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Elecwaves

Can't take the Heat!
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Feb 28, 2007
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My Kingdom for a Croat

ArmsofCroatia.jpg

This will be an AAR based on my current game with the Kingdom of Croatia I just started. The stats are:

Difficulty - Normal
Aggresiveness - Normal
Grand Campaign (Hastings 1066)
AAR Starts on January 1st, 1067

First update coming soon!
 
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My Kingdom for a Croat​

I am still deciding upon a format for my AAR, could range from narrative, to gameplay, to reflective diary entry. This, my first update will be stats.

This is King Petar Kresimir Trpimirovic of Croatia
KingPetarKresimirTrpimirovicofCroat.jpg


He has an intrigue high enough as to allow me to annex the whole of Croatia and do fine with it. He is, however plagued with only one daughter, but he does have a young heir who hopefully has working reproductive parts.

These are my vassals
Vassals.jpg


They aren't that impressive, but they'll manage the rest of kingdom, which when remembering my king's ability to control these provinces, means he must be a evry lazy dude to need assistance managing Croatia.

Besides my king's laziness, we do have my economy at the start of the campaign of Croation greatness.
Income.jpg


This is what I get to start with, but it's ok, we're only Croatia, it's not like we'll be raising huge levies to fight back waves of Germans or Serbs, or Hungarians, or byzantines, or turks, or italians.
KindgomofCroatia.jpg






Future updates will have a good chance of not having any pictures included with them, I will include an end summary, such as a picture of Croatia after, and a picture of the income sliders.
 
Croatia is a good base to start from.
 
The Seljuks usually do violence to the Byz and the germans have a centrifugal tendency to start with, so there'll be a good deal of loose provinces you can pick up.
 
Stnylan - I thought it looked interesting to work around, small enough to present a challenge, but not so small it's ridiculous or impossible.

RGB - Let's hope they continue this trend and allow the Kingdom of Croatia to expand to be able to compete as a world power :D
 
My Kingdom for a Croat

ArmsofCroatiaSmall.jpg

January 3rd, 1067
A messenger from the Duchy of Serbia came today, requesting that we enter into an alliance with their kingdom. They listed the unstable state of their nation, with the Count of Belgrade revolting against them as reasons for why they should feel entering into an alliance with another state to be important. I weighed our options, and I knew we were surrounded by many strong enemies. The Kingdom of Germany is an enemy with internal problems, but would still dangerous to cross arms with when unprepared. The Byzantines are also fighting internal dissent while also holding back the tides of Muslims, but have to be considered a threat. The Kingdom of Hungary is probably the most stable of our border enemies, and is constantly looking to expand. It is, however the nation we could hope to best fend off in a war, and having an ally would help even more. The only reason for not allying with Serbia is the fact that Serbia is also the nation we would have the best chance fighting. Thus I allied with Serbia, knowing that we can always revisit the possibility of absorbing their nation into ours.

July 12th, 1067
I called the estates-general together today. I thought long and hard, and in the end I decided that to boost economic performance we would need to ask the estates for as much money as they could spare to engage in construction projects. The people couldn't wrap their minds around this fact, and the nobles were disturbed at what was felt like an overstep of my powers, by taxing the people directly, as opposed to indirectly through their lords. In the end, I will have to deal with the hit to my reputation, for it will make our nation stronger in the long run.

October 8th, 1067
A messenger was arrived from the pope today. He wanted me to appoint a Bishop to advise me, and was encouraging me to implement changes that would increase the power of the church in Croatia. I couldn't accept the intervention of the church, I am a follower of his great faith, but I couldn't help but be disturbed by this recommendation. The follower was sent away, and I hope dearly that the small size of my Kingdom doesn't make the pope take any rash actions. I've seen many a great man felled by the simple excommunication received from the pope.

December 11th, 1067
I had to make a great decision today. I was given the opportunity to increase the coffers and take some land and treasures away from some nobles in Split. I decided it against it however, due to the fact that I had already agitated the Lords by calling the Estates-General. This decision increased my popularity amongst the nobles in split, the peasants however... Well, let's just say that there may be a shortage of tomatoes this winter.

