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You seem to be getting on well enough. Though I am suprised you have not conquered the northern baltic coast or Scandinavia yet. I have found in the past that they fall pretty easily once you lay into them, and its always noce to have a good looking border with the sea.
Ch77 Q3: How many children are enough?One thing that has struck me is that despite having a wife and two concubines, Eilif is now 30 and still has only the two children, one son. I wonder if (with the other heirs out there) this is much of a problem – would more sons now just further fragment the inheritance? Otherwise, I’m considering the search for a third concubine if any worthy candidates are out there.
Oh I somehow missed this one. I think concubine hunting is half the fun of this game so I’d say do that in any case. But outside of my own taste, objectively, unless if you’re happy with the stats etc of the possible heirs you don’t necessarily need one under selective gavekind, there are already some around.
EDIT: young concubines bring prestige as well. Are there any new genius ones around?
But then they'd be chasing a shattered rout until whenever they stopped, without being able to engage them until then, when they could be taking counties to improve the war score and further weaken the Swedes. Or that was my thinking, anyway.
Thanks, I thought it would be unnecessary combat at poor odds. Rurik suffered taking that very route way back when - against the Pskovans and their tribal army, IIRC.
I still think Barsbek would make a fun vassal, but I guess since Eilif would be reforming the religion, we’ll not have another subjugation war? I’m always confused about the available CBs, maybe there’ll be something like that.
I believe that is right - if Eilif lives long enough and does successfully reform (a few hurdles to overcome first and that precarious holy site in Zeeland to hang onto until Naumadl can be taken.
Why let them do so? We had some opportunity to finish them of piecemeal (bloody bishop after we beat him the first time, and the expeditionary force around uusimaa or so?
It was because the sieges were pretty progressed, along the lines of the argument above, and I was delaying things until the tribal army could get across from the east as well. You can end up chasing these forces around, not really catching them decisively or risking them catching you if your forces aren’t coordinated. Not to say that chasing them down can also be good, but my newbie thinking on this war (and remembering the long fight I had in Mordva way back when) is that for this war, Sweden is large enough that it will take some big victories and plenty of occupations to actually win the war and force the subjugation.
I think you meant the tribal army coming over from the east? Anyway, they were indeed on their way to the battle, with a well-timed run. Given they started it in Holmgarðr.
I thought exactly the same thing for a second, until I realised Tyuey's men had taken him. Drat! Still, it was very good in a narrative sense to see him captured.
I’d give their main army a follow up defeat or two to completely reduce their numbers to non combat factor meanwhile siege the south of Sweden I guess.
This time, with those extra troops to hand and them defeated, I may well send a harrying force off on that wind goose chase to see them off - and get some more war score when I can finally confront them, with some other swarm-sieges to get more score, gold and maybe hostages in the south.
You seem to be getting on well enough. Though I am suprised you have not conquered the northern baltic coast or Scandinavia yet. I have found in the past that they fall pretty easily once you lay into them, and its always noce to have a good looking border with the sea.
A few reasons for that: they are pretty poor (though most counties are in the region);I’d been warned previously about causing a breakaway Finnish kingdom to form with gavelkind succession before I can reform the inheritance laws; there had been other priorities; and then as soon as Eilif empowered his council, they were dominated by glory hounds who would not let me take them, even if I wanted to. Perhaps I’ll be able to tidy them up later, consolidating the ‘rear areas’ before the Mongol hordes come calling.
Yes, poor old Halfdan, fading away in the favoured place of banishment for unwanted Norse characters! As for the Ummayads, if no current European power does it, maybe the Aztecs will in due course! Yes, I enabled them just to add to the learning mayhem, if I make it that far as a going concern.
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Ch77 Q1: Succession Vote #1.A couple of little detail questions here. First, what happens to Eilif’s vote for his own successor (currently being cast for his son Styrkar) when he dies? Does it go as allocated beforehand, or does it devolve to his son (or another heir) on his death, who then casts it as he sees fit? Depending on the answer to that, with Rikulfr and Dyre now split 5-5, if Eilif switched support to one or the other of them, would that then make them the clear leader?
The heir under any of the elective or quasi-elective succession laws (except the Merchant Republic elections, which use their own mechanics) is determined by who has the most votes on the eve of the title-holder's death, so yes, Eilif's own vote would be cast according to his wishes.
Also of note: In the event of a tie, if one of the two leading candidates gets the ruler's vote, that one is preferred over the other for the succession. I'm not sure how it shakes out in a situation like this one, where neither one currently has the ruler's support -- I'd imagine prestige, opinion, and the exact status of their supporters has something to do with it. Might be worth looking into...
Thanks – and I know from your Folkungs AAR you had plenty of split successions along the way to becoming feudal!
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Ch77 Q2: Succession Vote #2.The follow-on question (dependent on the answer to Q1 above) is one of general curiosity and game play: should Eilif stick with his preference (largely me role-playing) and stay with Styrkar, switch to Rikulfr (go with the strength and freeze Dyre out, also a plausible role-playing option given Styrkar is still very young and landless), go for Buðli as a reward for services rendered (at least their intent) and try to split the vote more evenly or, more Machiavellian, vote for Dyre on the basis that he’s still his brother and would be the best placed heir (though it would be hard to justify in narrative terms)?
