Let's Play Crusader Kings 2: So Much for the Glory of Rome

[OrcusMcP]

Welcome to a new Let's Play of Crusader Kings 2. What is Crusader Kings 2? The main discussion thread should be able to answer most of your questions, but it is a game where you take control of a noble dynasty in the Middle Ages and lead them to glory or obscurity. I will be playing with all the DLC, including the recently released Charlemagne. We will be starting in 769 CE. The Way of Life, Horse Lords and Conclave DLC were also integrated upon their release.

Many different things can happen in this game, and we will be starting in a fertile but volatile and dangerous region where lots of things will happen: The Atlas Mountains of Mauretania.

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20 years before the game starts saw the Berber Revolts throw off the yoke of the Umayyads across much of Northwest Africa. The main cause of this revolt was the Umayyad Dhimmi tax, which was a tax levied on non-Arab converts to Islam, even though it was only supposed to apply to non-Muslims. The Berbers, being early and enthusiastic converts to Islam due to its nature as religious community that transcended ethnic or tribal community, were not at all pleased by this and kicked most of the Sunni Umayyads out of Africa, to be replaced by small Berber kingdoms and tribes. These were religiously diverse, with Shia, Ibadi and Kharjite rulers all tucked into the wealthy cities and regions on the coast where much of the population was still Catholic.

We, however, are playing further inland, in the tribal mountain lands, where the Berber tribe in what would now be called Marrakesh have just elected a new Chief. The tribe, while mostly Shia adherents, have become disillusioned with the greater Islamic community of Ifrqiya and al-Andalus. They know that they inhabit some very fertile mountain valleys, and that greatness could be theirs under a leader of vision.

That leader is very unlikely, a man who, while the son of a Berber merchant's daughter, draws his name and his customs from a more civilized tradition. This man comes from a former Roman Equestrian family, and he is Catholic, being elected on the merits of his skill rather than his piety.

That man is Stadius Gigas, or Mel'eb Lelatefal al'Emelaqh, the Giant of the Playground.

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A cruel man with lustful appetites, he none-the-less is a masterful commander of men and is sympathetic to the Berber plight. Even if his cynical nature means that his Catholic faith is little more than lip service, the greater world will not sit still upon hearing that Christians are once again in power in Africa.

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This LP will feature some semi-regular votes. Some will be on domestic policy, some will be on family matters, some will be on foreign policy, but you should all consider yourselves members of the circle of advisors. Dramatic harrumphing and passionate arguments will likely be more persuasive to our characters than simple voting by head, so be prepared to dust off your mud-slingers.

I will be playing the characters according to their traits, so unless the character we are playing is beastly and wacky, don't expect any major power gaming.

Table of Contents
Terra Gigantea
Chapter 1: Mountain Mists (769-779)
Chapter 2: Jawbreaker (779-790)
Chapter 3: Good Idea, Bad Idea (790-802)
Chapter 4: Reinvigoration (802-815)
Chapter 5: Conversation on Conversion (815-828)
Chapter 6: These Being the Words (828-837)
State of the World on the Coronation of Sempronius Gigas
Chapter 7: Setting the Table (837-848)
Chapter 8: Life and Times of Licinius Gigas, Volume I (848-854)
Chapter 9: Life and Times of Licinius Gigas, Volume II (854-865)
Chapter 10: Life and Times of Licinius Gigas, Volume III (865-882)
Chapter 11: Life and Times of Licinius Gigas, Volume IV (882-894)
Italia Irredenta
Chapter 12: No more mister nice Christ (894-910)
Chapter 13: Souls are at stake (910-924)
State of the World 925
Chapter 14: "People should know when they're conquered." (925-933)
Chapter 15: A Very Human Rampage (933-942)
Chapter 16: The Justinian Papers (Volume 1) (943-953)
Chapter 17: The Justinian Papers (Volume 2) (953-957)
State of the World 957: Transactio Byzantium
Chapter 18: The Justinian Papers (Volume 3) (957-976)
Chapter 19: The Justinian Papers (Volume 4) (977-984)
Chapter 20: Words of a witch (984-995)
Chapter 21: When You're Living in Italia (995-1005)
Chapter 22: There's Only One Rule in Italia (1005-1014)
Chapter 23: Be Like the Nature of Water (1015-1027)
Chapter 24: A Taste of Things to Come (1027-1034)
State of the World 1034
Chapter 25: Wining, Winning (1034-1052)
Chapter 26: Italia non est Centra Mundi (1053-1066)
Interlude (1066)
Semper Spatium Gigantes
Chapter 27: A New Age (1066-1078)
Chapter 28: Janus (1078-1084)
Chapter 29: Triumph (1084-1097)
Chapter 30: Hunchback of Milan (1097-1110)
Chapter 31: Conquest to Conquest (1110-1121) & State of the World (1121)
Chapter 32: The day may come when I ask a favour of you... (1122-1132)
Chapter 33: Differences of opinion (1132-1143)
Chapter 34: Space between the stars. (1143-1163)
Chapter 35: What do you do with a drunken Gigas? (1163-1182)
Chapter 36: The Lamberto Testament (I) (1182-1196)
State of the World 1196: The Lamberto Testament (II)
Chapter 37: The Lamberto Testament (III) (1197-1204)
Chapter 38: A Moment of Glory (1204-1214)
Chapter 39: Growing Storms (1214-1225)
Chapter 40: Ne Plus Ultra? (1225-1237)
State of the World 1238
Chapter 41: The Fixed Point (1238-1253)

