'Aberffraw' is not just the noise a Welshman makes when sneezing.

[NexusSix]

Aim of the AAR
Following the loss of my Crouching Bastard Hidden Dragon AAR save I actually figured to give Crusader Kings a rest. I am an English teacher and amatuer writer but soon missed playing the game, after messing around with various aspects I soon discovered that for me 80% of the game is about the story and the alternative version's. So I looked at my mistakes as well as the positives and decided on things that I would do differently. I decided to embark on another AAR.

Historical Truth
In a nutshell, Gruffydd ap Cynan Aberffraw born in 1055 was the "true" King of Gwynedd who was living in exile in Dublin. The son of a Welsh Prince he made his first attempt at the Welsh throne in 1075 following the death of Bleddyn ap Cynfan Mathraffal (the focus of my last AAR) He managed to become King of Gwynedd on a number of occasions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruffydd_ap_Cynan

The Game / Modding
First up I wanted to obviously use Gruffyd as my main character, sure enough he begins the game in Dublin aged 11 with a Martial Education. The ruler of Dublin is Murchaid Ui Morda, son of the Duke of Leinester. So i quickly shifted him back under daddys rule and replaced him with the Marshall Concobar O'Brian. I figured Concobar had a deal with Gruffyd's mother (still alive) to allow him to succeed rather than one of his sons. He had 2 sons so the idea was that by setting succession to Elective I could get Gruffyd on the throne. I added Illness, Pneumonia and Intestinal worm to him also so he would die quickly and bought Gruffyd's mother back to life. I also gave Gruffyd the "prodigy" trait and a score of 50 gold, 100 Pres, 100 Pie.

Pre-Game
First I started the game using the Confessor senario, which could well mean no William of Normandy in 1066. I figured to let this alone because so long as Harold didnt take the throne we would have an alternative future anyway.
I married Concobar and his youngest son off, the wives were chosen purely as a steward and diplomat. (who later died)and the youngest son had 3 children, in a stroke of luck the eldest son was exiled off (he was infront of Gruffyd in the line of succession). As the game sped forwards I split away from the Dukey of Leinester when Murchaid replaced his dead father Diamait.
I began the clock running and spent anymoney on advancements in Dublin.
I kept reaching an issue though which was whenever Conchobar died the game would end not giving me the chance to follow on with Gruffyd. It was getting frustraiting as I could not nail the exact time, so when Gruyffd turned 15 in 1070 game time I edited Concobar's death date. Loaded as a random Count played 1 whole day , saved the game and reloaded as Dubline. Bingo, Gruffydd ap Cynan Aberffraw was Count of Dublin. I sped the time up to the 1st Jan 1071 when he came of age and thats where the story will begin.

 

[NexusSix]

Part One: Indulgent Youth
The young Gruffydd ap Cynan Aberffraw stood on the ramparts of the Hill fort of his new inheritence and looked out across the Irish sea. He knew that his name, Aberffraw left him with a great pressure to attempt to reunite Wales.
He stared epiclly out considering until his mother eventually called him for his dinner. Well, ok he was Count of Dublin, but he couldnt cook worth crap.
Over the meal he was confronted with the fact that tomorrow was his big day. A choice of nobles daughters were to be presented to him in the hope he would choose one in which would give him many heirs. Young Gruffydd went to bed that evening dreaming of busty Normans and Franks with hips you could park a boat between.
The next day the young Count wore his best robes to the procession and was shocked to see the riff raff presented.
Mildred 'the hunchback' and Gundred 'The Wench of Salisbury' were amongst the moose pigs presented. When he complained young Gruffyd was reminded that due to his exile state he had to settle for "exile" wives. Gruffyd had about reserved himself to a lifetime of trying to perform for the likes of Hilde 'Harelip' Moosenguard of Norway when a rare beauty reached his eye.
The daughter of the Duke of Austria , Ida von Cham was better than pretty she was actually hot. The marriage was arranged instantly, leaving Inga 'the Inbred' and her lovely friends to return to their perspective homes, much to the disapointment of thier fathers, mothers and friends.

Young Gruffydd sat back and got to know his wife a little better, unfortunatly she had a bit of an anoying personality and had a bit of fun staring out into the court yard at young Knights. However luckily she was loyal, Gruffydd on the other hand was a staunch supporter of the old term "Different Realm code" so figured it would not really matter. Plus on the upside he figured that making heirs didnt include having to actually talk to her !
He consumed his time with thinking about heirs and that local barron Domnall "That old Bastard" O'Neill of Tir Eoghain. See, Domnall had insulted Gruffydd at a tourney in Leinester claiming that 'The Welsh fellow hither enjoys the company of sheep' outraged, and not really knowing what this meant anyway Gruffydd held a grudge. Once he had gotten bored of his wife's yapping on about Austria, she was pregnant anyway now so not as much fun, he raised his Dublin regiment and figured to go and shut the old buggers trap.