Whoever becomes the successor is going to receive the same lands and titles anyway, right? If I’m not mistaken there, then he should support who’ll have more prestige and more love from the vassals/council.
Objectively, Dyre has the superior stats, and Rikulfr looks like he'd be a mediocre ruler at best -- but, of course, roleplaying is half the fun of this game, and I don't really see Eilif being the sort to suddenly have a change of heart after imprisoning the guy and revoking all his titles (and as long as they remain rivals). Styrkar is most likely not getting any support because he's still underage -- there may be a reshuffling of the vote once he does come of age.
I think the best option here would probably be to switch the vote over to Buðli for now and see if any of the other rulers follows suit (especially if you can get them to defect from supporting Dyre). When Styrkar comes of age (assuming he lives -- let's not be too hasty, this is CK2 after all) we can revisit the issue and consider switching back to him.
Interesting – Buðli would be a credible alternative for narrative purposes and yes, I was assuming Styrkar would not get any other real support until he comes of age, which is still a long way off. Buðli is no rock star either, but … I can always switch around Eilif’s vote if circumstances or objectives change, I guess.
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Ch77 Q3: How many children are enough?One thing that has struck me is that despite having a wife and two concubines, Eilif is now 30 and still has only the two children, one son. I wonder if (with the other heirs out there) this is much of a problem – would more sons now just further fragment the inheritance? Otherwise, I’m considering the search for a third concubine if any worthy candidates are out there.
I'd say you're probably fine for the moment. The typical "heir and spare" logic does get to be a matter of trade-offs when there's gavelkind in the mix, and just from a cursory glance it looks like the Rurikids' collateral branches are doing well enough for themselves that you don't have to worry so much about Eilif himself needing a ton of kids. That may, of course, be subject to change with the vagaries of the game...
Oh I somehow missed this one. I think concubine hunting is half the fun of this game so I’d say do that in any case. But outside of my own taste, objectively, unless if you’re happy with the stats etc of the possible heirs you don’t necessarily need one under selective gavekind, there are already some around.
EDIT: young concubines bring prestige as well. Are there any new genius ones around?
The little prestige boost was something I had in mind. I think I’d only take a new one though if someone really outstanding is available. I’ll at least have a look.
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OK, now off to play the next session. As always, thanks so much for the comments and answers. An AAR’s life blood.
True about how poor Scandinavia is, but it's also an unassailable fortress once you own it, and horsemen getting murdered there, which means the mongols can't really touch you. It also triples or quadruples your navy size, something that is very important for raiding and for EUIV. Plus if you don't get them, someone else will eventually unify them and then you'll have to deal with it, something russia has struggled with for centuries.
But then they'd be chasing a shattered rout until whenever they stopped, without being able to engage them until then, when they could be taking counties to improve the war score and further weaken the Swedes. Or that was my thinking, anyway.
Ooooh of course. I've always played nomads so all my armies were 100% cavalry that would catch the routers in the next province. Didn't realize we couldn't have caught them. Well, it's learning for both you and us
I think you meant the tribal army coming over from the east? Anyway, they were indeed on their way to the battle, with a well-timed run. Given they started it in Holmgarðr.
This time, with those extra troops to hand and them defeated, I may well send a harrying force off on that wind goose chase to see them off - and get some more war score when I can finally confront them, with some other swarm-sieges to get more score, gold and maybe hostages in the south.
Again, I made this comment thinking we could catch them the next province. Maybe we'd better just have one extra siege instead until they finish their rout and return.
There's a screen which shows to whom a title/province will go in case of a succession, right? We were checking it back then. Maybe you can check who's receiving where at the moment?
Chapter 78: A Game of Crowns - Part 1 (22 April 901 – 18 March 902)
Previously, on Blut und Schlacht … the great Battle ofVestmannaland had just been won by Eilif’s combined forces; the tribal holding there assaulted and taken; and the Bloody Bishop of Uppsala was in chains. As the 3,000 remaining Swedish troops fled north, the Garðarikians had to decide what to do next.
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April 901
As it had been before, the army was again split. Grimr would take the tribal army and the majority of the vassal ally regiments in Vestmannaland and chase the Swedes north, not allowing them to regroup and regain their numbers sufficiently to become a significant threat again. Þorsteinn would take the Royal Levies and Huscarls south to begin occupying Eirikr’s remaining counties.
In Nygarðr the Council remained deadlocked on the vote for Jarl Tyuey’s amendment to Tax Shifted Noble Obligations. Out of interest, Eilif asked his Lawspeaker, young Sumarliði, what the chances were of increasing tribal organisation to medium level if the council deadlock was ever broken. He had his eye on the eventual adoption of feudal customs in Garðariki, if current plans to reform the Germanic faith kept heading in the right direction.
“I’m afraid that at the moment, My King, every Councillor would be opposed. I suspect you would need to buy favours from at least three of them to carry the day.”
