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I'll answer this one first, as best as I can remember, given I knew very little of the game (and am still very new to it) and have played on more than 200 years past this point (small spoiler there - so Frisian Freedom isn't wiped out by then, yet ...)
First, for consolidation of power, I didn't really know what reducing estate influence meant/would do and for RP purposes had decided not to pursue an autocratic approach down the track, so discarded that, iirc.
But on the other hand, I wasn't going to be radically anti-conservative/absolutist either. And thought elections that were too frequent may be a bit chaotic as well.
Reducing yearly corruption a bit via the right of re-election may have had some value, but by that point I wasn't really getting much if any corruption (from what I can remember).
Sortition? I like the idea of having longer terms (presidents for life, but usually only elected when they were a bit older already), with increased leader skills and longer lifespans, with the option to fix an election lottery (at a cost, of course) if a really horrendous dud came along at a time I thought we couldn't afford it or when they were comparativly young and we'd likely be saddled with them for a long time. As it happened, I don't remember having to do that much.
So that's my recollection/reconstruction of my thoughts processes (such as they were) at the time!
I'm sure it will become more familiar as I go and, as usual, going through a game (even in retrospect) by AAR teaches you a lot more than I knew at the time, plus the handy hints people provide (thanks muchly).
Here are the election options. Obviously, at the time the greyed out 're-election' option would have been viable.
First, for consolidation of power, I didn't really know what reducing estate influence meant/would do and for RP purposes had decided not to pursue an autocratic approach down the track, so discarded that, iirc.
But on the other hand, I wasn't going to be radically anti-conservative/absolutist either. And thought elections that were too frequent may be a bit chaotic as well.
Reducing yearly corruption a bit via the right of re-election may have had some value, but by that point I wasn't really getting much if any corruption (from what I can remember).
Sortition? I like the idea of having longer terms (presidents for life, but usually only elected when they were a bit older already), with increased leader skills and longer lifespans, with the option to fix an election lottery (at a cost, of course) if a really horrendous dud came along at a time I thought we couldn't afford it or when they were comparativly young and we'd likely be saddled with them for a long time. As it happened, I don't remember having to do that much.
So that's my recollection/reconstruction of my thoughts processes (such as they were) at the time!
I did eventually, but it may have taken some time and did eventually discover and start implementing policies. But not for a good time yet.
I think from (somewhat hazy) memory there may have been one event that raised it, but otherwise I did it deliberately.
I think I also discovered that after a while too. At this point, I'm reconstructing after the fact from saves. I think I kinda remember what and where the macrobuilder is, but because I've now paused my only EU game of any length (discounting that abortive start in this Frisian Dream) I've now forgotten a fair bit of that!
I'm sure it will become more familiar as I go and, as usual, going through a game (even in retrospect) by AAR teaches you a lot more than I knew at the time, plus the handy hints people provide (thanks muchly).I have a feeling I also discovered this at some point, and the savings from skimping on navy maintenance weren't that great anyway (edit: mothballing seems more effective), but it's handy to have that confirmed.
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Chapter 10: An Accidental War (1474-82)
Chapter 10: An Accidental War (1474-82)
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June 1478
Friso Barents’ surprisingly long term as Potestaat of Friesland had begun in August 1459 and finally ended with the dreamless sleep in August 1475, just a few days short of 16 years in office and at the ripe age of 77. His place was taken by Maurits Stijl, known for his espionage skills and being a brilliant administrator and diplomat. Reginhard Donia served on as the sole minister.
The French alliance continued as Friesland continued to curry favours with them and gradually earned the trust of the great power to the south. And the spy network in Burgundy increased under Stijl’s expert direction.
The army had expanded in all three arms since the last war against Utrecht to its maximum sustainable force level but had not yet been unleashed again against a neighbour. The navy now had room for a modest expansion – funds permitting.
A replica of an early modern mortar, similar to those first adopted by the Frisian army in the late 1470s.