The Battle of Tir Eoghain

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It is said, in the records of history that as the first Dublin arrow flew from its bowstring, young Cynfyn ap Gruffydd made his first kick from his mothers womb. Whatever the truth was, Gruffydd's first heir was born duing this decicive battle. Dormall O'Neill's forces were beaten and sent running south allowing the Seige of Tir Eoghain to begin taking place. Dormall O'Neill's forces returned for another pop at defence but were rejected again by Gruffydd's forces. In this battle Dormall ' The Ancient ' was slain by Gruffydd's own hand. The young Count of Dublin spotted his foray and chased him at a light jog, the old bugger couldnt muster much of a walk in full chain ' Ill give you Feckin Sheep !!! ' Was the courageous battle cry of the young Duke of Dublin as he struck down the old git with much vengence and joy !


As the Seige raged the sly Duke of Leinester, still holding a grudge from old Concobar's indepenence took the time to make his move on Dublin. With his forces engrossed in the seige of Tir Eoghain, Gruffydd was caught with his pants down. He quickly made a B-line back to Dublin to protect himself. The Duke of Leinester had cheated, he had 2 armies !!!

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The Dance of Dublin
The next few months saw the Count of Dublin manovering his forces between Dublin and Osraige trying to push the Duke of Leinester's forces back away from his home. There were a number of bloody skirmish's which served more to build attrition. The Count of Dublin's main focus was keeping the forces at Osraige apart from those at Leinester, alone he could beat them. Together they would be hard to fight. And worse, Tir Eoghain was mustering its army under its marshall for revenge against Dublin. Finally the two armies merged and somehow the Gruffydd pushed them away. However in doing so he knew he had one action left. He had to charge into Laigin to stop Murchaid from regrouping again.
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Gruffydd's forces pounded the Duke of Leinester's forces in his own back garden but again this left the Count of Dublin open to counter attack from Osraige and Tir Eoghain !

With Dublin under seige the Count of Dublin saw only one option. He sent a message to the newly crowned King of England, Edgar 'Atheling' Cerdicson pledging his alegience. The King of England accepted but to Gruffyd's fury did not commit any troops. This left a deal to be sought with Tir Eoghain. They had a strong army but Donall O'Neill had left behind a baby and a bastard.
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The steward of the child count accepted Gruffydd relinquishing of his claim on the Tir Eoghain title and a peace deal was struck.

Battle of Dublin
With his belegured force the Duke of Dublin entered the field at Dublin to once again defend his home. His army was beaten by the forces of Laigin.

Fearing the worst, Duke Gruffydd was shocked when a peace deal was offered, perhaps the English had been of some use after all ? Gladly accepting the Count of Dublin learnt his first lesson and sat down like the indulgent youth he was. Now all he had to do was reflect on the last 7 months total failure. He had not missed some lessons though.
For one, he was recognised as a great military stategist.

Gruffydd had learnt some valuable lessons.
1) Dont start something you cant finish , even if they talk about sheep.
2) Women moan , a lot
3) Dont trust the Irish
4) Dont trust the English
5) The Duke of Leinester is a goon

 

[Murmurandus]

...

Gruffydd had learnt some valuable lessons.[/B]
1) Dont start something you cant finish , even if they talk about sheep.
2) Women moan , a lot
3) Dont trust the Irish
4) Dont trust the English
5) The Duke of Leinester is a goon

I can only agree with that...

 

[NexusSix]

Part Two: The Cursed Campaign

Luckily for Gryffydd being on Ireland meant that he was far enough away from England to be Irish (although he was Welsh) yet close enough to be English (yet he was Welsh...) So when the invite to Edgar ' Atheling' Cerdicson's anual christmas party arrived it was swept under the doormat and forgotten ! With a no show at the party it signaled to the King of England that the Count of Dublin did not wish to be a part of the English nation anymore. Naturally Edgar was a tad upset and begun a smeer campaign in England.
The Count of Dublin , being a Welshman in Ireland couldnt give a roast boars apple about what the English though about him, so the well planned campaign fell on somewhat dead ears.
Gryffydd did however see that he did not want to be alone next time so aligned himself to Torrilbach O'Brian the Duke of Munster. As he was still looking to expand following the failed endeavour 4 years ago. He turned his attention to Mide, a neighbouring realm. Capturing Mide would also allow him to resurect the title "Duke of Meath which was currently un-claimed. The Duke of Mide was another of the Irish Old Buggers club and allied to that rat Duke of Leinstier.