“Well, that will take money I don’t have right now. But perhaps later, with some vigorous raiding …”
Just a few days later, an urgent message arrived from Constantinople: instead of the usual news of another technological advance obtained by the ever-reliable Queen Mother and Spymaster, the writing was in another hand. And the news was not good.
Eilif’s mother would be returned home by boat through the rivers network of the interior. Her days as spymaster were sadly over. Keeping it in the family, Eilif appointed his brilliant concubine Elin to replace the woman who had been Spymaster since the founding of Holmgarðr (now Garðariki) over thirty years before. It may be the least impressive of her prodigious talents, but she would be competent and Eilif was more interested in her stance in the Council. The most effective plotters in the realm were the two most untrustworthy – the Russians Tihomir and Gradimir! Together with Vihavald’s recent appointment as Marshal, the Council was now evenly balanced between pragmatists and glory seekers: just the way the king wanted it.
There was one positive outcome: this latest appointment had broken the long-standing voting deadlock! Tyuey's law was rejected. But now the Council was nicely balanced, Eilif saw no need to change it by replacing Steward Egill. An even split between glory hounds and pragmatists could prove useful in the future, when different types of casus belli were being pursued.
In late April and early May, the Swedish boys Björn and then Ivar – grandsons of the Jarl of Bergslagen – were ransomed for 10 gold each. Enough to return the royal treasury to a slim though probably temporary surplus.
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May 901
It seemed the old guard of Garðariki was truly leaving the stage. The next to go was the imposing Chancellor, Jarl Tyueykezhut ‘the Hunter’ of Yaroslavl. He had finally succumbed to his long-standing depression, in far off Naumadl. He had lived a long life, but its troubles had apparently become too much for him. The leading candidate for the job – and long identified for it – was Eilif’s nephew, Jarl Buðli of Tver. The appointment would make him very happy on a number of levels – a good thing, as his sentiment had been fading a little recently. Even though it was predicted he would take a glory hound approach on Council, the balance would at least be maintained. But it turned out he was so grateful for the recognition, he pledged his steadfast loyal support to his nephew the King! [Even better! ]
Not so good was the attitude of those who would inherit his large demesne. The bulk went to Tyuey’s son, Jarl Nishkepaz II. He would control a somewhat unruly bunch of subordinate chiefs – seven of them! He wanted a seat on Council, of course – and naturally lacked the talent to justify it. Fortunately his levy was committed to the current war – he might not prove willing to release them in the future.
Eilif decided at this point he would aim to become exalted among men. The hoped-for victory against Sweden and perhaps some vigorous raiding after that might get him to that status in reasonable time. If successful, it would gain some approval from his vassals too – always handy. He also decided to take up the pursuit of hunting: it would help his military skills in the meantime and allow him to enjoy the benefits of the great outdoors. What he didn’t think of at the time [ie what I didn’t remember or check ] was that the boost his stewardship focus had been providing, especially for the number of counties he could manage effectively in his demesne. [I will have to live with that for the next five years. ]
Tyuey’s death had also left a vacancy among his commanders. No internal candidate available within the realm looked suitable, so a search among other good Germanic Norsemen was conducted. At the top of the list was one Sverker, a lowborn man from Ostfriesland. Not only was he a brilliant strategist, but he was an expert siege leader: just the man to have around when having to reduce many a Swedish stronghold. He was invited and duly turned up a couple of weeks later. A wife would be found for him in due course as well.
On 7 May, Þorsteinn had begun the siege of Sudermanland – it was predicted to take 57 days to complete. And three days after that, Buðli reported to Eilif that he had managed to improve relations with the troublesome Chief Gradimir of Tver – who now only loathed Eilif instead of detesting him more than anyone else alive [now ‘only’ -84 opinion ]. This reminded the King that he needed to send his new Chancellor to try what Tyuey had failed to do: fabricate a claim on Naumadl, home of the Germanic holy site of Mære.
But before that was done, the effect of Eilif’s switch from stewardship to hunting came home to roost. He was told he was now one county over his management limit. He would have to discard one if he didn’t want to attract the opprobrium of his vassals – which he didn’t. Having a look tax revenues and levies, Austerbotn – a bit of a raiding target and isolated in the north – was at or close to the bottom of the nine counties he owned. He decided to grant it to his young son – who was heir anyway. What harm could it do? [I blame this decision on the fact that in was about 2am and I was concurrently watching the World Cup cricket game between Australia and Pakistan. You will see (if you haven’t already guessed) why regretted this later.]
That business concluded, Buðli set off for Naumadl. While he hoped for an early breakthrough, it could well take ten years or more to find a strong enough claim. Best get started!
The same day, the new siege specialist arrived to take over the works at Sudermanland – and the impact of Sverker Herse's knowledge was soon obvious. This freed up Þorsteinn to take over the main army, which was by then in Gästrikland, heading north in pursuit of the fleeing Swedish army.
The worries and tedium of governing caught up with Eilif one late may evening. He sought to drown his concerns with a good many cups of mead. When he woke in the morning with a headache, he knew he faced a decision: cop out, or knuckle down to the task. He was determined to do well, so decided he would work hard until the day the Gods called him to Valhalla. Rather than becoming stressed, this resolve turned into determined and diligent self-discipline – another boost to his skills and the regard of his vassals.
