To India and back again. TAG-Hopping AAR

[Hawkiee]

Hello everyone!

The other day I was surfing the forums when I found the thread concerning the most powerful unifications, the war-mongerer that I am I found that interesting. President_Eden proposed the following "unification set" as the most powerful:

Hansa -> Netherlands requires acquisition of four Dutch provinces. Check.
Netherlands -> Romania requires acquisition of six Romanian provinces. Check.
Romania -> England requires acquisition of six English provinces. A seventh can be acquired in the process.
England -> Hindustan, as previously calculated, requires 11 Eastern Aryan provinces.
Hindustan -> Prussia, as previously calculated, requires 13 Saxon provinces.
Prussia -> Germany has no culture shift requirements.
Germany -> HRE has no culture shift requirements.

So, five culture shifts, six cultural unions, and one Renovatio Imperii.

As I said I found this interesting so I have decided to try and do an ARR on it, if anyone has a good name for it please come with suggestions.

The settings will all be set to normal, except for inflation which will be set to none, hard difficulty and no lucky nations.


Vol I - The Hanseatic League (1399-1460)
Chapter 1: The first decade
Chapter 2: Securing Utrecht
Chapter 3: Saving the Hannoverian people!
Chapter 4: Preparing for Romania
Chapter 5: Why must thee deny me?
Chapter 6: Wait, what?
Chapter 7: Colonial range you said?! Also, byebye Hansa...

Vol II - The Netherlands (1460-1517)
Chapter 8: Let us get Romania!
Chapter 9: Colonize the Horde!
Chapter 10: English destruction
Chapter 11: The interlude
Chapter 12: The end for England?
Chapter 13: The War!
Chapter 14: Preparation!
Chapter 15: India!
Chapter 16: Establishing ourselves in India
Chapter 17: Overextension?!
Chapter 18: War...
Chapter 19: Burgundy, Burgundy, Burgundy!
Chapter 20: Romania!

Vol III - Romania (1517-1543)
Chapter 21: More war...
Chapter 22: A new leader...
Chapter 23: Indian Expansion
Chapter 24: Europe at war
Chapter 25: War and Peace, again..
Chapter 26: English you say?
Chapter 27: Everything is going as planned.
Chapter 28: Last days as Romania.

Vol IV - England (1543-1???)
Chapter 29: English you say?
Chapter 30: Securing Prussia
Chapter 31: Bohemias Fall
Chapter 32: Sorry for being slow... (Video Commentary)
Chapter 33: Going Strong (Video Commentary)



Special:
World Update II: Anno 1550



​

 

[Hawkiee]

Chapter 1 - Hansa - The first decade

Chapter 1 - Hansa - The first decade


In the challenge we start out as The Hanseatic League, a merchant republic with a trade league and one of the richest cots in game, in other words a great starting position. Our first goal is to gain cores or conquer the four provinces required to form the Netherlands.

These would be:

Still, I have to get that far so let's take a look at my start. First things first is that we get a mission connected to our trade league, we must gain the trade rights for Swedish Steel (Iron).

A lucky start since we have a five star treasurer in Joseph Henckell, also a two star naval guy and a single star stability guy for now, also note the poor Statthalter who will probably lose his position at the first oportunity.

For the first slider move I decide to go with Quality, I considered going free trade but I judge a strong army to be more important right now than money. (Already have the grounds to get plenty)

The first mission is a success and the next, End the sound toll is pretty nice as it will give a trade modifier for the rest of the game.

Second mission is complete two years later after bribing the Danish up to 190 relations, this gives the +15% national trade income modifier. The next mission is to create a proper fleet.

Apperantly heresy have been noticed in one of the provinces, I take the negative reprecussions rather than getting a narrowminded move.

In October 1403 Barnabas Jarchow takes over the drivers seat. He's better than his predesor.

After completing the fleet mission we get the create an army mission, after that we have to protect against Venice. Three regiments later it is completed, and for some reason, we get the same mission again! The irony is complete when we get Naval Race vs. Venice.

