Current Events > Crusader kings 2 is currently free on steam.

(+) Yeah! (+)

JustMonika posted...

Now you too can murder your inbred half-cousins.

That are also your children, because incest is wincest
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Tag and thanks
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thanks

although I bought it like a million years ago and didn't play it much ._.
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Ayy isn't this that the game with the hilarious image possibilities
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GiftedACIII posted...

Ayy isn't this that the game with the hilarious image possibilities

r/shitcrusaderkingssay
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DarthAragorn posted...

JustMonika posted...

Now you too can murder your inbred half-cousins.

That are also your children, because incest is wincest

Messalianism master race
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Thank you!!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFF3F92o_2s" data-time="
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Thanks

I don't even understand how to play Civilization. So I'm sure this will go well.
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Highwind07 posted...

Well, I opened it and there is a load of info right off the bat, lol. It is gonna take me a while to learn this compared to Civ.

I still only halfway know what I'm doing and I've played 160 hours. It's so rewarding though when you do figure it out
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Highwind07 posted...

Well, I opened it and there is a load of info right off the bat, lol. It is gonna take me a while to learn this compared to Civ.

Don't worry too much about "winning" the experience is the best part.
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K-driver posted...

one of the dlcs might be currently free too I had to click it to add it http://store.steampowered.com/app/226671/Crusader_Kings_II_Songs_of_Yuletide/

Songs of Yuletide is always free. It's just some added Christmas songs from the holidays a few years back.

Anyway, Crusader Kings 2 is probably my most played game of all time. I think I have near 1200 hours on it. I'm currently playing an Old Germanic Viking that conquered Wessex and formed England.

I got CKII in a Humble Bundle for $10 and I've put over 1500 hours into it. Easily the most value I've ever gotten out of a game.
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Thanks for the tag!
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I've been wanting to play this game. Thanks
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Thanks a ton, Troutpaste!
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@sballen this is a perfect example of adding somekind of grouping system to add people to that you can @ to ping them all.

Cmon man discord has this shit on lock
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Since people are doing their take on the DLC;

Sword of Islam - This one allows you to play as a Muslim leader. There isn't much else to it. The Muslims have some unique mechanics, such as accumulating a penalty called decadence for having males in your family who aren't landed. They also can have up to three wives, and have some differences when it comes to theological holdings. Worth it if you want to play as Muslims.

Legacy of Rome - This one fleshes out the Orthodox. Similar to the above, it has some unique mechanics and events such as mending the schism or restoring Rome. It also unlocks retinues for everyone, which are standing troops. In earlier games, this was super important, but they've been nerfed a bit and are not required now. Worth it if you have interest in Mediterranian politics at the time.

Sunset Invasion - Okay, most people will tell you it's stupid, and it sort of is, but hear me out. The plot is that Aztecs find a Viking ship and develop their own ships to invade Europe with. They invade, bringing disease and doomstacks and you have to try and fight them back. It also adds their religion and characters. Now, it's purpose is clearly to give a horde invasion event for the west, since that's such an important part of surviving in the east, but it can be jarring for roleplayers. If you have to miss one, this is it, but it's worth playing a few times, especially if you are going ahistorical anyway (such as reforming the Germanic faith or something like that). It's a bit underwhelming, though.

The Republic - This one lets you play as a Merchant Republic. They are fun and have their own mechanics, but sort of feel like CK2-lite, honestly. It definitely allows for some cool intrigue roleplays and feuding among your republics five families is fun, but your options are always a bit limited and you can often feel like world events are moving around you with little control.

The Old Gods - Hands down my favorite DLC. It adds all the pagan faiths at the time, including the infinitely popular Germanic (formerly Norse) and the jarringly progressive Tengri. The religions are awesome, even if some (such as West African) are not particularily fleshed out. The Germanic faith, in particular, allows for raiding by river (raiding is also a new feature). It also adds adventurers who will attack random kingdoms to try and claim them, and gives leaders to rebellions. I can't stress enough how awesome this one is.

Sons of Abraham - This one fleshes out Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. It adds a lot of stuff for those religions, so if you care about any one of them, it's worth it. Otherwise, it's pretty easy to skip.

Rajas of India - Similar to Legacy of Rome and Sword of Islam, this one gives you the ability to play as people from the Indian subcontinent. This includes three new unique religions (Jainism, Hindu, and Buddhism) which can be easily switched between. They can be a bit hit or miss, with some playthroughs being incredibly fun, and others being incredibly boring.

Charlemange - This one is basically just worth it for the earlier start date. Otherwise, it adds events for playing as Charlemagne, which is weird in a game where you play as hundreds of characters over any playthrough. Also allows you to make custom empires/kingdoms.

Way of Life - Hands down a neccessary DLC. It adds some RP elements, such as allowing you to pick a 'focus' (like war, hunting, theology, business, seduction, etc) which adds tons of new events and options. Really fun.

