Paradox games but definitely NOT GAMES OF THRONE

[TKz]

So I just learned about taking enough of an area that you can claim the duchy or whatever of that area... God damn, that would have made my last game easier.

Also, what do you guys do about handing off titles? Seems like you're better off handing it to a vassal with no relation so they can't try and claim additional land later... or will not so close relations work too? Like a cousin rather than a younger son or brother?

[Gazz]

I tend to give counties out indiviually to non-family members unless they have the content trait. Then I will give the Duchy to the Count least likely to cause trouble out of the 2-5 Counts that make up the de jure Duchy.

Be wary of giving away titles that are equal to your highest title, as that person will then become independent.

[JasonM]

I pretty much do the same, except for when I am building an Empire. Then I will at least keep 1 family member in each ''kingdom'' part as respect Kings under my main family members empire. It's not the best way to go around doing things, but I want to make sure my family is as strong as possible and having 3-4 Kings and an emperor to boot in your dynasty, your prestige goes into overdrive.

[Gazz]

Ticklez can barely conquer Desmond, one step at a time...

[GhostMachine]

Picked up the game when it was put up on sale for $9.99 a bit after the summer sale, but I haven't had time to play it a lot because I was finishing up Saints Row The Third (and I need to finish up the Trouble With Clones DLC and do the other ending).

I assume you can't play as the Pope. So I'd like to see a DLC, mod or spin-off game where you can. It would be cool to mess around with history and play as a crazy Pope, ordering rulers to do things on your own whims. ("Scotland and France, one of you has got to go! So you're going to war! And if anyone else gets involved, you're either going to be excommunicated or invaded by all the other countries under my authority! Muwahahahahahaha!")

I'd like to play as Ireland or Scotland and change history. But I just don't see it being feasible (or even possible) to play as either and successfully invade England at any point.

Did play one game that I gave up on after a little over two years. Was playing as England (forget which ruler or time period), gave someone his own county to run, and within just a few months he got on his own high horse so I had to invade. He not only ended up having allies support him, but I'm kind of wondering if the game wasn't bugged because he raised a fairly sizeable army from one frickin' mid-sized county and wouldn't back down or surrender.

[Hailtothechimp]

Picked up the game when it was put up on sale for $9.99 a bit after the summer sale, but I haven't had time to play it a lot because I was finishing up Saints Row The Third (and I need to finish up the Trouble With Clones DLC and do the other ending).

I assume you can't play as the Pope. So I'd like to see a DLC, mod or spin-off game where you can. It would be cool to mess around with history and play as a crazy Pope, ordering rulers to do things on your own whims. ("Scotland and France, one of you has got to go! So you're going to war! And if anyone else gets involved, you're either going to be excommunicated or invaded by all the other countries under my authority! Muwahahahahahaha!")

I'd like to play as Ireland or Scotland and change history. But I just don't see it being feasible (or even possible) to play as either and successfully invade England at any point.

Did play one game that I gave up on after a little over two years. Was playing as England (forget which ruler or time period), gave someone his own county to run, and within just a few months he got on his own high horse so I had to invade. He not only ended up having allies support him, but I'm kind of wondering if the game wasn't bugged because he raised a fairly sizeable army from one frickin' mid-sized county and wouldn't back down or surrender.

TEOL's diary in the Cube begs to differ.

Also, the mid-sized county question can be answered with one word. Mercenaries.

[TKz]

Ireland is supposed to be like, the easiest place to start with. I've read plenty of diaries where they have no problems crushing England. They spend almost all of their time at 1/2 strength (at best) due to constant Civil Wars. It's super duper easy to conquer them if you can unite Ireland and take Scotland. Just need to wait and strike when they're weak.

[Sousa]

Yeah, the thing about conquering England is that you've got to either hit a lucky break (This guy saw England conquered by Norway and was able to launch an Invasion after the Norwegian king was excommunicated and had a weakened army) or gradually chip away at them, particularly when different bits go into rebellion (which is what TEOL did). But it's been proven multiple times that starting from Ireland and starting the British Empire from there is feasible.

[MDK]

I wish I knew how to play this

[Noah]

I was happily biding my time and taking England piece by piece.

I'd added Northumberland, Westmorland and Durham to my glorious empire.

Then the bloody Aztecs invaded England.

[Benjamin]

Have you guys seen the Let's Play of the guy who was playing a GOT mod but somehow got Aztecs who started invading The Reach? Was the funniest shit.

[GhostMachine]

Well, I've learned not to play as Ulster. Doesn't start out with any claims to press, and after 7+ years, I still wasn't able to attack anyone because my Chancellor couldn't fabricate claims to save his life despite having a score of 16. Plus I set the `Have a son' ambition....and had 3 daughters. The only things I really managed to accomplish were to get the Master Hunter trait and to succesfully plot the assassination of one of my courtiers because her opinion of me was negative, her stats were lousy, and she didn't have any kids with the courtier I had her marry. (She died from having a rock dropped on her by my Marshal)

[TKz]

Have you guys seen the Let's Play of the guy who was playing a GOT mod but somehow got Aztecs who started invading The Reach? Was the funniest shit.