In October 1406 it has been peaceful for to long, the Emperor is busy fighting his own wars along with peasant rebels, we use this as an opportunity to strike against one of the four cores we need, although, without a CB.

Holland gets drawn into the war which is great, they hold two of the provinces needed.

The war itself is a piece of cake since, as predicted, Bohemia doesn't show up at all. Friesland gets vassalized and Holland annexed.

The Emperor then demands the province to be released which we deny.

We then insult Gelre, which makes them break out of our trade league, then we use the trade war CB to attack them, the goal is vassalization. Unfortunately I first mistook it for one of the demanded cores, the war is quickly won in just a couple of months.

While we fight war leader Cologne the good people of the country grants us a gift, the war is over in January 1409 with us paying our way out.

This will be all for now, I am quite pleased with the start, though I could have done better in hindsight. If anyone is wondering why I didn't leave the HRE is the reason simply that untill I have to do the Romania move I wan't to use the bonuses the HRE offers to it's members, that and the fact that I didn't think about it untill after I annexed Holland. Any suggestions and advice? I will change up my writing style any style you prefer?​

 

[TonyJoe]

Nice start - you've a long road ahead of you

I like the writing style but then I'm partial to gameplay AAR's.

 

[mattblough]

Also partial to gameplay AAR's here and loving the first update. Been following the thread discussing unifications and really looking forward to this. Good luck!

 

[Magnive]

In theory, would it not be better to form France after Prussia, and then using HRE to gobble up Germany?

 

[Hawkiee]

Thank you for following, next part probably up tonight depending on how long I use to finish some schoolwork.

In theory, would it not be better to form France after Prussia, and then using HRE to gobble up Germany?

Not really, becoming Germany doesn't require an additional culture change also, if I don't sell any provinces or release vassals I would require 14 French provinces to change my culture. Also forming Germany gives a 1+ tax boost for all provinces of Germany, even those I don't own personally I believe. Thus, going Frenchie would only give me 4-5 cores that I don't have, unless I cut the size of my nation down. Compare that to the +1 tax boost and it really isn't worth it going for France, might be fun though.

 

[Tallfellow]

Looking forward to the next update. I like gameplay AAR's as the often give good idea's. I did a Venice -> ERE -> HRE game not long ago, was alot of fun. Even though the Venice -> ERE was pretty challenging, had -stab for a long time so had to min like crazy.

 

[Hawkiee]

Chapter 2: Securing Utrecht

Chapter 2: Securing Utrecht

After having direct or indirect control over three of the four provinces needed to form the Netherlands the focus is now on securing Utrecht.

We start out with a increase in trade tech to level five by March 1409.

June arrives and we get a slider move, I go for a move against free subjects, still not moving the trade slider. We also get an increase in production technology which reaches level 4.

Shortly after in October we reach government tech level 4, and with it we get a national idea, I go with military drill for now.

Rebels in Holland are a pain as they are as big as our military force, three battles later they are defated.

Wenzel Heinzohn takes charge in November 1411, he is decent but would have liked a higher diplomacy stat. The infamy after the wars is 15,6/24.

Land technology 4 is reached in June 1412, for our nation that has little manpower in the first place armories are welcome.

Stability is lost as I deny rights, regained just a matter of months later.

May 1413 yields a boundary dispute on Stade, we press our claim without thinking.

Using the trade league breakout tactic we declare war on the lone wolf Utrecht, they don't have any allies and is also the last remaining core for us.

War is over in just a month and vassalization is forced on them in August 1413. We now have direct or vassal control over the needed cores for the Netherlands, hopefully we will get diploannex missions that grants cores on Friesland and Utrecht.

In November 1415 Jürgen Bastian takes over, he is still not as good on diplomacy as I want.

Trade technology 6 is reached in July 1416 and just two months later our five star treasurer dies to be replaced by a four star one.

To end this update I'd like to note that France seems to be in trouble against Burgundy, which is a bad thing for me since I'd like to be able to reclaim my cores once I get the Romanian culture. Once that happens I can hold up to 6 provinces of one culture that isn't English. Since the Netherlands core area is divided between Flemish and Dutch culture this is no problem. Current date was the 9th of January 1418.
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[anarchistica]

In November 1415 Jürgen Bastian takes over, he is still not as good on diplomacy as I want.