January 29th, 1068
I have just finished the preparations to send my daughter Neda to live in the residence of a noble in the country. She will hopefully learn many things in her travels, and when she visits us I hope that she will have a more trusting attitude towards others, something I myself sometimes lack, especially with the more powerful nobles. I will miss her dearly, but she seems so excited to see the more in-land parts of Croatia, that it helps knowing she'll have fun while she's gone.

April 6th, 1069
It has been awhile since anything of great consequence has happened in Croatia. We recently returned an operative from Belgrade as things deteriorated there only 2 years after their secession from Serbia. I had the choice of having the operative intervene, but I decided it would be in Croatia's best interest if we stayed out of other nations' internal problems. I fear that Croatia may have her own soon, me having only my daughter Neda, but no heir to the throne. It seems that my nephew Stjepan Trpimirovic will be succeeding the throne, and while I wish I had my own son to take the throne, these last few years, Stjepan has felt like my son, my brother dying of pneumonia 7 years ago. I hope he will be a strong king for Croatia when it comes time.

May 21st, 1069
Neda returned from the noble's house she was at yesterday. I have enlisted her into a regular church program for nobles’ children at the St. James Cathedral. She is showing good promise in her diplomatic prowess, and at such a young age! She will need to get a good education to attract the eyes of an expectant father when it's time. Her mother and I are very proud of this fact. I hope she will live peacefully and with a good husband for the rest of her life.

August 5th, 1069
I have commissioned a training ground in Senj. A number of German armies have marched through our Kingdom recently, giving precedence to the military. I have seen it fit to hasten our ability to recover troops after or during a war. The training grounds should help make this process more efficient, by centralising some key institutions when recruiting. Croatia needs a strong army to compete in the world, and by constructing these buildings throughout my demesne, I hope to help Croatia have a strong future amongst many powerful and aggressive nations.


KindgomofCroatia-1070.jpg
Income1070.jpg
 
A slow steady start. Not that isn't usually the case in CK :)
 
Stnylan - Thanks haha, My longest game right now is 1203 England, you should see France, they are big, but all over the place, they have land form russian steppes to morocco haha

Capibara - Another reader, sounds good to me

To everyone reading this AAR, even if it may be only some people, I'd like to know if the above style works for you, and please give me some criticism so I can fix it to fit a better standard
 
The style works well enough, but I think you may soon find that you're going to have to cut some of the less-important events out as the game progresses from the diary.

As for "only a few readers", heh, I feel your pain; especially with this being the CK section, there's never enough readers (especially those that comment!) to go around.
 
haha, this is true, as I played another 9 years until my rulers death, and there is plenty of information I can cut out of it, and I might try a different format, I predict this AAR to be shorter than most for it's...less than extensive family. Anyways new update tomorrow probably :)
 
I plan to try a different path this update, criticism is appreciated, and thanks to all who are reading

My Kingdom for a Croat

ArmsofCroatiaSmall.jpg

The people rejoiced in the reign of the Great King Petar Trpimirovic. On March 27th, 1070 he ordered the construction of a road network to stretch from Senj to Split, making travel much faster to do. Many feasts were thrown throughout the same year as the Kingdom prospered in peace, including a special one celebrating the birthday of Neda Trpimirovic, Petar's daughter.

With economic growth comes migration, and not always by the best of people. In late 1070, a Thieves' Guild was set up in Zara, constantly moving, and for a long while, evading capture by local forces. In mid-1071, the title of duke of Croatia was granted to one of Petar's loyal vassals, giving Petar and increase in prestige, as the level of trust and equality among his vassals and the King increased.

Another event increasing Petar's respect among his peers was the choice to take away, or let the lords keep their fiefs. Petar chose to let the lords keep their fiefs to themselves. A few months later in 1072, a bad year for growing crops led Roma's economy to enter into a recession, slowing economic growth, and hurting income for everyone from Roma.

In 1074, once enough funds are made available, King Petar the Great commissions the construction of a small stone castle to make known where the capital of the Kingdom of Croatia, is, making the capital the best-defended province in the region. This is followed after by a decree on August 11th, 1075, decreeing Petar Trpimirovic the new Duke of Bosnia, and Count of Hum.