Gryffydd rubbed his sweaty palms together as he made ready the battle plans. He woke the morning of the battle and put on his lucky robes of destiny, made himself a cup of Tea (crusader standard, milk 2 sugars) and sought out his mother as he needed his morning Fry up before he went to battle. At this point a rather embarassed Steward met him on the ramparts.
"Good morning my Lord... bad news"
Damn, the castle supply of Bacon is out again, have to send Marshall O'Brian to get some more, Gryffydd thought.
" Sire... your mother died last night, and your wife... well... she died in childbirth the same evening. Marshall O'Brian has also buggered off and is now serving the Duke of Leinstier, apparently he was sick of making bacon runs.."
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"Well, I'll be a Normans jock strap!!" proclaimed Gryffydd as his shock turned to concern and then back to shock and then back to concern......
"Right, first things first master steward" he proclaimed a plan formulating........get me a fecking Bacon butty........"

The Count of Dublin sat on the ramparts eating his Bacon butty plotting, he needed a new Marshall and a new wife.... well at least his ally the Duke of Munster was comming round for a pre war cuppa. At this point a runner from Munster was pronounced at the door.
"RIGHT, let me guess"... said Gryffydd "The bleeding Duke is dead as well ??"
http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/4126/payhom.jpg
The Marshall weakly nodded. The man waited a few minutes, perhaps he felt sorry for the Count of Dublin "Ok, stop crying... no really" he said. "I tell you what, I will stick around and give you a hand... looks like you need a Marshall"

Gryffydd sent his pledge of alligience to the new lord back and sent the new Marshall Dewi off into town to get more bacon. He sat with his now cold cup of tea and formulated the war plans..... with all his family and his mates....well.........on his own.......

The Battle of Mide
The Count of Dublin went ahed with his plans and raised an army marching into Mide. As he got into Mide he passed through the areas farms and was most disturbed when he met a shepard on the outskirts of Mide. When questioned about a poster attached to a particularly pretty young ewe that read 'The Count of Dublins new Wife' Gryffydd went postal. He met Concobar O'Neill on the battlefield.
"Im sick of all these stereotypical Welsh jokes , boyo " he screamed as his army closed the gap. The first Battle of Mide was pretty one sided and things continued in the Counts favour when the new Duke of Munster showed up to assist in the seige, claiming he hadnt got the memo until late.
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/7387/batmide.jpg
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Just as Mide was about to fall a young man ran accross the battle field with a note. Count Gryffydd figured this was the peace treaty and rubbed his hands together. The note read 'Count Gryffydd loves sheep, signed M. Canninanin, Count of Tir Connail. PS: This is war '
Count Gryffydd should have been prepared for the somewhat traditional Irish gangbang and was even less shocked when he discovered Tir Connail's ally the Duke of the Isles wanted a go as well.

Home affairs
Although the Gryffydd was now Count of Dublin and Mide things were somewhat confusing as he had two armies bearing down on him. The choice of which one to intercept was interesting. The Isle of Man was property of the Duke of the Isles and a nice strategic position for attacking Wales, so the Duke marched his tired army towards the Isle of Man. As they left there was some cause for jubilation, the new selection of wives were actually worth a look at unlike the last bunch of creatures. Gryffydd selected himself a nice looking Russian girl, the fact she couldnt speak Gaelic, English or anyform of language Gryffydd understood was definatly a big bonus !
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/8076/wifey2.jpg
Before setting off to join his armies the Count of Dublin and now Mide jumped onto his ramparts screaming.
"I am Gryffydd, Count of Dublin and Mide... and NOW .... DUKE OF MEATH"
there was a long solid moooooooo as a cow responded......
http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/3764/dukemeath.jpg

Speed Seige
The Duke of Meath ( as he now liked to be known) sent his army as planned to the Isle of Man however this left Mide and Dublin open to other forces. As the Duke's forces lay seige to the Isle of Man ( the Duke of the Isles sent his forces on a sightseeing boat ride rather than engage in battle ) the Count of Tir Connail laid seige to the newly liberated Mide. A feirce contest of "I can knock your castle wall down first" started.

Lukily for Gryffydd he got the drop and started his seige first so not only did he capture the Isle of Man but he also raced back to Mide to see off the usurper Count of Tir Connail. Following the liberal beating and the loss of the Isle of Man both the Duke of the Isles and the Count of Tir Connail called it a day.
http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/4662/getout.jpg

The Duke of Meath returned to Dublin to find his new wife babbling on about something in Russian so he decided to go hunting with the locals instead.
Gryffydd had manged to sire quite a few children and also take two whole regions making up for the last failed campaign. Still he had learnt a few things.