Frisian influence in the Holy See gradually increased with the years but had still not approached a level that would allow it to seek meaningful assistance from the Vatican, as the desire for church reform gained pace (whilst generally being discouraged by the traditional pro-Catholic leaders of Frisia).
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July 1480
Maurits Stijl died after a term of just five years, with the Frisian dream being taken over by another member of the Van Schellinkhout family, Joris. Another man known mainly for his bragging indiscretion, though a competent administrator, diplomat and a very highly regarded soldier. As always, he was served by the ubiquitous Reginhard Donia.
Early on, Friesland had beaten the Dutch in a small naval skirmish and since then the two main land battles had seen the large French army in Brittany defeat its opponent there twice. Otherwise, most of the land action had involved occupations and sieges. As part of which, Utrecht had suffered some bad looting.
This meant of the light French Coalition casualties on land, none had been suffered by Friesland as yet. For the enemy, Brittany’s whole main army seems to have been destroyed in the Battles of Vannetais and Rennais.
The army remained at the same strength as in 1478, but the navy had added one light ship since then (making 15 barques). As a result, trade in the English Channel in particular remained strong, but the budget had fallen slightly into the red and the treasury had a significant deficit, while inflation still affected the economy.
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February 1481
Seven months later, there had been no change in the make up off the government, but Joris Van Schellinkhout’s dreams were much easier – as he was happy to tell anyone listening, whether they could be trusted or not.
France had now occupied Nantais and only a few thousand of Brittany’s troops still resisted. In southern Burgundy, Savoy had joined France in occupying territory, while the French had begun occupying Burgundian and Flanders lands in the south of the Low Countries.
The army had added another artillery regiment in the last few months, bringing it to over full establishment strength at additional maintenance expense.
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June 1482
Joris Van Schellinkhout did not live to enjoy the peace that came with the inevitable French victory over Brittany and Burgundy. Another member of the Donia clan, Menfrid, now dreamed the dream, still supported by his relative (their exact relationship is lost to history) Reginhard, who continued his long service to Friesland. Menfrid was a master administrator and diplomat, which should serve Friesland well if he stayed in office for a reasonable time.
The treasury remained in significant debt and the budget not quite balanced, meaning more borrowing would be needed. Trade had declined somewhat over the last years as well, though the cause of that had been lost to history.
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You had won sieges and brought warscore, but war leader France took all the land and didn't compensate you. does this bring any future benefits from France? Like they owe you one or so?
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Thanks for the update Your rationale for sortition makes a great deal of sense now that you have explained it. I've never bothered unless I was playing in Italy (where most Italian republics have their own version thereof), but it seems not to have handicapped your monarch point generation as I might have expected, relative to a standard republic.
Some thoughts on fighting wars as a junior participant alongside a great power:
- To maximize your chance of recompensation in the form of land, try to occupy as much of what you want as possible yourself and mark it as being of 'vital importance' in the diplomatic interface. The former will prevent any other power from seizing it (unless they vassalize them), and the latter will make sure that your ally knows you want it (if you have a claim, it will automatically be marked as of 'strategic importance', which will be similar). Be sure to check if they've also marked that land as 'vital importance', as that can severely strain relations!
- There's nothing wrong with signing a separate peace with the enemy as long as it doesn't damage your trust with your ally too much. Accumulating favors and trading them for trust can offset this, and this is often the only way to ensure you actually benefit from sending your young men out to die against the enemy. Note that you will take a diplo point (and I believe AE) cost from doing this, as you are not a co-belligerent (I think), and taking land that your ally has claimed can also cause them to reconsider your worth as an ally.