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June-July 901
Early June saw old Chief Kezhevat of Moskva – Tyueykezhut’s brother – dead at the age of 63 from an infected wound. His son Virdyan inherited his father’s chiefdom and his claim to the Jarldom of Yaroslavl. He would be Jarl Nishkepaz’s problem to manage.
On 6 Jun, a group of 112 Swedish stragglers were defeated in Gästrikland at the Battle (or more aptly slaughter) of Hedesunda, with Þorsteinn’s main army suffering not a single casualty [war score to 48%] as they passed through to the north. In the south, Sverker completed the siege of Sudermanland on 22 June [war score 49%] and headed further south to Tjust via Austergautland (which had already been occupied previously).
Three days later, far to the north, after a few feints and an attempt from the now rallied Swedes to escape via Jamtaland in Noregr, Þorstein had cornered them in Angermanland. Jarl Eskild now commanded a reduced Swedish army (just over 2,700 men). He could defend behind a small river, but would face over 5,100 determined Garðarikians. Battle was due to start on 8 July.
But first, Sverker encountered another small Swedish vassal company in Austergautland on 6 July. With ten times their number, Sverker soon had them on the run. The ‘battle’ and pursuit of Näsborg was finished by 19 July – by which time all 268 Swedish soldiers had been run down and killed (they’d had 203 left when the pursuit began on 10 July), for the loss of only four Garðarikians [war score 53%].
After two days of skirmishing, by 10 July the pattern of the battle in Angermanland had been set. The tribal army was gathered in the centre. The Garðarikian right outnumbered their opponents, but the small allied company on the left was heavily overmatched by their Swedish opposition. The Swedish centre broke on 14 July but instead of swinging to rescue the failing left wing, Þorsteinn went right. Perhaps he knew what he was doing, because the enemy’s left broke the next day – at the same time the Garðarikian left also failed. Starting strong but now badly outnumbered, the enemy’s right wing fought on for another five days but were driven from the field by 20 July. The pursuit began.
The royal treasury fell into debt again on 23 July – but at least pay had been up to date during this latest major battle in Sweden. Seeing this, the last prisoner for whom a ransom could be found was offered to Jarl Ivar of Bergslagen: who certainly had deep pockets. His younger son Kettil commanded an excellent price when he was handed over on 28 July. It would fund the war for some months.
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August-September 901
Sverker the Siegemaster arrived in Tjust on 6 August and began his work – it should take around five weeks to winkle the enemy out of their fort. In the north, the Battle ofAngermanland was won, with many more Swedish soldiers killed as they had fled the field, for relatively light friendly casualties. Still, there remained much work to do to bring King Eirikr to the bargaining table. Þorsteinn kept up the chase, following them south again.
Tjust fell just over a month later, on 12 September [war score 63%]. Sverker then headed north, back towards Nerike, as the Swedish army had by then rallied again to Nerike’s west with just over 2,000 men, in Vermaland. The pursuing Þorsteinn was still a few counties to the north of that.
It seemed life was more stressful away from the field of battle, because the nefarious Chief Gradimir of Tver perished from it in mid-September. His sons split his two counties between them. The ambitious Nikita was ill-disposed to the king and immediately took his father’s place in the independence faction. His brother Zhavoronok, who inherited Uglich, was at least less hostile.
Neither of the two current factions in the realm were too much concern as yet.
Sverker made it to Austergautland on 21 September and, sure enough, the Swedish army were in Nerike by then: he would hit them on 3 October.
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October 901
The year had certainly shown the Gods were keen for more company in their halls: the doughty old warrior Snorri died on 2 October of a wound that had become infected. Despite his political mischief, Nikita of Tver was a skilful commander: he was called up to replace Snorri. He should be effective in combat: and if he happened to fall in battle, well …
By 3 October, battle had been joined in Nerike between Sverker and the Swedes. On 4 October, Þorsteinn had his victory against a small Swedish force he had ambushed earlier in Vermaland, killing all 296 of them for only eight men lost [war score 63%]. He sent Sverker a message to look for him to arrive from the north-west on the morning on 17 October. By 6 October, after the opening exchanges, Sverker, Sölvi (on the Garðarikian right) and Nikita (on the left) were all pressing forward.
As Nikita was fighting at the front in Sweden, back home his brother Zhavaronok of Uglich joined him in the independence faction on 5 October. The three conspirators now commanded 879 men between them [10.9% of Eilif’s strength] – but still not enough to be anything other than an irritation for now, the King judged.
The battle in Nerike proved hard but not concerning for Sverker, even before Þorsteinn’s larger numbers were added. The enemy’s under-strength left wing broke while the skirmish stage of the battle was still in progress. The intense melee phase began on 15 October, when Sverker charged his opponents in the centre and Sölvi joined in with his men from the right in a berserk assault. Þorsteinn then arrived on 17 October, reinforcing all three wings but especially the centre. The enemy centre broke straight away – and with it, the last substantial Swedish army in the field was broken, with all of them running by 19 October. By the time the pursuit was over on 29 October, they had lost more than half their 2,100 warriors in one of the three great battles of the war so far.