1) Welsh jokes about sheep are boring
2) The Irish cant fight on thier own
3) The Duke of the Isles is a right tit
4) Edgar 'Atheling' King of England throws a crap Xmas party
5) The Duke of Leinester is still a goon

 

[LlywelynII]

1) Excellent choice, although I would've just played the duke of Dublin until he inherited his father's titles - it usually only takes a few years.
2) I like the intro format
3) You didn't complete the siege of Tir Eoghain?

3) Dont trust the Irish
4) Dont trust the English

4) Heh. (Not that he's going to find the Welsh that much of an improvement, mind)
5) What's a bacon butty?

 

[kadvael56]

Luckily for Gryffydd being on Ireland meant that he was far enough away from England to be Irish (although he was Welsh) yet close enough to be English (yet he was Welsh...)

Just an Anglo-Irish Welshman

Gryffydd selected himself a nice looking Russian girl, the fact she couldnt speak Gaelic, English or anyform of language Gryffydd understood was definatly a big bonus !

It could make a sixth lesson .

 

[Murmurandus]

I read this AAR only for the lessons learnt... ... and the title ofcourse...

 

[NexusSix]

Yeh the seige of Tir Eoghaim was cut short by armies from Osraige and Laigin stomping all over Dublin I thought hard about it and i just couldnt allow my beautyfull Dublin to be pillaged, what sort of Irish Welshman would I have been

One bacon butty
Simply English ( well northern English) slang for a Bacon Sandwhich

 

[NexusSix]

Part 3: The Renegade Son

The Duke of Meath had been spending the last few years bonding with the locals and in an ironic and funny move the child Count of Tir Eoghain agreed to become the vassel of Meath after Gryffyyd had only asked three times. That old bugger Donall O'Neill would be doing backflips in his grave if he realised that his son had just knelt and pledged to Gryffydd ap Cynfan Arrbrawfaw , Duke of Meath , Count of Dublin and Mide ( phew) !
http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/2306/muhahaha.jpg
However there was an obvious breakdown in Ireland, the Old buggers club, as Gryffydd liked to call them held half of Ireland with a new trend of young rullers in thier stead. The old rullers were impossible to talk to as they were to busy talking about how a loaf of bread was only 1/10 of a gold piece back in 1020 and how the youth of today was messing up the country. Gryffydd naturally gravitated towards the younger Counts.

An interesting point came into play when the Duke of Leinstier decided to give his eldest son the title, Count of Osraige. What the Duke hadnt counted on was that the Count of Osraige was not happy being let to leave his fathers court but expected to be his fathers lap dog. The Count of Osraige split away from his father within days of being made the Count of Osraige.

Naturally the rat Duke of Leinster declared war on his own son, which also resulted in his allies following suit in the traditional Irish way. As Count Donnachad's army fought away the armies of Leinstier the Duke of Meath sent him a memo. Pledge to me and you have my aid. Donnachad responded immidiatly asking for aid so Gryffydd took off his slippers and called up Marshall Dewi. Meath was going to war ! Naturally Gryffydd sent the army of Tir Eoghain in first to take the brunt of the battle. Donnachad was so excited about being a part of Meath he ran off to tell his wife the good news !

The War for Osraige
There were 7 battles fought for Osraige which included Gryffydd's forces moving into Laigin. The Duke of Meath figured now was a good time to push his claim on the title Duke of Leinsier and a chance to not only get 1 up but also 2 up on the Count of Laigin, as he was soon to be known as. There was however tradgedy during the War. Marshall Dewi was stuck down and wounded severely and in the following battle was hit in the eye by a rogue arrow, thankfully it didnt blind him ! Following the war the rat Duke of Leinstier laid down his sword and became the rat COUNT of Laigin. Gryffydd was over joyed to now become the Duke of Leinstier and also take on Osraige as part of his domain. He gleefully retured back to Dublin to get his wife to make him a victory bacon butty !
http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/5927/battlelaigin.jpg
http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/9039/batlag2.jpg
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Back in Dublin
With Dewi wounded and unable to fetch bacon Gryffydd was at a loss. He turned to his Russian wife and tried to ask her to get some but she couldnt understand him so in a rage he turned to his friend the Count of Ulaid. The Count was not only happy to bring a supply of Bacon to Dublin but also valued the protection offered from Gryffydd. Being good mates he decided the best idea was to pledge to Gryffydd. Happy Days !