Horse Lords - This one lets you play as a nomad. Nomads don't get holdings in their land beside their capital and have standing horse armies. They fight on the open plains. I love playing as them, but some people find them overpowered. Similar to The Republic, you also have other 'Khans' in your horde who may vie for control.

Cont ...

Conclave - Conclave is similar to Way of Life in that it adds to pre-existing elements. This time, it's councils. Council now have new abilities and needs. It's a good QoL DLC, even if it doesn't add a huge amount.

The Reapers Due - This one adds plagues and diseases as well as hospitals. Also adds unique maimed traits, like one-legged or one-eyed. It's pretty solid. Another DLC that builds on pre-existing systems (in this case disease and sickness).

Monks and Mystics - This one is another QoL DLC. It adds secret societies (like the Hermetics or the Assassins) and changes the way religions react a bit. Another good one to have if you can.

Jade Dragon - This one is a bit strange. It adds China, but not on the map. China is represented by a menu that allows you to send gifts or ask for boons. They also might invade or ask for tributaries from existing kingdoms. It's cool and adds more content, but can leave you wishing for a bit more.

Basically, you can divide the DLCs into new playable factions (SoI, LoR, TR, TOG, RoI, HL), QoL upgrades (SoA, Char, WoL, Con, RD, M&M), and new events (SI, JD). As for priority in each category, I'd go;
- TOG, HL, TR, RoI, LoR, SoI (Note, I'm not a huge fan of the Byzantines, but they are very popular so this is very much YMMV).
- WoL, Con/M&M/Char, RD, SoA
- JD, SI
The portaits, music and units are great, but can be skipped if you are tight on money. Focus on the groups you like playing first of all, then get the others to make the map easier to look at. Honestly, they are all great and I'd recommend getting them all on sale, but if you are strapped for cash go for as many of the QoL DLCs as you can (minus SoA if you don't care about those groups), pick groups you want to play as, and get JD before SI.

Bump
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Do any of you know of mods to make it less dark and more lighthearted?
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Deus Vult!
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@JustMonika posted...

Deus Vult!

Deets?
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CK2 is probably my favorite game. Once you get the hang of things its really easy. Most of the issue is understanding the Latin jargon like Casus Belli and de jure and such.

https://ck2.paradoxwikis.com/Crusader_Kings_II_Wiki

This right here is the Bible. Its as official a guide as you are going to get. Go to the Paradox forums for advice. You might even see me there

Also @ElatedVenusaur, Im not sure whens the last time you tried a 769 start but most of the time Charlemagne gets killed in battle in saxony or dies from some disease in my experience....

IMO the most important part of learning the game is picking the right start. In vanilla, Most people will recommend Ireland, which while it has its advantages, is really really slow going and will chase most people away. IMO the 1066 kingdom of Sicily is a good start and nearly everyone should try to learn the game as a feudal Christian as all the other groups are pretty much defined in what their diffrance with a feudal Christian system is...
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Oh, right. Starts.
1066 is definitely the best start date for beginners, as you don't have to worry about Viking raids and there are (fewer) death blobs, but some of the Norsemen are real straight-forward. So, let's break a few scenarios down(I happen to agree with josifrees on two of 'em).

1) "Tutorial Island" a.k.a. Ireland
This is only true of 1066 Ireland: Ireland in earlier dates is basically ground-zero for Viking raids and Viking invasions. The circumstances at the 1066 start-date help: England is in the midst of a succession war, and the winner will be greatly weakened and spend a lot of time dealing with disloyal/overpowerful vassals. Scotland's king owns a single county and has multiple dukes who have more land than him, so it's bound to go to hell in a hand-basket. Wales is divided and the Welsh generally mind their own business anyway. There are no powers of note on Ireland either, except the Count of Dublin. His dad controls the county just south of him, and is old, so he'll die soon and you'll have two counties, which will make you one of the bigger fish on the island. The only problem is that you'll spend a lot of time waiting for your chancellor to fabricate claims to do anything. Not very exciting.

2) Duke Robert "Guiscard" de Hauteville of Apulia(1066)
This is a bit trickier than Ireland, but lots of fun. Robert is older, but has great stats and a straight-foward early Holy War on the Emirate of Sicily, as well as lots of weaker Christians to prey on. But Sicily is your first goal: it will allow you to create the Kingdom of Sicily. Things will get a bit trickier when Robert dies though.

3) King Boleslaw "the Bold" of Poland(1066)
Boleslaw has none of Robert's potential issues. He's young, has good stats, and is the most powerful person in his realm. Better yet, you're one of the big kids on the block from the word go. And there are so many pagan souls to the east in need of converting, providing a (relatively) easy avenue for expansion.

