest of them all
The reference is in my signature and also below. Please drop on by - I'd love to see you! Forget about all these wannabe Roman Empire successors of CK2: watch the original and best as it tries to grow from a small-middle sized regional power into the biggest of them all
They had one of those? Was it any good?
I suppose it may turn into a reasonably lengthed showcase of the game though, which is what France turned into (well, it did once the RNG decided to have allies work for you this time).
For a long term project, ypu coukd try recreating the germanic pagan world at its greatest extent (Scandinavia, Russia and eastern europe east of germany, the british isles and all the islands above it including iceland, greenland and north america!).