No screenshot?

And wouldn't it have been much easier to vassalise Holland and diplo-annex them a decade later? I doubt your infamy goes down much with a 5 diplo ruler and that -0,5 penalty for unlawful imperial territory.

 

[Hawkiee]

Looking forward to the next update. I like gameplay AAR's as the often give good idea's. I did a Venice -> ERE -> HRE game not long ago, was alot of fun. Even though the Venice -> ERE was pretty challenging, had -stab for a long time so had to min like crazy.

Yeah, have a feeling that I will spend most of the game at 0 or lower stability since I plan on keeping the provinces after the unifications.

No screenshot?

And wouldn't it have been much easier to vassalise Holland and diplo-annex them a decade later? I doubt your infamy goes down much with a 5 diplo ruler and that -0,5 penalty for unlawful imperial territory.

Sorry, fixed now. Was so damn tired that I threw it together last night and one screenshot snuck in twice. Well, the HRE bonus is -0.25 so the unlawful territory is only +0.25 infamy, along with a soon to be level 5-6 diplomat, the Florentine school and a high dip ruler I can in theory if all works ut well get a infamity burn of:

Unlawfull territory = +0,5
HRE Member = -0.25
Diplomat = -0,25/-0,30
Florentine School = -0,10
7-9 Diplomatic skill leader = -0,70/-0,90

The lowest of those numbers would give me a infamy burn of -0,8 a year. And I can top it off with -1,05 a year even with the unlawfull territory. It currently is without a diplomat only -0,35 a year with a skill 5 diplomatic leader and florentine school. The reason why I decided to annex Holland in one go is that annex vassal mission in my experience only grants a single core, which means I would have to annex them once then release them as a vassal again and hope for the same mission ten years later, meaning that it probably would take far longer than 50 years as I doubt they would agree to be annexed every time without trouble, also, if I don't get that mission it would take me 5 years of waiting time if I get the "Bring England into the fold mission", considering that they are at Impossible to join my trade league even at 200 relations. At a last note I don't take cardinals in the equation as we are far to small and any cardinals are just a pluss because of that.

For future plans the faster I can form Netherlands the better, Ottoman pressence is still strong in the Balkans which means I can holy war my way to the six provinces needed for Romania. As such while it might not be infamy wise, ten or twenty years extra waiting time could potentially mean that I will have to grab those provinces for 4 infamy each meaning that I would get 24 infamy and probably some stab hits over 2 or 3 wars, again slowing me down.

 

[Memento Mori]

I have seen the original thread too, so I'm pretty excited about the aar!

I am quite sure that the thread also suggested doing a tag switch to Malaya before Hindustan and forming the Papal State sometime after you pass the reform about stopping elections, but before you reunite the HRE. Any plans to do that?

Also, I'd love to see all the modifiers that you'll have at the end of the game! Probably the Prussian one will be the most tasteful, but if you follow Magnive's advice you can get L'etait c'est moi and moving the capital to Veresalies, if I recall correctly.

 

[SiikFajitas]

This is bound to be great, I'll keep an eye on it!

 

[Hawkiee]

Forming Malaya requires 13 provinces which can be a pain depending on who takes the uncolonized provinces at start, if it's Majapit then it's no problem seeing as they don't have Malaylan as primary culture.

I might go France after Germany but I am unsure if that is possible, also becoming the Papal States is likely aftr the stopping elections reform.

 

[Hawkiee]

Chapter 3: Saving the Hannoverian people!

Chapter 3: Saving the Hannoverian people!

Last time we secured Utrecht as our vassal, for now I just have to wait and cement my position. First is to gain another a core to move my capital.

We get a slider move and go max free subjects.

The first HRE reform is passed in 1419, if things go bad I might have to go to wars against them to revoke Imperial Reforms.

We finally get the leader we were hoping for, Niklas Alpers, with him our infamy burn is at -1.0 a year with our five star diplomat.

