The Restoration of the Roman Empire in Just Over 50 Rulers - Modded Byzantium to Rome AAR (Gameplay Cancelled due to Save Breaking)

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

This is my first attempt at an AAR, but this is my - checks notes - third run at the story I hope to tell. It will be chaotic, I might end up quitting before I finish it, the save could break again in the 1000s (killed the first two tries). Pre-introduction rambling aside, we will together witness the glories and failures of the Isaurian Dynasty as they reforge the Roman Empire.

This first post will cover every move I made before I pressed play on the save:

Chapter 0: The Magic Begins

It was a day that would be remembered for the remainder of time. January 1st 769. Basileus Konstantinos V of the Byzantine Empire was sitting on his throne when he was greeted by a strange man wearing strange clothes. Surprisingly to the Basileus, the man spoke fluent Greek. "Greetings, my Basileus" proclaimed the man, who was followed by a group of other strange men - a giant, a teenager, two men with a regal appearance and a final man who appeared to be hiding behind the giant. The Basileus said to his guards, "Who are these people?" The guards were lost for words, maybe they were afraid that they'd be executed if they gave the Basileus a wrong answer. The leading man announced "My name is Jeff Richperson, and I am here to be your personal financial adviser, these are my group of acquaintances; Presidents Jones and Smith, Fred the Unreliable, The Archdruid and Ben. They will also assist you in matters of running the realm."

The Basileus said to Jeff that he needed to collect taxes from all the vassals, that President Jones needed to improve relations with said vassals, that President Smith needed to train soldiers, that Fred the Unreliable had to arrest schemers, that The Archdruid had to convert people to Iconoclasm, and Ben (the giant) had to be his personal bodyguard. Finally he decreed that these new men, along with his trusted confidante Pope Sergios (who wasn't actually the Pope, but don't say that to the Basileus' face) and his son and Symbasileus, Leon, would pass a law abolishing the Senate, giving him absolute control over the Empire, which is where our story will be continued from....

 

[Chac1]

Welcome to AARland, @StrategyGameEnthusiast and to the CKII sub-forum. Although I saw you greeted elsewhere for your commentaries, glad you decided to contribute to this sub-forum.

Please feel free to direct questions to the variety of folks here. I hope you will find this to be a welcoming place. Also, you should feel free to interact with other writers in the main part of the AARland forum.

This is an intriguing start to an AAR. I'm detecting comedic elements. I would certainly encourage that as there aren't many comedic AARs (although yes there are a few if you know where to look).

Finally, you may wish to advertise your AAR in the Inkwell. I'll reserve the rest of the suggestions for posting and promoting your AAR for another time so as not to overwhelm you with all that is here.

Looking forward to your next chapters....

P.S.: What mods are you using?

 

[Bullfilter]

My name is Jeff Richperson

my group of acquaintances; Presidents Jones and Smith, Fred the Unreliable, The Archdruid and Ben

Off to an amusing start. Are you reporting as you play, or playing ahead and reporting after much of it has been played?

PS: And what @Chac1 said

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

@Chac1, the modlist is exhaustive (and some don't have enough of an effect on gameplay for me to remember) but some of them include: Sketchy's Cheat Menu, Shiny New Faith (for something that will happen after I restore the Empire), Increased Wives and Concubines (same reason as Shiny New Faith), Imperial Elective Away!, 9999 Early Start (So I can fit 50+ Rulers into the timeline) and a Debug Cheat Mod (that allowed me to rename the characters).

@Bullfilter, I'd say kind of halfway, for the first few rulers I'll play one ruler's life per game session, and I'll try to fit their rule into 1 Chapter (Unless they reign for 50 years), currently I've played to the death of Basileus Konstantinos V.

Thanks for the warm welcome to the sub-forum.

 

[Nikolai]

Good luck! So good to see you writing an AAR already! Until you have 10 posts and have been here a set amount of time (unsure about the latter) you have restrictions on adding pictures, but please, don't let that stop you.

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

@Nikolai, thanks. On the pictures, I'm not sure that I want to use them anyway. I might use screenshots that I've saved at the end so everyone can decide if I was a reliable narrator or not.

 

[Bullfilter]

On the pictures, I'm not sure that I want to use them anyway.

You may just want to use them sparingly, for when they might save words. Things like maps or tables, etc. Otherwise, there are many fine narrative AARs around. Good luck with yours, win lose or draw!

 

[Midnite Duke]

@StrategyGameEnthusiast, it seems like just five minutes ago that I was welcoming you to AARland after your first comment; now you have an AAR (I wipe my eye of a speck of dust). Interesting start. Why would anyone have their first AAR as Byzantine Empire CK2? To enlarge on @Chac1's wonderful tips, please add a link to your AAR in your signature so that readers can come here from your comments elsewhere. Good luck and thank you for the AAR.