The whole thing was only over shadowed by the Counts Russian bride falling ill. Gryffydd was suspicious that this was only because he had actually asked her to do something and was pretty angry at her for being a wuss.
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/8551/wifeill.jpg Still he cast his eye back over Ireland and began to plot the downfall of the Old Buggers club. He also could not help but think of Wales and his pledge to take it back.... it was his after all....his mom had said so.....

Gryffydd thought about all he had learnt
1) Friends are cool
2) Sons are brats
3) Women fake illness and headaches when they dont want to cook or make heirs
4) The Count.. yes i said COUNT HAHAHAHAH of Laigin is still a goon

 

[LlywelynII]

5) Mother knows best...

(I mean, at this rate, you'll be High King of Ireland before you're Brenin of Wales and who wants that? )

 

[NexusSix]

Looking that way... Im on Hard / Aggressive difficulty , whenever I look at Wales i get gang banged by the bleeding Irish !!
So i really need to get the Count of Leinester and the "Old Buggers club" out the way. Thats maybe 4-5 territories. I have 2 as allies in the Duchy of Munster who is pretty cool for a pint or 2. Also need to get the Duke of the Isles , Crovan out the way. He is my rival and keeps waging war and stealing titles, shame his military power is about 50 or it might be more fun than an actual anoyance, hence i am gonna bash him outta Europe at the next oppertunity
+ with the English claiming all my titles left right and centre do i really want Wales ?? After all im just going to get bent over by the Duke of Wessex and Lancaster who seem to be the most title hungry at the moment.
Its fun though i gotta admit... + I have about 13 kids so this guy is even more rampant than Bleddyn !!

 

[NexusSix]

Part 4: I like my Tea how I like my Revenge......

Gryffydd was still a tad anoyed from the sheep joke from the Count of Tir Connail and had begun to formulate a cunning plan. His friend and loyal servant, Cinead ' The Child Count' O'Neill had a claim on Ulaid and Tir Connail. Gryffydd decided that with this and his rivalry with the Duke of the Isles it was now time to take his revenge and effectively gain 3 titles. The Count of Tir Connail, The Western Isles and The Duke of the Isles. He called Cinead to a war council, the plan if it was to work was to Declare war on the Duke of the Isles thus forcing Tir Connail ( his ally) to also join the fray. It was ambitious, yet very winnable. The Duke of Meath took a long swig from his cup of tea.... yuck it was cold... but this was surely an omen... Revenge... like his cup of tea... was a dish best served COLD !!!!
As he began formulating his plans there was a knock on the door from his steward, some wandering Priest ( probably drunk ) was claiming to be a miracle worker and wanted to try to heal Marshall Dewi. Never one to turn down a laugh the Duke of Meath agreed.
"Well i will be the son of a bastard Duke !! " he proclaimed... The miracle cure had worked !!!!! Marshall Dewi was back in business !!!

There was however tradgedy as Gryfydd's second wife died in childbirth ! Gryffydd could not help but be sad even if he could never actually pronoince her name properly. As the black flag was flown over Dublin Castle the Duke was already searching for his next hottie. In a diplomatic move, he decided on marrying the daughter of his ally, the Duke of Munster. Unlike the title said she was not a munster and actually quite fine !!
http://img43.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wifedie.jpg

As the wedding bells toiled the Duke of Meath figured that he also had a master stroke in play he had not even noticed !! Upon owning Ulaid and Tir Eoghain he could resurect yet another un-claimed title. So with much glee he added Duke of Ulster to his trophey cabinet !

Gryffydd spent the next few months mobilising his military and sending out word of the upcomming war of revenge. He sent word to the Duke of the Isles simply saying " This is War Boyo" and raised his armies ! The Count of Tir Connail naturally raised his own army! As the Duke of Meath manovered, his plan was to send the Count of Ulaid and Tir Eoghain to deal with Tir Connail while Gryffydd himself traveled to the Western Isles to give the Duke Corvan a good kick in the rear. The boat ride would be long, but as expected it gave the Duke of Meath the chance to create his 3rd bastard (more about those later ) ... gotta love whores. If that was not enough, his new wife anounced she was pregnant just as Gryffydd was leaving Castle Dublin ! Double heir whamey !!!