- EU4 (and PDX games more broadly) model a Realist school of thinking, so your allies are not your friends (usually) and can be trusted to be quite capricious and even to stab you in the back when they feel it necessary. That said, realpolitik is not for everyone (certainly not my preferred mode of thinking), so you don't have to behave in that mode if it doesn't suit your purposes
Your rationale for sortition makes a great deal of sense now that you have explained it. I've never bothered unless I was playing in Italy (where most Italian republics have their own version thereof), but it seems not to have handicapped your monarch point generation as I might have expected, relative to a standard republic.Some thoughts on fighting wars as a junior participant alongside a great power:
- To maximize your chance of recompensation in the form of land, try to occupy as much of what you want as possible yourself and mark it as being of 'vital importance' in the diplomatic interface. The former will prevent any other power from seizing it (unless they vassalize them), and the latter will make sure that your ally knows you want it (if you have a claim, it will automatically be marked as of 'strategic importance', which will be similar). Be sure to check if they've also marked that land as 'vital importance', as that can severely strain relations!
- There's nothing wrong with signing a separate peace with the enemy as long as it doesn't damage your trust with your ally too much. Accumulating favors and trading them for trust can offset this, and this is often the only way to ensure you actually benefit from sending your young men out to die against the enemy. Note that you will take a diplo point (and I believe AE) cost from doing this, as you are not a co-belligerent (I think), and taking land that your ally has claimed can also cause them to reconsider your worth as an ally.
- EU4 (and PDX games more broadly) model a Realist school of thinking, so your allies are not your friends (usually) and can be trusted to be quite capricious and even to stab you in the back when they feel it necessary. That said, realpolitik is not for everyone (certainly not my preferred mode of thinking), so you don't have to behave in that mode if it doesn't suit your purposes
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I meant the other reforms that could've been picked on that tier besides sortition. I think I've only ever picked the one that lowers the term limit from 4 to 3 years so I can switch around which type of power my ruler focuses on.
So a combination of RP and stat-related bonuses. Thanks for the insight into your thought process!
At least the Burgundians have multiple forts they need to get through before they come to your core land.
Hopefully next time Friesland is the aggressor, with French support.
Helping allies does give favors once the peace is signed, though it depends on how much you have participated in the war.
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Did France at least compensate you monetarily for your aid?
Frisia is still doing well, although those Ottomans are worrying...
Frisia is still doing well, although those Ottomans are worrying...
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I’m not sure, but I think there may a relationship buff for answering the call, as I know there is for rejecting one. Though I didn’t really win much of a siege, Amsterdam was one of those brief non-fort province occupations.
And bear in mind at that point I was doing a fair bit of picking stuff to see what would happen, not thinking the game would last nor end up gaining an AAR audience! But haven’t since felt the need to spend the 50 admin power to change it since.Thanks for the update
Thanks for the explanation about vital and strategic importance. Though in this case, I did have claims already on both Amsterdam (which I had occupied) and Den Haag (which I was besieging but had not yet occupied), iirc in the hopes of picking one or both up. I think I just didn’t end up with enough participation to score any goodies from the peace.
Yes, I did that later a few times, iirc. The favours for trust thing I was unaware of, so thanks for the tip. In this case though, France weren’t claiming the bits of Holland I was interested in, I’m pretty sure.
Oh yes, and I’d not be too worried about returning the favour to them, either, within the bounds of nasty reactions and any rp considerations.- EU4 (and PDX games more broadly) model a Realist school of thinking, so your allies are not your friends (usually) and can be trusted to be quite capricious and even to stab you in the back when they feel it necessary. That said, realpolitik is not for everyone (certainly not my preferred mode of thinking), so you don't have to behave in that mode if it doesn't suit your purposes
I wasn’t even aware of the term length details or other subtleties when I picked it! I guess when I resume gameplay I might consider it later, if I keep getting saddled with numpties and want to try a different electoral system.
No worries.
At this point, the fort in Utrecht, at least. Later on, when I had the money and tech, I started to really set up chains of forts to protect the original heartland in case of attack by a bigger power or to keep invaders occupied while heading off on an offensive elsewhere.
That’s the plan!
Right, and now of course I can’t recall how it ended up. My participation % would have decreased towards the end I think because France had done so much occupying of Brittany and Burgundy by then, plus that huge battle in Utrecht (and of course I wasn’t capturing victory screens at that point).
I really can’t recall now. Perhaps some gold that might have gone into building projects.