As the Battle of Nerike was being fought, another conquest was being pursued at home. His brother Dyre’s wife, Elin (not to be confused with Eilif's concubine and spymaster Elin), was visiting Nygarðr while her husband was secluded over in Britannia. While not a seducer by nature, Eilif still had a king’s appetites. Perhaps, had it been anyone else, he may have politely ignored the significant looks Elin was giving him. But Dyre’s wife? He couldn’t resist. He made his move one evening. It’s good to be the king and to put one over on Dyre, he thought to himself as he lay back under the furs in Elin’s bedroom. It's not like Dyre will hate me any more than he does already, if he even finds out.
Once more, the two Garðarikian armies went their separate ways. Þorsteinn continued his role as ‘Chaser-in-Chief’ and headed north where the remnants of the Swedish army were once again headed. Sverker went south to take Varend – where some peasant rebel riff-riff was trying to take the county, having already occupied Öland and then Möre. They were just as much an enemy to Eilif as they were to Eirikr and would not be allowed to run riot any longer.
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November-December 901
While the two armies went about their work in Sweden, news came that Poland had done to Curonia what Eilif was trying to do to Sweden. The Polish nation – which seemed to now have an even gorier border than before – now shared another frontier with Garðariki. And a small Swedish raiding party of just 19 men had landed in Ingria: what they thought they could achieve with that many troops was a mystery.
On 5 December, Sverker had begun his siege of Varend: the 681 peasant rebels had (wisely) fled east before his arrival. And Sverker gained the benefit of their earlier siege work: the garrison was already almost at the point of surrender. By 12 December it had been occupied and Sverker struck east to Möre, as the rebels had in turn already run east to their original lair in Öland.
And in Ingria, the Swedish raiding party had the misfortune of getting in the way of a 300-man company en route from Belo Ozero to join Sverker in Sweden. They would not be able to escape before that Belo Ozerians hit them on 7 January.
On 21 December, Eilif heard word that a mystical white bear had been sighted, to the east of the kingdom in Chud. Arthritis had begun to affect the writing of the venerable court scribe Gumarich by that time (it is estimated he would have been well into his 60s by that time). Eilif summoned Sumarliði Olafrsson av Herjedalen (the young man he had brought to court to be steward but was currently acting as Lawspeaker).
“Sumarliði, I would like you to write the saga of this hunt for the White Bear I intend to embark upon. You will accompany us on the hunt and write the chronicle when it is done. You are to work closely with Gumarich on this matter and become his understudy as court scribe.”
“Delighted to, My King. I will be ready as soon as you send word of our departure.”
“Good fellow. I will let you know. Such a trip would I’m afraid tax our treasured scribe too much, especially as a bitter winter comes upon us.”
Rather than pitching the White Bear events in piecemeal as they happen, they will be presented as a single instalment once the quest is done.
Sverker’s next siege target was the hold at Möre, in Sweden’s south, which he began on 28 December against its rebel peasant occupiers. That same day, Eilif had word that his odious nephew Hakon, who seemed to have been rather quiet for a while, had launched a conquest attempt on Chief Lachtna in distant Ireland. Perhaps he would actually secure himself a title out of it! Within two days of this, the Irish had branded him ‘the Repulsive’! No doubt an accurate description of both his ugly face and his egregious personality. Not that a rude lout like Hakon would mind. He would revel in it.
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January 902
The Swedes had been run to ground again by Þorsteinn in the northern county of Medelpad on 24 December. Once again, a heavy toll was taken with the Swedes defeated on 5 January. They once again headed south, on what must have been by then an odyssey that could only have been conceived in the worst Loki-inspired nightmare.
As Eilif was consuming a haunch of venison for lunch on a bitterly cold January day, he received a message by courier, all the way from Noregr. It was a note from Buðli, his new Chancellor. Not only was he now a fervent loyalist – but he had made a stunning and very quick breakthrough in Naumadl!
It so happened that Eilif had both the money and prestige to be able to use the claim – which he did immediately. It may cost him most of those two tangible and intangible commodities, be it was well worth it. His own grand plan – his father’s dream - was coming into focus. Cold venison had never tasted so good!
Buðli’s work done, he was called back home. Eilif wanted him to go to Yaroslavl, to try to improve relations with the powerful Jarl Nishkepaz II. This mission would have been more effective if Eilif had given him the right instructions! Instead, he was still fabricating a claim and this could not be fixed for another six months! Fingers were crossed that nothing happened during that time.
That mechanic gets me time after time. I think it is perhaps the most ambiguous and needlessly difficult key mechanic in the whole game – what you need to click in what order, then you can’t fix it for six months. Argh!
By 13 January, the Belo Ozerian warriors were in Ingria slaughtering the small Swedish raiding party that had so unwisely landed there.
A little later, as a reward for his excellent performance since coming to the realm and taking command of the southern army, Sverker Herse had a good wife selected for him and sent over to Sweden, to keep his bed warm on those cold nights in the siege camp.