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

@Midnite Duke, thanks for the welcome. I normally play as the Byzantine Empire in CK2, I usually play as a custom Irish count in CK3, but I find it easier to play CK2 without getting bored. So that influenced the starting decision.

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

February 1st 769:
Basileus Konstantinos V was thrilled to finally declare the abolition of the Senate. He could not hide his frustration that it had taken a full month for his new Council to agree on it, however. With absolute power returned to the Empire, Konstantinos gathered the Council to inform them of his decision to invade the various Slavic chiefdoms that were settled in Greece and Epirus. Jeff said to Ben "You know what to do" and suddenly, the Basileus spotted a large army outside the Imperial Palace. Jeff said to him "It's all yours, my Basileus, all 250,000 soldiers". He was lost for words, but he hadn't even noticed the Armada in the ports - 1000 galleys for transporting this army.

Konstantinos placed many of his Strategoi in command of this strange army, split into units of 10,000. He decided that 2 units would be sent to the frontier Theme of Cherson to protect it from the Khazars, each province bordering the Emirate of Antioch and the Sultanate of Armenia would also get a unit each, 5 units would defend Constantinople, and the rest would be sent to fight the Slavic chiefdoms.

Remainder of 769:
The armies set out for their eventual destinations. In other news, the Basilissa Eudokia and the Symbasilissa Eirene both became pregnant with their respective husbands' children. Konstantinos did not partake in the war directly, leaving the risky business of battles and sieges to the Strategoi. One by one, the Slavic chiefs fell to the unstoppable Byzantine army. First to fall was the ruler of the Western Peloponnese region, followed by Thessalia, Epirus and Ohrid (soon-to-be-renamed Lychnidos). In the sieges, a number of courtiers were captured, with some being 'recruited' by Konstantinos to fulfil tasks in the Imperial Palace. Among these 'recruits' were a group of young women who Konstantinos took fancy to. He routinely visited them personally in their compact chambers to give them their tasks.

In the autumn of the year, Eirene and Eudokia both gave birth. Eirene's was a son, named Konstantinos after his paternal grandfather. Eudokia's was a girl named Melissa. Unbeknownst to Konstantinos, three 'recruits' were showing early signs of pregnancy.

770:
With the Slavic wars over, Konstantinos turned his attention to an uprising in Bulgaria. The High Chief of Strymon rose up against Khan Telerig because the Khan wanted to revoke the province of Philippopolis. Konstantinos demanded that Strymon hand Philippopolis to the Count of Maroneia, a neighbouring province within the Empire. This was granted, and Strymon and Telerig agreed a peace that gave the chief independence. Konstantinos then invaded Strymon to incorporate it into the Empire. This war was won quickly.

In the summer, the three 'recruits' gave birth. Two had boys and one had a girl. Konstantinos refused to acknowledge the girl's existence, but shocked everyone by not only declaring he was the father of the two boys, Michael and Kasjan (who Konstantinos renamed Ioannes), but also giving them full succession rights. Eirene also gave birth to a baby girl who was also named Eirene.

At the end of the year, Konstantinos noticed that he had new vassals after finishing the Slavic wars. The vassal in Epirus was a greedy man who wanted more land, so Konstantinos had the Iconoclast Patriarch excommunicate him so he could be executed, while the vassal in Thessalia got the entirety of the region before being transferred to his de jure liege, the Strategos of Hellas, Eirene's uncle Konstantinos.

771:
Konstantinos' second son Christophoros came of age, and was married to a woman named Zenobia, who apparently was a distant cousin of the giant Ben. Konstantinos invaded the Emirate of Antioch to seize the Emir's secondary title of Cilicia. This war succeeded, and then the Basileus noticed that his vassal in Cilicia was another greedy man, so once again an excommunication and execution was arranged. At the end of the year, Christophoros and his wife had a daughter, while Leon and Eirene had another son.

772:
In this year, President Jones informed the Basileus that a Jewish man had arrived at the court, fleeing persecution in Europe. Jones said that the man would make a fine successor as Magistros (his role). However a quick background check saw it transpire that the man had barely any diplomatic skills, and no other skills. Konstantinos decided to let both live, but warned Jones if he made another mistake he would suffer the same fate as the vassals in Epirus and Cilicia. Both Christophoros and Leon sired sons in this year, to Konstantinos' delight, as it strengthened the dynasty. To commemorate his second-born's achievement, Konstantinos made Christophoros the Strategos of Epirus.

773:
Konstantinos was bored in this year, as nothing happened other than a Strategos dying heirless, making him have to choose between a greedy man and a raving lunatic for the role. Also he had forgotten about the twins, Nikephoros and Anthousa, so they got random educations and random spouses that would pass on the Isaurian dynasty. Finally the Great Measles Plague started in 773, forcing the court into self-isolation.