Yes, it was a bit steadier this time and a slower expansion than in the first failed attempt. This time, I decided to concentrate more on economic and trade expansion, in the hopes of then becoming a colonial power. Though it took me a while to realise I also needed some specific ideas etc in order to be able to do that. Did work it out eventually though.
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My goal was to play at +1 stab. as never wanted to be negative and going to +2 was expensive (and especially for republics). Never liked first idea group to be admin. as I would always have many more things to do with admin. than others. Anybody colonizing? Thanks
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Here I was just experimenting with no experience of the game, but I don’t recall it being that hard getting to stab+3, and I was going off my EU Rome experience of trying to keep it as high as possible. For this experiment I guessed Frisia needed money first as a precursor to everything else, especially as expansion, even into the rest of the Low Countries, was likely to be slow and difficult. No one is colonising yet. But Friesland hopes to get there one day.
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Chapter 11: Growing Prosperity (1483-1503)
Chapter 11: Growing Prosperity (1483-1503)
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March 1490 – Politics, the Military and the Region
In 1482, Menfrid Donia had been Potestaat since September 1481. His term would be cut short by his death in December 1488. He had seen no further expansion of the nation’s borders following the conclusion of the French-Burgundian war in after which Friesland had been bound by a peace treaty from enforcing its claims on Holland.
The Frisian dream now passed to Koenraad Barents, who in March 1490 had been the Frisian leader for just 15 months. The claims on Holland would last until 1497, so for now the careful but ambitious Barents bided his time.
With increased security on the seas from the 1480s onwards the morale and the durability of the navy had been strengthened. More recently, the withholding of tithes from the Church had boosted tax takings for the medium term. Taxation revenue had been further boosted permanently by the passing of the De Heretico Comburendo Act.
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March 1490 – Technology, Economy, Religion and Culture
The last eight years had seen the introduction of technology to support the building of workshops, farm estate and ramparts, while Frisian naval ambitions had also progressed. Meanwhile, the army was poised to introduce innovations in pike and shot.
Blacksmiths at work.
The economy was thriving, with trade on the up again, army maintenance reduced during the period of peace, inflation defeated, the national debt paid off and a monthly surplus being banked.
It was in the mid-1480s that Friesland decided to embark on a deliberate program of converting the culture in its core provinces to that of the Frisian founders. This would become an increasingly entrenched policy in coming decades.
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December 1503 – Government, Expansion and Diplomacy
The 13 years from 1490 to 1503 had seen considerable turnover at the top of the Frisian government. Koenraad Barents died in December 1493, replaced by Floris Halbertsma (December 1493-October 1501), then Hendrik Casimir Elsinga (October 1501- 30 November 1503), with the latest Potestaat of Friesland Johan Ernst Riemersma therefore just three days into his life term on 3 December 1503. His indulgent attitude would see a decrease in Frisian trade efficiency during his term, but otherwise he was recognised as a great diplomatic mind and a decent supervisor of military affairs.
More governmental reform had been enforced in recent years, with the supremacy of the Diet affirmed. This would boost the loyalty of the estates for the long term and ensured absolutism was kept well off the agenda. But in future years, the Frisian government would not take much advantage of the legislature [Note: an omission on my part – I just wasn’t familiar with it and never got around to using the Diet. Maybe I will when I catch the AAR up to gameplay again.]
In any case, the rich and well-developed city of Amsterdam now fell under Frisian control, along with its famous polders and harbour. Utrecht was now being actively converted to Frisian culture, a castle to protect Oversticht (which had proven a popular entry point for enemy armies when at war) and delay enemy approaches to the Frisian heartland was being constructed.
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December 1503 – The Economy, Research, Ideas, Missions and Religion
The Frisian economy was now growing strongly. This had not only funded an expanded bureaucracy and military forces but had also funded the beginning of a development and infrastructure boom, which we will focus on later. Trade had rocketed ahead to become the largest source of recurrent income, with the expanded small ships fleet promoting Friesland into a major player in the English Channel trade node.
The recent expansion of the Frisian Navy had also seen another national mission achieved, their light ship fleet becoming known as the ‘Sea Beggars’, boosting their combat ability and blockade efficiency.