Ch78 Q1: Piety Gain.I hadn’t noticed this before. Is that piety gain for arranging any marriage (presumably in the right faith)? Or just for satisfying a ‘get married’ ambition? Given the race is now on to get to the 750 piety target for religious reform, which now seems to be coming into reach, I’ll try for every source I can to gain it. I know raiding (especially of heathen temples) is good for that; battles with heathens too, I understand. I’ve read that building temple buildings can help; so to runestones; releasing prisoners of one’s own religion I’ve also seen (and I have a few of them at present); and blots too. Are all of these good ways to gain piety? Any of them more effective (or not worth the effort)? Any other things (that aren’t really gamey) worth looking at?
Having seen his recent devotion to hunting, and knowing how lonely and taxing rulership could be, Queen Ingrid gave her husband a wonderful gift that winter.
Like his father before him, Eilif loved his new dog – and named him Hunter, of course!
In Sweden, Sverker (his loins well and truly girded by then) completed another successful siege on 29 January. This time Möre, fell yet again (like virtually the sieges of this campaign before it) without losing any men to the vagaries of siege maintenance. Sverker set out for the Öland, the peasant revolt’s last stronghold. Despite a strait-crossing, they outnumbered the rebels four-to-one and the island was a prize worth taking.
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February 902
At the beginning of February, the Swedes were still in rout, back in Vermaland again and now with only just over 500 men left. Þorsteinn was hot on their heels, with almost 4,900 troops ready to pounce as soon as they could trap their enemy again. Other small Swedish contingents of between 25-100 men had popped up in various places, but none of them posed any serious threat. They were ignored for now.
Sverker’s army crossed to Öland on 5 February and soon had the rebels under pressure. The peasants were all fleeing by 9 February and by the time they had been fully dispersed on 19 February, 222 had been killed for only 27 Garðarikians lost [no war score effect, being filthy rebels]. The stronghold was put under siege straight away. The siege of Öland would take the by-now standard five weeks for Sverker Herse to complete.
While this battle was still in its pursuit phase, to the north on Åland, a couple of small Swedish vassal contingents were caught by an invading Yperen regiment! This was an offshoot of one of the claim wars Eirikr had been facing in and around his possessions in Flanders. He just couldn’t catch the smallest break.
Or maybe one small break: the defeat in the field of the rebels by Eilif’s troops had given Eirikr a victory over them by default. Much good it would do him.
Despite his service as a commander under Eilif, Chief Nikita of Tver was up to his father’s old tricks: the King’s spy network reported on 19 February (a very busy day) that he was attempting to fabricate a claim against his Jarl, Buðli. The upstart!
On 24 February, the recent expenditure on the Naumadl claim meant the realm was once more in debt – though the morale effect was by now almost irrelevant given the thorough defeat of most of Eirikr’s field armies. And no bandits or corruption had been reported in the realm during these periods of moving into and out of debt.
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March 902
It wasn’t until 7 March that Þorsteinn managed to catch up with the Swedish army again, this time in Danish territory at Alfheimr. Outnumbered by around ten-to-one, the battle’s outcome was a foregone conclusion. It ended in the annihilation of Eirikr’s last meaningful force in the field. But it was still not enough to make him bend the knee. The rest of the case would have to be made by taking more strongholds until he surrendered.
This last battle, adding another 8.0% to the war score, brought me to what I discovered was a 75% limit for that type of score to the 100% needed. Not that poor old Eirikr (or even his vassal allies) had many troops left by then anyway. Good thing I had been prosecuting the sieges hard!
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The map below charts the progress of the campaign from the aftermath of the victory at the Battle ofVestmannaland on 22 April 901 through to the elimination of the main Swedish field army at the Battle of Alfheimr on 18 March 902. The light blue line shows Þorsteinn’s army (tribal army and vassal levies), the aqua line that of Eilif’s Royal Levy, latterly under Sverker Herse’s command.
Solid lines show movements up to where they joined together again at the Battle of Nerike on 29 October 901, dotted lines the phase after that, when they split up again. Major battles are indicated by the county, date and size [ie war score] of the victory. Skirmishes of less significance are marked by a smaller icon and the date only. Sieges (only conducted by the Royal Levy during this period of the campaign) show the date the holding fell.
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Question
There is only one specific question in Part 1 of this two-part episode. There wasn’t enough room to fit in any more. Without over-crowding things. As it was, I’ve glossed over some of the battles and sieges a bit that in others chapters I would have shown in more detail. But things were getting to the chase and siege stage and there weren’t too many new ‘learning points’ to discover by rehashing everything too repetitively.
The second part of this session’s report will pose a lot more questions (technical and strategic). In the meantime, the piety one is going to be very important now the Naumadl claim has been won: I don’t want Eilif dying on me unexpectedly, or some other event or reverse intervening, before I can at least get to that piety target for reforming the Germanic faith (assuming the war with Eirikr can be successfully closed out before something going horribly wrong).
Ch78 Q1: Piety Gain.I hadn’t noticed this before. Is that piety gain for arranging any marriage (presumably in the right faith)? Or just for satisfying a ‘get married’ ambition? Given the race is now on to get to the 750 piety target for religious reform, which now seems to be coming into reach, I’ll try for every source I can to gain it. I know raiding (especially of heathen temples) is good for that; battles with heathens too, I understand. I’ve read that building temple buildings can help; so to runestones; releasing prisoners of one’s own religion I’ve also seen (and I have a few of them at present); and blots too. Are all of these good ways to gain piety? Any of them more effective (or not worth the effort)? Any other things (that aren’t really gamey) worth looking at?