[Sange]

It begins!
Right, now I really hope that you get the Omen event chain.

[Flickerdart]

Mount & Blade art in a CKII LP?

[IthilanorStPete]

Awesome, definitely looking forward to this! This should be a very interesting start indeed.

[Hydranova]

Mount & Blade art in a CKII LP?

Someone else noticed that too! Makes me wonder if we could somehow get a companion game running, but that is neither here nor there.

As the saying goes, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Good thing that Mauretania is still in Rome, huh?

[Artanis]

Dramatic harrumphing

HARRUMPH!

[Rockphed]

HARRUMPH!

We won't last a week with that attitude. Obviously we need to dramatically pose. *cape floats in the wind*

[OrcusMcP]

Chapter 1: Mountain Mists (769-779)

Little is known of the early life of Stadius Gigas, or precisely how he came to become chief of a Berber tribe. The best guesses we can make is that his mastery of the battlefield and ability to inspire his troops lead to his acclamation, as his personal character was not terribly inspiring on his own. While he would have many concubines and camp followers in his bed over the course of his life, his wife Myasa was always at his side in these early days. She reportedly was extremely gifted and was a strong supporter of Statius' ambitions.

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Though himself a Catholic, Stadius was still a member of the tribe and most of the tribe were Shia. Thus, he was familiar and sympathetic with most of the Muslim practices and was tolerated by the other high ranking members of the Tribal Council. Stadius was not the only man among them with administrative and military talent, but was the only one who saw that there was glory to be had outside the tribe, that wealth and power could be theirs. Stadius rallied the council to awarding him new authorities so that he could prepare for a military campaign.

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As the news that the tribes were restless began to spread outwards, especially when it became known that a Christian was in power, the wider Muslim world declared that the proper Light of Islam must spread once more in a great Struggle. The Berber Revolts had shown that while conquest and consolidation were easy, piety and devotion would be necessary to maintain order, lest heretics, schismatics and infidels topple what the Ummah had built.

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Note: Did I forget that Marrakesh was a Jihad trigger? Yes. Yes I did.
The Pope also soon heard word that there were Christians gaining power in Africa, and dispatched an envoy to treat with Stadius and offer some monetary support. The envoy was shocked, however, to find that most of the tribe was still Shia and that the entire council with the exception of a Bishop was also Muslim. The offended and stuttering envoy tried to invoke Papal authority to have the Muslims from the Tribal council expelled, but The Giant of the Playground was not prepared to submit to any authority, Muslim or Catholic, and told the envoy to depart. He did relieve the envoy of all his gold first, however.