The Claim escalated Croatia into a war versus the Duke of Serbia, holder of the title Count of Hum. The war would later be known as the Bosnian War.

On Oct. 30th, 1075 the first battle of the Bosnian War occurred in Roma, leading to a Croatian defeat at the hands of the Serbian Marshal.
On Jan. 8th, 1076 the next major battle occurred in Roma again, this time lending itself to a major Victory for Croatia, who carried the assault into Hum.
On Feb 8th, the battle at Hum was won, and in 8 more days, on Feb 16th, over 4,500 men breached the walls of Hum, and took control of the area.
On March 10th, after turning back two assaults in Hum, peace is signed, acknowledging Petar the Great, as Count of Hum. 3 months later, on July 2nd, the King would declare himself Duke of Bosnia.

On Nov. 19th, 1076, a crusade is called to antiocheia, but Croatia lacks the troops to commit to it. In 1074, the castle that began construction, is finally completed on Aug. 3rd, 1077

On July 29th, 1077, Neda was outside playing, but she went missing for over 4 hours, finally found and brought back, it was realized that Neda had gone swimming in the local pond, even though it was raining. Neda soon got ill, and was bed-ridden for months. Six months later, on Jan. 12th, 1078, Neda's illness deteriorates into a severe form of pneumonia, causing great stress upon Petar's shoulders. Neda died over a year later, on February 15th, 1079, a day that would infect Petar's mind. For the next five days, Petar stayed in his room, and finally when the guards break down the doors, they find Petar's, limp, cold body hanging from his bed's overhang. On February 20th, 1079, King Petar Kresimir Trpimirovic of Croatia was declared dead.

One day after, the funeral was held, and the day after that the successor to Petar was chosen. The laws of succession led to the last surviving successor in the Trpimirovic dynasty, Stjepan Trpimirovic, Petar's nephew.

Croatia in 1079, lands claimed are lined red.

Croatia-1079.jpg
Income-1079.jpg
 
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Heh.

It's just me, your faithful reader (and fellow WritAAR in need, hint hint).

First off, I appreciate the change of style. While the journal entries were distinctive in the AAR field, they lacked a personal quality. After all, they were personal entries, but somehow felt like chronicle notes.

So a good idea to switch, because the new layout fits the old voice. However, I would still encourage you to experiment with the short "journal" entries, because that would really allow you to roleplay as the King.

Second, the expanded map is a bit blurry but you can't help that with a screnie. However, if you don't mind posting non-screenshot maps, HERE you can find a blank CK map to zoom in or out as far as you want.

Thirdly: poor Petar! The loss of his only daughter must have really affected him that much; but it's excellent that he built a good rapport with his nephew before he died, so that Stepan would have much less friction with former advisors or nobles or minor family branches upon taking the throne.
 
Sorry about the picture of Croatia, it is of a low quality, because I took a zoomed out picture, and so I made it 200% size in paint, which of course makes it look bad. figured betetr to see pixelized than not being able to read the writing.

Yeah afetr I wrote the update, I felt myself like they were more suited as a chronicle of the msot important events, rather than a diary... but live and learn :)

Also, thanks for the blank map, I believe I will use it, seems easier to manipulate than stupid paint screenshot.

I might get an update posted tomorrow, but I work, and Friday's my Bday party haha, so no update until weekend possibly.
 
A nice little addition to the Croatian realm.
 
Just a quick update. The AAR isn't dead, my weekend was just very busy with work, and the party, etc. and I had promised my friends to go see I Am Legend with them on Monday, so I did that, then Homework. Tuesday looks like it will be more free for me to continue Croatia, so look forward for an update then or wednesday!

P.S. I Am Legend is a very good movie. If you want to see a movie and aren't sure of one that's out now, I would recommend this one for you.

Edit: Gah, I didn't get around to posting an update : / with Christams holidays this may have to be put on hiatus until after exam week. Thanks to all who are reading, I hope I can hold your interest with possibly sporadic updates throughout

Edit 2: Rather than post a new post, I'm here to inform you that this AAR is ending :( I didn't want it to, but it is crashing about a year in every time. Very annoying sorry to all who read/are reading this
 
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