Apparently there was an update for the mod on April fools day that allowed that to happen. I assume he just installed the wrong version.

The detail put in the GoT mod is awesome, entirely new pictures, scenarios, whole gameplay elements changed. The actual implementation of winter and just the small stuff like being announced as King of the Andals and so on when you take The Iron Throne is great.

[Mongrel]

I assume you can't play as the Pope. So I'd like to see a DLC, mod or spin-off game where you can. It would be cool to mess around with history and play as a crazy Pope, ordering rulers to do things on your own whims. ("Scotland and France, one of you has got to go! So you're going to war! And if anyone else gets involved, you're either going to be excommunicated or invaded by all the other countries under my authority! Muwahahahahahaha!")

"France and Scotland, you're gonna team up against the HRE and England... in a tag team match!"

[Noah]

How do you deal with the Aztecs?

I can manage against most of their smaller armies but they have this one mega-fuck-you army of about 158 thousand.

Pretty sure the best I could muster up wouldn't even come close to that number and usually when I fight them, their big stack 'o doom doesn't appear until I've already been worn down.

[JasonM]

Millions of gold and buy every single holy army in existence + mercenary band. Hope your massive gigantic money sucking deathstack doesn't attrition down to death until you get to the actual battle.

Basically, that's the point of their 158K deathstack, just let them chase a 100 man unit across the lands and let them wittle down to a manageable number.

[GhostMachine]

Okay, here's the latest:

I'm playing as Desmond, and am in 1073 right now. Have several children, including one bastard from an affair, but only one daughter. Decided to kill off the wife because she was almost too old to have kids and invited a lot of people to the assassination plot. After THREE failed attempts with a snake and one of the plot members babbling about it while drunk so she found out, the wife died from drinking poison at a party. Then I married the lover and we're at 100/97 relationship-wise.

Have 3 adult children: the heir who is fucking useless, another son who is now my chancellor (which is nothing to write home about, as his skill is only 11, but is the best I have so far), and another son who is going to be one hell of a military commander.....if I ever actually fight. So far the only claims available are a couple of weak claims in France that occured naturally), and I'm not even going to attempt to go there. Plus my character is a Brilliant Strategist (I had him raise the son who is going to be a good military commander).....but Craven. Motherfucker can't even go after the white stag without getting scared. So I'm in no hurry to go to war until he kicks the bucket.

Oh, and early on (year 2, I think) a bunch of people including my first granddaughter all caught smallpox. NONE survived. And I've got two Courtiers who are married and both have the Lustful trait. Their daughter was one of the people who died, and it took 3 years for them to have another child, a son. They haven't had any others at all. I've had myself and the lover-now-wife raise all but one of my children so far.

Once I get my Prestige up over 500, I think I'm going to make a game save then create an Anti-Pope just to see what happens.

Also, can someone tell me why the hell I couldn't dock at ports? In one game I played as Connaught I got called on by an ally in England for help, and tried to send my troops across in ships. But they couldn't dock at ANY ports I tried, despite having the green arrow when I clicked on them - the ships wouldn't even move to any port except my own. I actually had to use a landbridge, which meant traveling through about 6 or 7 other countries and barely getting there in time to be of any help.

[Gazz]

You can only dock at ports that are within your realm.

If you want to move troops onto land that isn't yours, select the ships carrying them and you will see a little tab in the top right corner of the info tab with some soldiers in it and the number of troops being carried, click that then click on the province you want them to disembark to.

Also, traits like 'lustful' doesn't mean someone will be a baby making machine, a character with 70% base fertility will still be more fertile than a character with 40% base and +20% for lustful.

[Mongrel]

Started a game in the Old Gods, playing as Garðar Svavarsson of Austisland - aka the first Scandinavian to live on Iceland. He lived for more than one winter in this universe, though, but achieved very little before he died at the age of 54. In reality, this was just a chance for me to work out the Norse mechanics in this game.

There was far more interest in his successor - Uni Svavarsson. Living to the age of 63, Uni conquered Vestisland and proclaimed himself King Uni the Great of Iceland. In a storied life, Uni the Great had three wives - the first of whom he killed - and seven children. He saw his small band of fighters terrorise Ireland and the fractured areas of Jorvik, to amass some wealth for his new Kingdom.

Unfortunately, his death meant that his successor, King Garðar I, only inherited Vestisland, while Garðar's younger brother, Rögnvaldr, inherited the west. Rögnvaldr took little time declaring a war on Garðar, naming himself the true King of Iceland.

Garðar is actually very talented, and has two sons already. The best part of his life so far was the fact he went off to fight in Greece and came back a homosexual. It makes for an interesting dynamic. Bit of Jón Gnarr about him, only he's actually gay.

As an aside, how do you guys normally deal with Gavelkind? Do you try to assassinate your sons, or roll with the inevitable split in your holdings. I still don't really understand how it works.

[Mongrel]

....and Garðar went and got himself hit on the head, and is now incapable.

Fucking hell.

EDIT: And now dead. Disappointing end to a four month reign.

All hail eight-year old King Sturla!