774 + January 1st 775:
The year started with yet another greedy man making his existence aware to the Basileus, this time the Strategos of Adrianopolis. Konstantinos told him "This greed does not become you", but wished he could have had his guards seize the man. Hang on a minute, he's the Basileus, he can do as he pleases, but it was too late to go after Adrianopolis. Konstantinos noticed that Leon had befriended the other members of the Council, presumably to ease the transition period once he became Basileus.

The Strategos of Trebizond thought he had done a good deed by conquering a province in Tao from Armenia, but to his surprise, Konstantinos seized the province and declared that he would be executed if he tried any funny business again. The frontier Strategoi heard this ruling and decided, "Let's all invade Armenia". Konstantinos said they would be executed if they won their wars.

Bulgaria fell into civil war, but Konstantinos couldn't care less about utilising the situation to his advantage. Instead he decreed for a New Year's Celebration on January 1st 775. The Celebration was going well, but suddenly the Basileus started to feel uneasy. He decided to leave the feast and go to the chamber of a young 'recruit'. They engaged in 'conversation' which went on for hours until Konstantinos collapsed onto the floor. She thought he was just tired from their activity so she didn't think to call for help. Eventually, Eudokia, who already knew about his activities with the 'recruits', arrived and noticed that her husband's heart had stopped. She went to get Leon. Leon was distraught upon hearing the news but knew that this meant he was now the Basileus. He went to find the Council members, but was shocked to discover that his friends had disappeared, leaving him to pick up the pieces by himself...

 

[Chac1]

Oh, I see this is taking more of a diaristic or history book approach. Interesting developments for certain.

First, the death of Konstantinos: that poor "recruit" is no doubt going to be cursed by that event for the rest of her life. However, guessing Konstantinos died with a smile on his face.

Poor Basileus Leon! Deserted by all his friends in his time of need. I see your various mods did not change that bit of CK2 where your unmarried councilors leave upon the death of the head of state.

Are the 250,000 troops part of a mod too?

To enlarge on @Chac1's wonderful tips, please add a link to your AAR in your signature so that readers can come here from your comments elsewhere. Good luck and thank you for the AAR.

Thanks for the compliment @Midnite Duke . That too is an excellent suggestion.

This gives me the opportunity to add a few more items to the welcoming package for @StrategyGameEnthusiast .

If you need writing resources or want to chat about writing philosophy or ideas you might want to visit the SolAARium and the fAARq, which are excellent resources.

Finally, there's also the bAAR where various writers go to unwind a bit from time to time.

Welcome to AARland.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Thank you for the update. To clarify @Chac1, all unlanded council members quit upon ruler change. @StrategyGameEnthusiast, my line about why Byz is because in my only AAR, I am a Byzantine vassal. Good luck, Basileus Leon. Are the duchies and kingdoms viceroyalties?

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

@Chac1 yes, the troops are from Sketchy's Cheat Menu.

@Midnite Duke all the duchies except for Mallorca are viceroyalties [Edit: and the two Republics, Amalfi and Ragusa], hence the Strategos titles. No kingdoms exist within the Empire as of yet (probably won't until I restore Rome, I always have demesne and vassal limits turned off in game rules)

 

[Lord Durham]

Welcome aboard, @StrategyGameEnthusiast. That's quite the start. I'm not surprised Konstantinos died of a heart attack with all those routine visits in the 'recruits' compact chambers, no doubt discussing imperial matters. Sucks being a Basileus. Look forward to reading more.

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

@Lord Durham thanks for the welcome.

On the topic of updates, these first two posts have caught up to where I currently am in the save. So I'll probably go offline in a bit to play ahead so that I might have a chapter ready for release tomorrow at the latest.

 

[Chac1]

To clarify @Chac1, all unlanded council members quit upon ruler change.

Perhaps my version of CK2 works differently (no mods and the last version available) but I have found if I marry unlanded council members that they will stay in the court, although usually they are released from their council position upon a change of ruler. So yes, they quit, but they don't quit the court if they are married.

 

[Nikolai]

This cheat mod sounds like a wonderful addition to all budding conqerors.

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

@Nikolai yes, the cheat mod is good for easy conquest, so much that I set myself a limitation that I can only declare wars with martial educated rulers (otherwise I'd just be sitting around waiting until I've reached 50 rulers to restore the Roman Empire)

 

[HistoryDude]

It's nice to see a new authAAR, and this AAR looks fascinating... and hilarious.

Reclaiming Greece is a good start.

Why didn't Konstantinos want to conquer Armenia? Or was he just annoyed that his vassals would get the glory of the conquest?

Was the dissolution of the senate a way to explain why the ERE has no senate in the game, regardless of what history says?

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

@HistoryDude Konstantinos wanted to focus on reclaiming Greece. I didn't want vassals expanding because I'm trying to roleplay that they are governors of Imperial provinces. Dissolving the Senate actually represents me changing the Council laws to Absolute Rule, I was having the Council represent the most important Senators who were able to sway the other votes, but I guess the game doesn't represent the Senate.