The Battle for Ulster
Although the title was claimed already the third part of the Duchey of Ulster, Tir Connail was yet to fall. After a vicuoius seige the little white flag was waved and Cinead 'The Child Count' O'Neill was now Count of Tir Connail and Tir Eoghain !! Another member of the Old bastards club had fallen !
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Battle of the Isles
Gryffydd arrived at the Western Isles on the tip of Scotland and was most disapointed to find nothing but a hill fort and a flock of sheep. Thinking this was another joke Gryffydd was furious, until he realised that the Duke of the Isles was off sight seeing again, apparently he couldnt read Welsh and thought the message was a belated Chrismas card... the foool !! With an evil laugh Gryffydd lay seige to the Western Isles !!!
About half way through the seige the Duke of Meath realised that the Duke of the Isles hadnt gone sight seeing, he had aimed his boat directly at the Isle of Man. It was up to Marshall Dewi and his Dublin regiment to save the day. Once again Gryffydd was faced with a race against time. Would the Isle of Man be sacked ? Or would Marshall Dewi make it in time ???

No sooner had the boats arrived than Marshall Dewi lead the attck on the Duke of the Isles forces. A bloody fight ensued, and Marshall Dewi won the day !!

With the seige of the Isle of Man a failure the Duke of the Isles could only sail back to the Western Isles to find them fallen to the Duke of Meath. Reluctantly he signed the somewhat heavy peace treaty.

Gryffydd, Duke of Meath sat back in his deck chair on the ramparts of Castle Dublin. What a successfull campaign it had been. He had claimed the titles Duke of Ulster, Duke of the Isles and the Count of the Western Isles. But something was missing. He got his best falcon and sent a message to his friend Cinead 'The Child Count' O' Neill. It was time to celebrate the victory !
As Gryffydd had calculated 'The Child' count was a light weight, the next morning he woke up with a hang over and a treaty... In his drunken state he had signed the title 'Count of Tir Connail over to Gryffydd the Duke of Meath.

Gryffydd packed his confused friend off back to Tir Eoghain content in the fact he had stolen yet another title ! As usual he had learnt some important lessons.

1) Drunken Priests rule
2) Drunken Friends rule more
3) Wives are like War Horse's. After riding them to glory a few times they break.
4) The Count of Laigin although not active recently was still a goon

 

[LlywelynII]

Looking that way... Im on Hard / Aggressive difficulty

As you go, you'll find, I think, that the game is harder if you leave the AI on lower agg levels, since it keeps it from squandering its armies, esp. on crusade. Ireland might be an exception, tho'.

+ with the English claiming all my titles left right and centre do i really want Wales ??

Well, if you didn't, you could've just kept the ui Mordhas, right? One way to go might be having just Perf... - it's the only Welsh territory to connect via sealanes to Ireland, via the Isle of Man. If you hold just Perf and Man and stay at peace, you'll gradually be able to correct Irish culture to Welsh. (And it goes faster if you set the sliders 10-x-10-x so that the Irish peasantry and Romish clergy are less powerful than your Welsh lords and carpetbagging merchants, but not so powerless they openly revolt.)

+ I have about 13 kids so this guy is even more rampant than Bleddyn !!

The only thing more rampant than the Welsh is with territories like the Faroes where every courtier you get will be a member of your dynasty because there's only one coded for the county. Just be sure to get a Mongolian bride at some point: if your kid picked up her culture, it'd be the CK version of the antichrist.

 

[NexusSix]

Part 5: Back to the Valleys, Boyo

Gryffydd was relaxing in front of his new swimming pool at Castle Dublin when a scared looking villager, accompanied by Marshall Dewi came to him asking for help.
"Sire, theres a monster outside Castle Dublin !! Save us"
Gryffydd almost choked on his coctail and had to stop himself from falling in the swimming pool he was laughing so hard. Still a Duke had to do what a duke had to do, plus he needed the respect so he could move on and conquer some more poor souls.

So accompanied by his good friend Cinead of Tir Eoghain and Marshall Dewi, Duke Gryffydd went on a bug hunt. After weeks of tracking "the monster" Gryffydd was pretty sure that he was going to discover, as he suspected, the only monster in the realms was his current mother in law. Tired of tracking the monster the group decided to give up on the monster and take a camping holiday instead. After a month or two of roughing it the group returned proclaiming the monster slain !! This nice bit of propaganda was worked over by the Spy Master so Gryffydd managed to raise more taxes and have a whopping feat organised !! However, fears were realised when the mother in law did indeed turn up with bad bad news !!
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Her husband, the Duke of Munster was dead !! Worse still thier son Cennidig had taken the Duchy. Now Cennidig was an odd fellow and as bonkers as they came. He had infact decided to do a strip run at the last papal rally.Now Gryffydd was not a holy man , but that was beyond even his ideas of bad taste ! Still the little stunt had backfired and Pope Godbod the XIII or whoever it was (Gryffydd again wasnt concerned) found it so amusing he excomunicated young Cennidig ! Gryffydd thought it a good idea to cancel the alliance with Munster.