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Eilif and Dyre's wife Elin Arnfastsdottir – just an autumn fling with no consequences? Or will Eilif’s desire to further humiliate his hated brother have any unexpected repercussions?
Ch78 Q1: Piety Gain.I hadn’t noticed this before. Is that piety gain for arranging any marriage (presumably in the right faith)? Or just for satisfying a ‘get married’ ambition? Given the race is now on to get to the 750 piety target for religious reform, which now seems to be coming into reach, I’ll try for every source I can to gain it. I know raiding (especially of heathen temples) is good for that; battles with heathens too, I understand. I’ve read that building temple buildings can help; so to runestones; releasing prisoners of one’s own religion I’ve also seen (and I have a few of them at present); and blots too. Are all of these good ways to gain piety? Any of them more effective (or not worth the effort)? Any other things (that aren’t really gamey) worth looking at?
Donations to the church, building churches and having the good opinion of churchmen gives large bonuses. Having holy stats like the 7 virtues, and as few of the 7 deadly sins as possible also aids your base monthly total. Also never be in debt, don't be tyrannical and treat prisoners well. For maximum results of course, you either need to join a religious society, pick the religious focus or holy war. Or all 3.
That mechanic gets me time after time. I think it is perhaps the most ambiguous and needlessly difficult key mechanic in the whole game – what you need to click in what order, then you can’t fix it for six months. Argh!
IIRC, you should just be able to click the button for the job you want and drop the councilor onto the desired province, which should auto-cancel the job he's doing now. That should save you a step or two, at least.
Ch78 Q1: Piety Gain.I hadn’t noticed this before. Is that piety gain for arranging any marriage (presumably in the right faith)? Or just for satisfying a ‘get married’ ambition? Given the race is now on to get to the 750 piety target for religious reform, which now seems to be coming into reach, I’ll try for every source I can to gain it. I know raiding (especially of heathen temples) is good for that; battles with heathens too, I understand. I’ve read that building temple buildings can help; so to runestones; releasing prisoners of one’s own religion I’ve also seen (and I have a few of them at present); and blots too. Are all of these good ways to gain piety? Any of them more effective (or not worth the effort)? Any other things (that aren’t really gamey) worth looking at?
TheButterflyComposer basically beat me to the punch here. I don't believe unreformed pagans have access to the "donate to the church" option, but other than that his list is pretty comprehensive.
The war is going well. Soon the Swedes will be made to bend the knee!
IIRC, you should just be able to click the button for the job you want and drop the councilor onto the desired province, which should auto-cancel the job he's doing now. That should save you a step or two, at least.
TheButterflyComposer basically beat me to the punch here. I don't believe unreformed pagans have access to the "donate to the church" option, but other than that his list is pretty comprehensive.
Well, to be properly traditionally CK2 a summer fling should result in a child and cause a lot of interest in going on and what-not. Of course sometimes the game does go the other way, but I kinda hope it doesn't. I think there might be some rather interesting consequences of a fruitful fling.
Nearly everything went well here. Things are looking good right now. Both on the battlefield and at home.
Eirikr's all but defeated, and there's a claim on Naumadal too.
Tyuey may have died and his son not exactly be a good terms with Eilif, but the vote has finally ended! (Poor Ingrid though.) And Eilif could again move against Dyre at his own gain. Both Dyre recognizing Eilif's child as his own and he realizing he's been cuckolded would be great outcomes here, too .
Ch78 Q1: Piety Gain.I hadn’t noticed this before. Is that piety gain for arranging any marriage (presumably in the right faith)? Or just for satisfying a ‘get married’ ambition? Given the race is now on to get to the 750 piety target for religious reform, which now seems to be coming into reach, I’ll try for every source I can to gain it. I know raiding (especially of heathen temples) is good for that; battles with heathens too, I understand. I’ve read that building temple buildings can help; so to runestones; releasing prisoners of one’s own religion I’ve also seen (and I have a few of them at present); and blots too. Are all of these good ways to gain piety? Any of them more effective (or not worth the effort)? Any other things (that aren’t really gamey) worth looking at?
I've always thought that the piety gain is for the one who actually marries. If Eilif hasn't raised a runestone yet, it's an easy way to gain piety. Blots are especially useful if sacrificing abrahamic prisoners. Raiding raises prestige (and MA if targeting infidel temples), but it can be very useful to acquire said prisoners .
Action packed episode in which nearly everything went perfect but a few more from the old guard falls prey to our common enemy time. There were the days I loathed Tyuey, but by now I really started to like him. And now there's his son whom I despise even more than the old him. Strange times.
