Prologue & Chapter Index
"Hugues Do You Think You Are?"
King Raoul of West Francia, our dear departed royal brother
Prologue & Introduction
I don't think I've ever done one of these before so please bear with me.
I had originally fancied trying my hand at a Strathclyde AAR but then stumbled across @Wysemage's fantastic The Last Kingdom of Hen Ogledd (go read it, it's great!) so ruled that out as I didn't want any overlap with existing active AARs.
For this one I'll be playing as an interesting if overlooked historical character, and one of my go-to playthroughs in the awesome 936 scenario: Hugh the Black, duke of Burgundy.
Why Hugh, I hear you ask? Hugh is fun because he's something of a blank canvas - historically he never married or fathered any known children, and his duchy ended up being divided between the Robertians and the Carolingians. He was the younger brother of the Bosonid king Raoul (Rodolphe) and attempted to press his inherited claim several times, but events always seemed to conspire against him. In game he's a mid-ranking middle-aged duke with an unimpressive set of traits and no direct male heirs of his dynasty. To me he's a fun and interesting character to play without either being overpowered as many dukes can often be, or too difficult and weak a start so as to be unable to make an impact. He begins with a strong claim on West Francia but is in no position to enforce it in 936.
Setup
- duke of Burgundy, 936 bookmark
- custom ruleset (generally more historically minded; matrilineal marriages off)
- TIP mod [private]
- Stellaris Colors Interface mod
- Century Gothic Interface mod
- Bigger Interface mod (makes UI windows and the family tree larger)
Goals
- become king of West Francia
- retain close ties with the Bosonid dynasty and ally with them where possible
- kick the Muslims out of Iberia
- place dynastic relations on other European thrones
- reform the empire of Francia
I'm going to be trying this one chapter at a time, writing one up as I finish a particular session, so this isn't a game I've already finished and had mapped out from the start. So in that sense it's a gamble - it could be fun and go on for a while, or I could die during my chapter two session and have to load a save. I don't really want to have to do that, and I'm definitely not one for loading up older saves simply because I encounter setbacks, but in the extreme case of me dying without dynastic heirs I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
Although I've played CK II on and off for years I'm new to the AAR format, so please feel free to ask questions or provide feedback on the format or my narrative style.
I'll update this post as I add subsequent chapters - next up will be the first gameplay chapter!
King Raoul of West Francia, our dear departed royal brother
Prologue & Introduction
I don't think I've ever done one of these before so please bear with me.
I had originally fancied trying my hand at a Strathclyde AAR but then stumbled across @Wysemage's fantastic The Last Kingdom of Hen Ogledd (go read it, it's great!) so ruled that out as I didn't want any overlap with existing active AARs.
For this one I'll be playing as an interesting if overlooked historical character, and one of my go-to playthroughs in the awesome 936 scenario: Hugh the Black, duke of Burgundy.
Why Hugh, I hear you ask? Hugh is fun because he's something of a blank canvas - historically he never married or fathered any known children, and his duchy ended up being divided between the Robertians and the Carolingians. He was the younger brother of the Bosonid king Raoul (Rodolphe) and attempted to press his inherited claim several times, but events always seemed to conspire against him. In game he's a mid-ranking middle-aged duke with an unimpressive set of traits and no direct male heirs of his dynasty. To me he's a fun and interesting character to play without either being overpowered as many dukes can often be, or too difficult and weak a start so as to be unable to make an impact. He begins with a strong claim on West Francia but is in no position to enforce it in 936.
Setup
- duke of Burgundy, 936 bookmark
- custom ruleset (generally more historically minded; matrilineal marriages off)
- TIP mod [private]
- Stellaris Colors Interface mod
- Century Gothic Interface mod
- Bigger Interface mod (makes UI windows and the family tree larger)
Goals
- become king of West Francia
- retain close ties with the Bosonid dynasty and ally with them where possible
- kick the Muslims out of Iberia
- place dynastic relations on other European thrones
- reform the empire of Francia
I'm going to be trying this one chapter at a time, writing one up as I finish a particular session, so this isn't a game I've already finished and had mapped out from the start. So in that sense it's a gamble - it could be fun and go on for a while, or I could die during my chapter two session and have to load a save. I don't really want to have to do that, and I'm definitely not one for loading up older saves simply because I encounter setbacks, but in the extreme case of me dying without dynastic heirs I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
Although I've played CK II on and off for years I'm new to the AAR format, so please feel free to ask questions or provide feedback on the format or my narrative style.
I'll update this post as I add subsequent chapters - next up will be the first gameplay chapter!