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December 1503 – Development, Infrastructure and Discovery
Friesland had seen a large program of development since 1490, bringing the capital Leeuwarden it to the status of a major city, pre-eminent in Friesland and the wider Low Countries. Groningen and Utrecht had seen more gradual growth, while Amsterdam had joined in as the sixth province, ranking above Geldern and Oversticht in its development.
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You can explore with cogs? (My knowledge is at least six years old.) Is that Portugal and Castille settling Africa? Hungary and Ottomans are strange bedfellows. Thanks
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Not proper exploration. I just burned one cog by sending it as far as it could go but, having no previous experience of attrition at sea, let it go too far before turning back. It's not a proper exploration per se (with the explorer and three ships) with a tasked area within exploring range.
I'll have to have another look at Africa - some native states, some colonies.
I was a bit surprised re Hungary and the Ottomans when I reviewed it, but there you go!
Haha! There - or whatever I can get a hold of once Friesland can colonise properly.
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So I checked it out and yes, other than a couple of native states its Portugal and Castile in the islands and enclaves, with a couple of larger colonies developing down in Guinea.
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Chapter 12: A Blue Tide (1503-12)
Chapter 12: A Blue Tide (1503-12)
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September 1504
Less than a year since our last report, in December 1503, much had changed, though not the government of Frisia. Potestaat of Friesland Johan Ernst Riemersma had finally had enough of the impudence, vile insults and general dastardliness of neighbouring Münster. Unable to go conquering in Holland for now, he dreamed instead of humiliating the hated rival to demonstrate Friesland’s ability to project power within the region. And having a massively powerful ally such as France also helped.
The Frisian concentration on maritime trade in the English Channel node was now literally paying off. Friesland was by 1504 the largest trading power in the zone, with only the English themselves anywhere near them. Trade income began to outstrip tax as the largest source of revenue.
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November 1512 – Government, Diplomatic, Economic and Military Developments
The next nine years proved that having a life term as Potestaat did not guarantee a long term! Riemersma lasted until 1508, followed by Fedde de Vries (1508-11), Wilbrand Sems (1511-12) and now Anne (male) Roorda, who had only been in power for two months. Roorda fancied himself as a ‘bold fighter’ and was a highly respected administrator and general, maintaining the same full cabinet of advisers dating back to 1503.
The big change for Friesland on the ground had come with the annexation of Den Haag, during the term of Fedde de Vries (probably in 1510), after a short and relatively uneventful war against the Dutch. This had led to building unrest in the recently occupied Dutch territory, but the cultural absorption of Utrecht would be completed within a few more years.
The other main Frisian strategic preoccupation, its economy, also continued to gather strength. In November 1512 peace was in prospect for some time, so army maintenance had been dialled back again, but naval readiness was always kept at maximum efficiency, except for mothballed transport ships.
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November 1512 – National Ideas, Missions, the Estates, Religion and Development
New military ideas had also been introduced as Friesland sought to make itself as hard a target to subdue as it could: the advancing ‘blue tide’ of French encroachment into the south of the Low Countries and the difficulty of Imperial entanglement when trying to expand east limited the scope for many more regional wars of conquest.
This strategy was further reinforced by the development of a national fixed garrison system within Friesland, increasing the defensive power of all fortifications.
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November 1512 –The Wider World
France was now a true behemoth to the south of Friesland: good to have as a friend, but potentially stifling too. The Ottomans had apparently successfully completed their war against Venice some years before and they too were the big growing power coming to dominate the south-east of Europe, as well as Asia Minor and the Levant.
Friesland could still not be ranked among these great nations [nor score any points yet in the game, which I had made a point of pride to start accruing, as well as gaining the rank of a Great Power one day], but its advancement was beginning to edge it closer to these rarefied ranks.
The map of Europe more generally was one of contrasts. In the West, North and East, a few large unitary kingdoms, empires, unions and commonwealths dominated the map. In the centre – Germany and Italy – while the Holy Roman Empire notionally held sway as well, it was politically fragmented into many small sovereign states under only loose Imperial control.