Even though it was predicted he would take a glory hound approach on Council, the balance would at least be maintained. But it turned out he was so grateful for the recognition, he pledged his steadfast loyal support to his nephew the King! [Even better! ]
Tyuey’s death had also left a vacancy among his commanders. No internal candidate available within the realm looked suitable, so a search among other good Germanic Norsemen was conducted. At the top of the list was one Sverker, a lowborn man from Ostfriesland. Not only was he a brilliant strategist, but he was an expert siege leader: just the man to have around when having to reduce many a Swedish stronghold. He was invited and duly turned up a couple of weeks later. A wife would be found for him in due course as well.
As Eilif was consuming a haunch of venison for lunch on a bitterly cold January day, he received a message by courier, all the way from Noregr. It was a note from Buðli, his new Chancellor. Not only was he now a fervent loyalist – but he had made a stunning and very quick breakthrough in Naumadl!
Ch78 Q1: Piety Gain.I hadn’t noticed this before. Is that piety gain for arranging any marriage (presumably in the right faith)? Or just for satisfying a ‘get married’ ambition? Given the race is now on to get to the 750 piety target for religious reform, which now seems to be coming into reach, I’ll try for every source I can to gain it. I know raiding (especially of heathen temples) is good for that; battles with heathens too, I understand. I’ve read that building temple buildings can help; so to runestones; releasing prisoners of one’s own religion I’ve also seen (and I have a few of them at present); and blots too. Are all of these good ways to gain piety? Any of them more effective (or not worth the effort)? Any other things (that aren’t really gamey) worth looking at?
I think it's because it satisfied the "get married" ambition but I'm not 100% sure about this. About other ways to collect piety, I think you made a good list. There's a theology focus (I was so sure you'd select that one) that has some piety generating event chains if I'm not mistaken but there's 5 years before Eilif gets to pick his focus again, I guess?
While this battle was still in its pursuit phase, to the north on Åland, a couple of small Swedish vassal contingents were caught by an invading Yperen regiment! This was an offshoot of one of the claim wars Eirikr had been facing in and around his possessions in Flanders. He just couldn’t catch the smallest break.
Eilif and Dyre's wife Elin Arnfastsdottir – just an autumn fling with no consequences? Or will Eilif’s desire to further humiliate his hated brother have any unexpected repercussions?
I never had much experience with non player commanders up until my latest game, as having a ruler with good martial stats (or to be honest, terrible ones) leading an army is way more fun. Then I was a minor nation at war with a Goliath and decided to open my court up to everyone who could swing a sword vaguely in the right direction. This has eventually led to an army led by a faceless 30 martial doom warrior who can kill anything, a 24 martial siege expert, and his brother, who is slightly worse at sieges at 23 martial but is 20 years younger. These don't make defeat impossible but they narrow the tech advantage of for example early Muslim factions and are worth (based on their victories against larger armies) a few thousand men each.
Paradox have changed how this works for tribal rulers. Now if you do it legally, you fully empower the council. So for god's sake, don't do this without a really strong personal land group, and really loyal or weak vassals. Eventually you will have to probably transfer to feudalism (especially if you want to form a bigger kingdom like Russia) but right now? For a beginner? You'd be ramping up the difficulty by a couple of notches just by doing the legal chain necessary, and then have to learn a new system whilst debuffed to an absurd degree.
Depending upon the religion, it unlocks possibility of pilgrimage, celibacy, scholarly retreats, better relation with churchmen event chains, seclusion event chains and a boost to piety and health scores. For Christians jointing a religious society, it is pretty much the required focus for the duration of your time in the society...which in practice means you aren't changing focus again with that character.
I never had much experience with non player commanders up until my latest game, as having a ruler with good martial stats (or to be honest, terrible ones) leading an army is way more fun. Then I was a minor nation at war with a Goliath and decided to open my court up to everyone who could swing a sword vaguely in the right direction. This has eventually led to an army led by a faceless 30 martial doom warrior who can kill anything, a 24 martial siege expert, and his brother, who is slightly worse at sieges at 23 martial but is 20 years younger. These don't make defeat impossible but they narrow the tech advantage of for example early Muslim factions and are worth (based on their victories against larger armies) a few thousand men each.
Martial 16 is the highest cutoff for combat tactic odds, so NPCs with martial over 16 are only more useful if they're the marshal with the martial stat providing some other bonuses linearly. So for characters over martial 16, the traits (like the ones you had, siege expert etc) are more important.
Paradox have changed how this works for tribal rulers. Now if you do it legally, you fully empower the council. So for god's sake, don't do this without a really strong personal land group, and really loyal or weak vassals. Eventually you will have to probably transfer to feudalism (especially if you want to form a bigger kingdom like Russia) but right now? For a beginner? You'd be ramping up the difficulty by a couple of notches just by doing the legal chain necessary, and then have to learn a new system whilst debuffed to an absurd degree.
This one I'm confused about. I've always played nomads so I don't have first hand experience, but shouldn't we do it at one point anyway? The vassals will not suddenly become weak or loyal in a decade or two and we need to start pushing to get there if we want feudalism in Eilif's reign, don't we? As per Wiki the Red; at the next level the council would vote on grants and revocation, and at the level after that on imprisonment, exile, and execution. After thaf feudalism is unlocked. For sure that it's not the prettiest thing to give them the right to vote on those but it's only for a decade or so, right?