Amid all the fun Gryffydd had been keeping a steady eye on Wales. Wales seemed to be split into 3 factions. The Duke of Deheubarth held Dyfed, Glamorgan and Gwent, The Mathrathal family held Poyes, Glynedd and Perfwedwladd leaving the English to mop up the other areas. Now the Mathrathal family had recently lost thier ruller, Maredudd ap Bleddyn to a illness. Leaving two children in charge of Gwyned and Perfwedwladd.
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Gryffydd thought now was the best chance to strike at Wales and take back some of his homeland !! He raised an army and set sail for Wales !!

The War of the Stepping Stone
Gryffydd knew that he did not have the power to take the whole of Wales in one thrust so thought it best to make inroads as best he could. He had a claim on the title Duke of Glynedd and decided to also make a claim for Count of Perfwedwladd. When he landed his troops in Perfwedwladd the false Duke of Glynedd issued a statement of war ! He was right to fear the first return of an Arberffraw to Welsh soil !

The first battle was a bloddy affair, however the Irish forces under the Duke of Meath made short work of the Mathrathal loyal Welsh. It saddened Gryffydd a little to be killing his Welsh kin but then he just shrugged, after all he had lived most of his life in Ireland anyway. Plus Wales was his.....his mother had said so.....
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As the seige began, the other Welsh armies began to move towards the besiged Perfwedwladd. News reached Gryffydd of the birth of his daughter, the second of his children to be born of war !

As if it was a message from god the Count of Perfwedwladd surrendered as soon as the seige had begun ! He obviously recognised natural succession. Gryffydd ensured he packed the ousted former count off to Gwyned after he raided his bank roll. The income would ensure that his army was supplied in the field for the entire campaign ! More importantly, Gryffydd had gained his first foothold in Welsh soil. the Arberffraw family had returned to Wales !!!

Gryffydd then split his force, sending half towards Gwynedd and a smaller force to Powys to sort out the army of Madog ap Bleddyn. At Gwynedd the Duke had left a force of mercanaries behind to guard his estate. Although strong in number they were not versatile and did not have the heart for a fight. They were routed after a single volly from Gryffydd's archers. The mercenaries packed up and headed back to Norway ! The seige of Gwynedd began with Madog making one attempt at stoping it. When the dust settled Gryfydd was crowned Duke of Gwynedd.
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The fat Duke of Powys, Madog ap Bleddyn now knelt at Gryffydd's feet accepting him as his liege. Gryffydd took one look at the lump and sent him packing back to Gwynedd demanding he relinquish his hold on the title Count of Powys. The coward accepted. The Duke of Meath now held three Welsh titles ! Duke of Gwynedd, Count of Powys and Perfwedwladd.
Gryffydd ap Cynan Arberffraw was back in Wales and he was here to stay !!! All that remained was a return trip to Ireland and a celebratory booze up !

As usual, Gryffydd had learnt some valuable lessons !!
1) Peasants are both gullible and dumb !
2) Dont hire foriegn mercenaries and leave them to guard your castle
3) My mom was right ! Wales is mine
4) The Mathrafals are goons
5) Infact, all Welsh land owners bar me are Goons
6) The Count of Laigin has been quiet..... hes a goon

 

[LlywelynII]

@5) Infact, all Welsh land owners bar me are Goons
Present company excepted, natch.

@Now, Duke of Gwynedd
If you want to change the primary title ingame, you need to pop open the save game, CTRL+H replace "tag = GWYN" with "tag = XXXX", replace "tag = MEAT" with "tag = GWYN", and replace "tag = XXXX" with "tag = MEAT". On the other hand, that'll move your castle to a Welsh province unless you give those up to subordinates.

If you want to stay in Dublin but still assert your new status, you can just switch the Coats of Arms in the \gfx\coa\ folder, although Gryffydd's actual COA looked like this, not like this. Or you could get funky and impale the Welsh arms with Meath's (like the mix and match here). If that sounds fun but you don't have photoshop, the COA request thread is here and everyone's really friendly.

 

[Enewald]

Wow, this aar is really magnificent!
But some questions:

1. Where are all the sheep?
2. What kind of tea do they drink?
3. Why so few bastards?

 

[NexusSix]

update comming over the weekend

 

[Drachenfire]

"The world's greatest fool is a Welshman to trusts and English King." Gruffydd ap Llywelyn to his son Llywelyn ap Gruffydd in
Sharon Kay Penman's Here Be Dragons.