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That is a big 1503 Morocco. It would be neat to see a Muslim AI colonizer. Holding Gran Canaria would be a major boon to early English colonization. Range is crucial in the early stages. Is idea group with admin. 10 going to be the dip. exploration group? Thanks
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this is not very nice
would be good to eat the coastal provinces in the southwest before France does
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Starting to think that I just accidentally skipped a page of my alerts...
Frisia seems to be trapped in an okay position - they can't really expand, but they can't be conquered either. That being said, I can't imagine that the expansion of the Ottomans is seen positively there.
I doubt that Frisia will embrace the Reformation. That might put it at odds with other states in Germany...
Frisia seems to be trapped in an okay position - they can't really expand, but they can't be conquered either. That being said, I can't imagine that the expansion of the Ottomans is seen positively there.
I doubt that Frisia will embrace the Reformation. That might put it at odds with other states in Germany...
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- Mate, what da faq are you doing?
- Umm, commenting?
- You don't have time, and it's a game-heavy aar!
- But it's bullfilter's?
- It's eu4 for faqs sake!
- Oh. Right. Sht.
- Yeah. Despite it's eu4.
- Mate, you have a condition.
Meticulous attention on the format, neat presentation, quite the fun the aar is. Standard Bullfilter. Kudos.
Right. Onto the gameplay.
Not quite sure about which version though; from the ui it seems to be post-emperor, therefore own comments will be outdated.
And will cover from the beginning. Sincere apologies for the necro and the monstrous length of the post in advance.
Quick sidenote joke;
The First Dream
(ahadfhfdhah sorry, sorry - not laughing, sorry. Frisians ahahahshfhfhadfhh - ahem sorry, terribly sorry)
But -
friesland-tag is a prince of the HRE from the beginning. If it is ostfriesland-tag the question refers to, then yes, that begins as independent of HRE (already mentioned in the aar too). That tag gets an event for joining the HRE in the first years though, so not that much of a trouble. Even without that event, one can join the HRE provided having high enough relations with the emperor (austria-tag most of the time), which depends on the development-size. Any opm has high chances for it, and any small size-low dev tag can. Even teutonic-tag can join. Pffft, even papal states can join (oh yeah, that's eu4 for all y'all).
Not sure where and why venice-tag enters the discussion though. Venice-tag is of course not a part of the HRE. Venice has no emperor. Venice needs no emperor. <enter boromir meme>
About burgundy-tag:
There can be no co-existence in the game with the burgundy-tag if one plays a tag in the HRE or any tag in the vicinity - so france-, castille-, england-tags etc. too. If the player is any tag other than burgundy, that is simply not possible. The code-burgundy will berserk over any tag nearby. There is no escape. For any such run, burgundy will, should, must go down.
The best possible scenario is burgundy-tag getting destroyed within itself, and that is very rare. It will just explode on all its neighbours within the first years, and it has relatively good chances for winning - it is not a code-burgundy-suiciding-in-hre scenario all the time as most of the players blabber around.
The worst possible scenario is burgundy-tag surviving the burgundian succession crisis (one of the many low points of eu4 design - whatever it is, still not comprehensible, not one bit), in which they get to join the HRE, with perma-claims all over the place. Beware of the code-burgundy, and if that happens, quitting the game will bring more joy to life one can ever have.
And the run is with friesland-tag. In order to survive with a tag in low countries - not talking about a good or a bad run here, but actually survive - the burgundy-tag has to die. The list continues with the france-tag and the england-tag, which depends on the course of the run.
About HRE:
Playing in the HRE does not always mean become-the-emperor. It certainly does not mean at all when playing a republic. If the crown of the empire is set as the ambition, friesland-tag and any other republic or any other theocracy is the last choice to run with, unless it is a showcase of let there be fun, while torturing self. That is a redundant exercise, trying to switch from republic to monarchy or to theocracy or tag-switch or etc.