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In 770, Stadius organized all the fighting men of the Tribe into a massive raid on the neighbouring Ibadi lands in Fes to the north. Little resistance could be organised in the face of such a strong assault, and no higher authority existed among the Ibadi kingdoms to come to their aid. Stadius pillaged the countryside for months, burning towns, forts and mosques, bringing all the wealth back to the tribe to start construction of proper hillforts and markets in his mountains.

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Over the next two years, Stadius would continue to raid the Ibadi in Fes. He started to enjoy the spoils of his pillage a bit too much for some of the more conservative among the Tribe, but he still managed to have children with his wife and concubines.

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As the spoils came in from Stadius's raid, the Tribe voted to extend him even further authority, but they insisted that it was time for the tribe to expand, not just plunder. Stadius agreed, but he thought even bigger. He had ambitions to claim Lordship over all of Ifriqiya, much like how the Romans of antiquity claimed all of Italy. They rose from humble origins to be masters of all the world, and Stadius longed to write the next chapter in that history. A major campaign of conquest was called for.

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The first war began with some more Berber Shia tribes to the south. It took time get all the warriors levied and properly equipped, as this was a war of conquest, not a simple raid. Fortunately, Stadius had developed into a masterful commander of armies and when the battle was finally joined in late 774, the other tribes stood little chance against him. By mid-775, The Marrakechi were in control of the entire Atlas Mountain range south of Fes.

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Stadius had personal control of all the Shia Berber tribes and thus once all the dust had settled in 776 he declared that he was now High Chief. The Mountains were his and the Marrakechi were his people. Glory to all who followed, despair and ruin to all who opposed. The Council were pleased, but nervous. Stadius was obviously great and had done much for the prestige and prosperity of the tribe, but he still clung to the old notion of Rome and was using Christian religious justification to conquer Muslims.

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Thus, in 777, when Stadius declared another conquest, this time of an Ibadi tribe on the western coast, the council insisted it be a simple affair. "The mountains are to be ours and we should seek glory, yes, but we includes fellow Muslims. We cannot support any more wars with such blatant Christian excuses and excess."

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Life was quiet in Marrakech after this war. Stadius fumed at the restraint of the council, but he understood their reasons. Perhaps he had been overly ambitious and overly zealous. Thus, as his 10th year as chief came to a close in 779, he took stock of where his tribe was in the world. The Marrakechi controlled extensive and valuable lands in the mountains, but the Northern Coasts had far more robust institutions. Bringing them to heel would be a difficult task. Plus, conquering his way to the Mediterranean might draw the ire of the Umayyads, who were trying to retake some of their former vassals in Alger.

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The council, meanwhile, had a meeting of their own. Marrakechi, all, they were still a diverse bunch, with Berber, Roman, Shia and Catholic members. They knew that if given the chance, Stadius would rather burn bright and fast than grow to be a true power. They needed to either reign him in or point him in a better direction.

Some advocated that Stadius was at his best when he was Plundering. If the coasts are too dangerous to take, then let us continue to just loot them and grow the tribe slowly until it will be in a position to actually administrate beyond the mountains.

The older and more conservative councilmen saw no reason not to let Stadius extend himself, but that he would need to Delegate if he wanted their support. Let other council members rule parts of the Tribal land, so that it would not all be in the hands of one unpredictable man.

Myasa, Stadius's wife, had invited herself to the meeting in secret and had a bold plan of her own. Dismissing the council's ideas, she too had vision and dreamt of a mighty Kingdom where she might be Queen. Salt traders often came up from the South, past the desert, and perhaps there the Marrakechi might find wealthy lands to rule without risking danger from the wider world.

What ended up convincing Stadius?

[Flickerdart]

Every step east brings our soldiers closer to Umayyad swords, and this quarrel between brothers of the faith is sure to paint Stadius in the worst possible light. And yet, grow we must! Raiding is no sustainable way to sustain our people. There is no choice but to march South and show to our neighbours that Stadius does not seek quarrel, but also has much greatness still in him. Once we bring the Mande pagans to heel, we will earn both the respect of the Umayyads and the lands we need for true stable and sustainable growth.

[ObadiahtheSlim]

A shame you didn't start before the latest beta patch. Jihad/Crusade can no longer trigger before 900AD.