Canceling the England mission gives me secure trade rights, which means I need five or ten(bad memory) exclusive trade rights agreements.

May 1420 the mission is completed and we get a simple improve relations mission, it is quickly completed and we get a mission to save the hannoverian people, basicly reconquer Stade from the Danes. It also rewards -2 infamy.

The emperor demands the second province and offcourse denied.

The military is divided, and I decide to go defensive. I see the fort defense bonuses more important than more morale.

January 1421 we declare war on the Danes, the forces are evenly matched but we are superior at sea. Also, as we are going for just one province it should prove swift.

Slesvig falls in September and with that we force our terms.

Stade is released as a vassal right after as the nation of Bremen.

After another relations mission we get another conquest mission on the Danes this time it's Holstein.

Naval increase along with the Danes breaking a treaty.

Land technology increase to 5 in September 1423, we can now use Men at Arms and Longbows, I go with the latter.

Starting to look at expansion into the Balkans for Romania I notice that Byzantium still exists even though they only hold Trace. They need to vanish before I can form Romania, I get them into our trade league incase I have to do the dirty work myself. Other than that no big news.​

 

[TonyJoe]

Now the long process of waiting for cores. I guess with a 9 diplomat you have a greater chance of getting boarder disputes.

 

[Hawkiee]

Now the long process of waiting for cores. I guess with a 9 diplomat you have a greater chance of getting boarder disputes.

Yup, also the process of thinking on how to get to Romania. As soon as I switch to Dutch I will start taking the provinces needed although there will probably be trouble. The Golden Horde has been a pain, meaning I probably need a core in the area to reach them for colonization if I can beat them. So, hopefully I will get a core in the area trough a boundary dispute.

Probably another update in 30 min or so.

 

[Hawkiee]

Chapter 4: Preparing for Romania

Chapter 4: Preparing for Romania

Now all that remains for Holland is to wait for cores and annex missions for Utrecht and Friesland.

Meanwhile we use our time to complete another mission, the conquest of Holstein from the Danes is launced in September 1426.

The war progresses steadily and unawareness from my side allows the swedes to cross over to Slesvig, we win the battle.

The terms forced on the Danes, Sweden is war leader so the war is still on although we have no plans for any further gains.

We gain a Imperial Reconquest core and finish our mission, Holstein will be released as a vassal as soon as the war is over.

The next mission is to bring Sweden back into the fold, I doubt it will be possible and I can't force them as I am out of manpower.

January 1428 sees an increase in trade tech to 7. Along with production tech just a couple of months later.

The Swedes are a pain in the ass so I bribe them to let us be in May 1428. Holstein is released.

With the government tech at 6 we can now build an embassy. It will be built as soon as I get the funds.

We go a "wasted" centralization move considering that all unifications grant moves towards centralization...

Troubling news as the second reform is passed in April 1431, along with an upgrade in land tech.

Considering the Balkans I realize I will need a core in the area to colonize, the Golden Horde has all the territory except Silistria that's held by the Ottomans, I do not want to take on the Ottomans just yet so I plan to kick Venezia out of Athens to gain a Holy War CB on the Ottomans for later use.

Claims on our rivals grant two cores, probability is that both nations will be vassalized.

With our armies placed in Aquileia we take a chance and attack Venezia, our navy holds their up and we can invade Venezia itself, the army is beaten but not destroyed as Austria stands waiting in Treviso. The Swedes do not honour the alliance.

In the middle of the war we get a government tech upgrade to 7.

With the finished siege of Athens we demand it in the peace deal and get it, I managed to forgot to take screenshot though. Austria is bribed with 25 ducats.

We finish our mission and bring Sweden into the fold again, Swedish steel is the next mission.

Map, 24th of September 1436.

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[James Beil]

This is completely mental.

I LOVE IT.

 

[Xenophon13]

Ambitious, and awesome. Subscribed.

 

[Nessaj]

Looks like you'll be able to get most of, if not all the provinces required to form Romania if you're opportunistic when the horde enters a TSC, great progress so far.