There is no difference between any tags in the game, apart from their names and their geographic locations; but the governments do give a certain amount of variation in the course of any run. To some extent, also do the religions (a bit, but yeah). Example: one does not simply take switzerland-tag and enter the battle for empire <enter another boromir meme>. The switzerland run means trying for a balance between the france- and the austria-tags, while managing to destroy the milan-tag. If one goes for an imperial run with the switzerland-tag, that is just torture. Just go with the bohemia-tag instead. Or cilli-tag.
Out of that; going for reforms to become the unified-HRE is the worst possible course one can take; the most redundant, the most joyless, the most un-rewarding. Again only if it is a showcase of let there be fun, while destroying own sanity. Else a story, but good luck on that, since it is eu4.
Reforms bring some nice bonus, then it will just wreck the design of the code itself. Most of the discussions revolve around the Revoke the Privilegia to have a swarm of vassals. Even that is pointless, futile, and redundant, in absolute scale. The reform just before that, Proclaim Erbkaisertum, already provides the ability to have HRE-vassals without spending a diplomatic slot. Any emperor-tag can vassalise opm to small to medium sized HRE-princes at that point. When any tag has five vassals in the game, the code renders to silence; with that reform, more than ten vassals can be acquired, which defaults the code to absolute inactivity against the player (the code cannot achieve that; extremely rare, and nigh-on impossible without the player's intervention). Getting to that point can be fun, and the only fun part of playing such a run - which takes about fifty to two hundred years, depending on the player-desires. After that reform, there is no point to resume, as the code will not function proper.
But that is about imperial-HRE run. This run is with friesland-tag. That is a different game, unless the player tag-switches, government-switches, religion-switches, etc. but then as aforementioned, too much suffering for no apparent reason; go with braunschweig-tag. Or württemberg-tag.
- What? I told you I was going to comment -
- Look at the size of the post!
- Yeah, but I apologised beforehand and -
- YOU HAVE NOT EVEN REACHED THE SECOND POST OF THE AAR TO COMMENT AT ALL!
- Oh. Ooohh. Right. Sht.
- Sigh.
- Yeah. Let me do another one - oi, wait, where are you going?
- You will do consecutive posts, aren't you? I quit. And faq you.
- Umm, commenting?
- You don't have time, and it's a game-heavy aar!
- But it's bullfilter's?
- It's eu4 for faqs sake!
- Oh. Right. Sht.
>About forty minutes later<
- You are not able to leave the post, are you?- Yeah. Despite it's eu4.
- Mate, you have a condition.
Meticulous attention on the format, neat presentation, quite the fun the aar is. Standard Bullfilter. Kudos.
Right. Onto the gameplay.
The first interesting choice of the run, the run itself. Frisians. All right.
Not quite sure about which version though; from the ui it seems to be post-emperor, therefore own comments will be outdated.
And will cover from the beginning. Sincere apologies for the necro and the monstrous length of the post in advance.
Quick sidenote joke;
Cursed words. Broken dreams of any student bringing their papers and seeing the gaze of filcat: "Nice try. A beautiful zero. Do it again." LOL
The First Dream
(ahadfhfdhah sorry, sorry - not laughing, sorry. Frisians ahahahshfhfhadfhh - ahem sorry, terribly sorry)
But -
Errr... All right. The basics.
friesland-tag is a prince of the HRE from the beginning. If it is ostfriesland-tag the question refers to, then yes, that begins as independent of HRE (already mentioned in the aar too). That tag gets an event for joining the HRE in the first years though, so not that much of a trouble. Even without that event, one can join the HRE provided having high enough relations with the emperor (austria-tag most of the time), which depends on the development-size. Any opm has high chances for it, and any small size-low dev tag can. Even teutonic-tag can join. Pffft, even papal states can join (oh yeah, that's eu4 for all y'all).
Not sure where and why venice-tag enters the discussion though. Venice-tag is of course not a part of the HRE. Venice has no emperor. Venice needs no emperor. <enter boromir meme>
Errr... Right. The intermediate.No, they are in the HRE, but as an independent country, as I understand the arrangement. (...) As for Burgundy - they will feature, of course.