I love your prose, very entertaining! I can't believe the beautiful Ragnhild, one of the Fairest Women in Ireland according to the Book of Leinster, cook and clean like some maide servant! lol. Well, its good for the ego to do your own cooking I suppose.

I laughed my arse off at each entry! :rofl:



Keep it up! Ill be checking in off and on!

Cymru am Byth! and Dublin-Mide too

 

[timetogetaway]

Fun AAR so far, but I have one burning question that has been bugging me since I started your AAR:

Do Welshmen dream of electric sheep?

 

[NexusSix]

Part 6 : The Hunchback and the Nutjob

Gryfydd had gained an important foothold in Wales. Something which he could proudly pass on to his children. The Duke of Meath contemplated the legacy he would leave for his many children.http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/2764/kidsz.jpg
He sat back in his deck chair, on the ramparts of Castle Dublin and thought about the importance of the day.... Nope... it wasnt important.. he took a long sip from his cup of tea....
" PAGAN CATHOLICS !!!" Gryffydd shouted as he almost spilt his tea and trapped himself in his deck chair in one motion as he suddenly realised the importance of the day !! It was his eldest son and heir, Cynfyn "Born of Blood" ap Gryffydd's 16th birthday AND Wedding day. He burst down off the ramparts and into his private chambers shouting for his wife to get him his dress robes.

Gryffydd went to the wedding selection process and was gutted that he didnt have such a selection of hotties to choose from when he was first married. The selection that turned up for his eldest son were by all means, HOT ! With the help of his mates Marshall Dewi and Cinead "The Child Count" , Gryffydd picked out a serbian orthodox girl for his eldest son. http: //img10.imageshack.us/img10/1136/sonmarry.jpg explaining " The first thing to remember about mariage is its important to NOT be able to understand what shes on about or you might actually have to do something", Gryffydd's friend Cinead "The Child Count" of Tir Eoghain nodded sagely to this wise advice.

The wedding ceremony and booze up was however over shadowed with a black cloud. The Papal institution ( who LOVED to steal everyones thunder ) had decided to take this day to install a new pope in power. With this rule they demanded a strick "no-drinking" law for the day. Considering excomunication, after all the new Pope Godbod d'Ardennes was a blind hunchback ! Being sure that he had gotten the sympathy vote rather than actually being a worthy pope Gryffydd decided about a more intellegent plan of action, which would also get him some good old Catholic recogntion ! It was time to spank the living snot out of the excomunicated Duke of Munster !
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The Battle For Munster
Gryffydd raised his armies and marched on the Duchey of Munster. The battles that followed were mere skirmishes as the Duke of Munster was more occupied with his own insanities than actually fighting a war. When confronted at his castle the mad Duke turned on Gryffydd and his entourage.
"Ive Seen things you people wouldnt Belive, Roman boats on fire off the coast of Italy. I watched light beams glitter in the dark near the Byzantium gate. All these moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to Die."
Gryffydd looked at him in confusion "Is this another Welsh Joke boyo ?" He asked in anger. The Duke of Munster looked at him "Do Welshmen dream of Electric sheep ?" he asked. "RIGHT BOYO !!!!" Gryffydd had to be held back from caving the lunatics head in there and then he was dragged back by his son and Marshall Dewi. "Let me at him, isnt it ! Im going to drag him to the Valleys, see about bloody them sheep isnt it !" Gryffydd was livid !!!
While the group held Gryffydd back the sly former Duke of Munster disapeared.....
A rumor spread soon after that he ran off to hide in Edgar 'Athaling' King of England's court.
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Gryffydd finally regained his composure when he realised he had just inherited 2 Count Titles, a vassal and the title Duke of Munster. He wasted no time in packing the 2 year old count of Urmanu off as well giving him a third count title !
The war had been good ! Both Marshall Dewi and Cynfyn ap Gryffydd had matured in different ways, and a Welsh traitor had joined his court in Dublin.
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The Welsh traitor was one Rhydderch ap Maelog Mathrafal. His father was the bastard son of a fomer duke of Gwynedd. He was a powerfull ally to have in Dublin so was kept loyal by being married to Gryffydd's eldest daughter who had just come of age !
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Ireland was now almost dominated by Gryffydd, he was contimplating crowning himself King of Ireland. Only 3 states now existed which were not under his control. He decided to look to the future before thinking about what he had learnt.

1) Religion starts wars.... I like it
2) No, Welshmen do NOT dream of Electric sheep......... boyo.....
3) The English are deffinatly goons
4) The count of Laigin should die soon... old bugger.....