[Cristo Meyers]

Every step east brings our soldiers closer to Umayyad swords, and this quarrel between brothers of the faith is sure to paint Stadius in the worst possible light. And yet, grow we must! Raiding is no sustainable way to sustain our people. There is no choice but to march South and show to our neighbours that Stadius does not seek quarrel, but also has much greatness still in him. Once we bring the Mande pagans to heel, we will earn both the respect of the Umayyads and the lands we need for true stable and sustainable growth.

Indeed! Our path to glory flows South, where we can spread the Word and bring the light of our combined faith to the benighted pagans!

[OrcusMcP]

A shame you didn't start before the latest beta patch. Jihad/Crusade can no longer trigger before 900AD.

Meh, too late now, we'll just have to run with it. Considering that this is still the time of big Umayyad and Abbasid empires and is not long after the initial spread of Islam, it's not too out of left field to have Jihads now. Plus, this should make the rest of the world more chaotic, which is always awesome.

[Hydranova]

Yes, yes, let's attack the pagans down South! They have money! And land! And...people with money and land!

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

Hardly! We need to placate our Muslim tribesmen! We must delegate power to our various loyal lieutenants, to secure their loyalty. Tribal patronage has a long and glorious history, and is the path to a rich and prosperous tribe!

[Flickerdart]

Hardly! We need to placate our Muslim tribesmen! We must delegate power to our various loyal lieutenants, to secure their loyalty. Tribal patronage has a long and glorious history, and is the path to a rich and prosperous tribe!

While there is wisdom in what you say, there is no rush to delegate. Autonomous vassals will grow unruly in times of peace, but if placed in charge of recently conquered lands, they will have their hands full and their minds far from any thoughts of insurrection.

[ObadiahtheSlim]

Conquer pagan lands to the south, but beware of their defensive attrition. We need more land for good faithful christian to balance the power of the muslims.

[Flickerdart]

Conquer pagan lands to the south, but beware of their defensive attrition. We need more land for good faithful christian to balance the power of the muslims.

Did they add that in? From what I remember, West African Pagans didn't actually have defensive attrition to start with.

[mythmonster2]

Did they add that in? From what I remember, West African Pagans didn't actually have defensive attrition to start with.

They added that in with the patch that came with Charlemange, IIRC. Nevertheless, Rome was able to conquer harsher lands. Let us subjugate the south! Delegation will not be necessary, but raiding may still be done to fill our coffers with foreign gold.

[Rockphed]

The South is rich. Conquering it will allow us to both subjugate heathens and to fill our coffers.

[Artanis]

We must grow. Especially with the Caliphate already turning its eye towards us, we need wealth and power to a level that mere pillaging cannot attain if we are to survive. Going south into the gold-filled lands beyond the desert will increase our power to the point where Jihadis will be smashed against the Atlas the same way that Darius's men fell trying to force the pass at Marathon.

But.

Weapons and horses cost money. Men are reluctant to follow foreign infidels, which literally all but two other males on this entire continent consider us. To achieve the conquests that will insure long-term survival - and from there, Gloria Romae Novae - requires money and respect that can be Plundered from our most immediate threats.

[Sange]

We must march south and bring these pagans the glory of Rome!

[OrcusMcP]

The council has spoken! Stadius shall be sent South on a mission of conquest!

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

Mark my words, at the first great uprising, I'll be waiting, whispering "I told you so" as I run off naked into the night.

[Artanis]

Mark my words, at the first great uprising, I'll be waiting, whispering "I told you so" as I run off naked into the night.

Pfft, it wouldn't be Rome without an uprising every couple years.

[OrcusMcP]

Wow. That defensive attrition is..........wow.

[Artanis]

West Africans get that now?

[Sange]

Yeah, it's horrible. The worst is defensive pagans, who gain +80% damage while fighting in their homeland.

[mythmonster2]

However, it has been drastically nerfed: you only need one level of Military Organization tech to completely ignore the homeland attrition bonus that Defensive Pagans get.

[OrcusMcP]

However, it has been drastically nerfed: you only need one level of Military Organization tech to completely ignore the homeland attrition bonus that Defensive Pagans get.

No, you need 2. Believe me.

[Artanis]

It's still a pretty heavy nerf