About burgundy-tag:
There can be no co-existence in the game with the burgundy-tag if one plays a tag in the HRE or any tag in the vicinity - so france-, castille-, england-tags etc. too. If the player is any tag other than burgundy, that is simply not possible. The code-burgundy will berserk over any tag nearby. There is no escape. For any such run, burgundy will, should, must go down.
The best possible scenario is burgundy-tag getting destroyed within itself, and that is very rare. It will just explode on all its neighbours within the first years, and it has relatively good chances for winning - it is not a code-burgundy-suiciding-in-hre scenario all the time as most of the players blabber around.
The worst possible scenario is burgundy-tag surviving the burgundian succession crisis (one of the many low points of eu4 design - whatever it is, still not comprehensible, not one bit), in which they get to join the HRE, with perma-claims all over the place. Beware of the code-burgundy, and if that happens, quitting the game will bring more joy to life one can ever have.
And the run is with friesland-tag. In order to survive with a tag in low countries - not talking about a good or a bad run here, but actually survive - the burgundy-tag has to die. The list continues with the france-tag and the england-tag, which depends on the course of the run.
The upper-intermediate.
About HRE:
Playing in the HRE does not always mean become-the-emperor. It certainly does not mean at all when playing a republic. If the crown of the empire is set as the ambition, friesland-tag and any other republic or any other theocracy is the last choice to run with, unless it is a showcase of let there be fun, while torturing self. That is a redundant exercise, trying to switch from republic to monarchy or to theocracy or tag-switch or etc.
There is no difference between any tags in the game, apart from their names and their geographic locations; but the governments do give a certain amount of variation in the course of any run. To some extent, also do the religions (a bit, but yeah). Example: one does not simply take switzerland-tag and enter the battle for empire <enter another boromir meme>. The switzerland run means trying for a balance between the france- and the austria-tags, while managing to destroy the milan-tag. If one goes for an imperial run with the switzerland-tag, that is just torture. Just go with the bohemia-tag instead. Or cilli-tag.
Out of that; going for reforms to become the unified-HRE is the worst possible course one can take; the most redundant, the most joyless, the most un-rewarding. Again only if it is a showcase of let there be fun, while destroying own sanity. Else a story, but good luck on that, since it is eu4.
Reforms bring some nice bonus, then it will just wreck the design of the code itself. Most of the discussions revolve around the Revoke the Privilegia to have a swarm of vassals. Even that is pointless, futile, and redundant, in absolute scale. The reform just before that, Proclaim Erbkaisertum, already provides the ability to have HRE-vassals without spending a diplomatic slot. Any emperor-tag can vassalise opm to small to medium sized HRE-princes at that point. When any tag has five vassals in the game, the code renders to silence; with that reform, more than ten vassals can be acquired, which defaults the code to absolute inactivity against the player (the code cannot achieve that; extremely rare, and nigh-on impossible without the player's intervention). Getting to that point can be fun, and the only fun part of playing such a run - which takes about fifty to two hundred years, depending on the player-desires. After that reform, there is no point to resume, as the code will not function proper.
But that is about imperial-HRE run. This run is with friesland-tag. That is a different game, unless the player tag-switches, government-switches, religion-switches, etc. but then as aforementioned, too much suffering for no apparent reason; go with braunschweig-tag. Or württemberg-tag.
>rubbing the eyes, rubbing the forehead, then scratching the hair, as if to pull them out of their roots<
- Mate... DA FAQ ARE YOU DOING?!?!- What? I told you I was going to comment -
- Look at the size of the post!
- Yeah, but I apologised beforehand and -
- YOU HAVE NOT EVEN REACHED THE SECOND POST OF THE AAR TO COMMENT AT ALL!
- Oh. Ooohh. Right. Sht.
- Sigh.
- Yeah. Let me do another one - oi, wait, where are you going?
- You will do consecutive posts, aren't you? I quit. And faq you.
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