4) Haraldr "Fairhair" Halfdanson Yngling, Jarl of Ostlandet(I think)(867)
Haraldr is the historical first king of Norway, is extremely young, has ridiculously good stats, and is the strongest of the Norwegian Jarls. Do mind the Jarls in Denmark and Sweden though: they're strong too. Your early goal is to form the Kingdom of Norway. Also an excellent way to learn about the joys of raiding.

HitTheGroundWal posted...

Do any of you know of mods to make it less dark and more lighthearted?

Light ... hearted? I'm not really sure what you mean. Is that even a word?

GOATTHlEF posted...

If I play one of the Tartars without the Horse Lords DLC will I have a good time?

I don't think you can play as any nomads without the DLC.

As others have mentioned, Ireland in the 11th-century bookmark is probably the easiest, but it can be slow after you've formed Ireland. Of course, that scenario allows an easy progression to conquer Scotland/Wales/England and forming the British Empire, which in turn allows you to compete on a pretty map-wide scale, so if you can stick it out, it's definitely worth it.

Also worth noting that if you like the game, you can get Europa Univesalis 4 and continue your empire in that game if you buy the converter DLC since it picks up exactly where CK2 ends.

Sparksfanboy posted...

I'm starting a game as a Viking Warlord. How do I go about declaring war/raiding people?

As a Viking, you can legally declare war on anyone that has a county bordering the ocean, or your neighbors, or pretty much anyone within poking range. You have to click on the person you want to decalre war on and right click their portrait. You should get a 'Declare War' option, which will allow you to choose your cassus belli (the goal of your war if you win) and hovering over each option will tell you all the possible outcomes (in case you don't win). War is all about claims.

Another option for pagans is to 'prepare invasions' which is a seperate option for declaring war. What that means is that you declare your intent to declare war within the next two years or so. As you wait, troops will flock to your banner and add to your numbers. You have to declare war within the time frame, and local lords sharing the target's religion may join the war, but if you win, you get all their holdings.

As for raiding, simply raise your troops from the military levies and click the 'enable raiding' option in the troop menu. Then move them onto a territory you want to raid and they will begin raiding. You will continually drain money up to a point. After that point, you need to breach their defenses to drain anymore. To do that, you need more troops than they have in their defenses (which is their garrison + unraised troops) and slowly wear them down in a siege, or click the 'begin assault' button, which will cause your troops to attack (which usually results in heavy casualties and huge morale damage). If you succeed, you will get the rest of the money, and sometimes you will also get prisoners which you can release/imprison/concubine/sacrifice/execute/torture.

Edit: Forgot to mention, if the Viking age has begun and you are raiding by sea, all your pillaged money will be stored in your ships. They have a max capacity and have to be docked in your territory before you get the money. This means sometimes it is worth running a deficit from raised troops if they are out raiding by sea and will come back with enough to restore your money to 0 + profit.

Bump
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Dash_Harber posted...

HitTheGroundWal posted...

Do any of you know of mods to make it less dark and more lighthearted?

Light ... hearted? I'm not really sure what you mean. Is that even a word?

GOATTHlEF posted...

If I play one of the Tartars without the Horse Lords DLC will I have a good time?

I don't think you can play as any nomads without the DLC.

You can they just aren't nomads. Originally the nomads had just the basic tribal government that Vikings and whatnot use. Horse Lords reworks them completely with vanilla leaving them with the basic tribal government.

Paradox isn't scummy enough to rework an already playable area and then put it behind a paywall.
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Okay I downloaded it but I doubt I will ever play it because it looks complicated as hell
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@TroutPaste could you please add me to the list?
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*marries own sister*
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Iron-Tarkus posted...

You can they just aren't nomads. Originally the nomads had just the basic tribal government that Vikings and whatnot use. Horse Lords reworks them completely with vanilla leaving them with the basic tribal government.

Paradox isn't scummy enough to rework an already playable area and then put it behind a paywall.

Ah, fair enough. My mistake.

Anyway, the game is on a massive sale on Steam right now. 75% off I think.

Goats posted...

O_O
the pope declared crusade against me. RIP.

Depending on the state of Europe and where you are, you might be fine. Sometimes the big boys are embroiled in their own wars and can't help him out. They may pay lip service and proclaim that they'll fight, but they won't actually send troops your way. Or if you're clear on the other side of the map, they won't bother trying to reach you.
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Oh. Well that's a toughie. Who (what country/area) were you playing as? Edit: and what year?
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Do you actually care about keeping your religion? You could convert although then you'll have the rest of your realm being pagan to deal with.

If you want to stay Germanic and it's past the year 920, you might be able to hire the Jomsvikings. Otherwise, you could also try reforming your religion (which you should be trying to do anyway). I think with Norse, it's usually better to focus on uniting Scandinavia and then work on (Catholic) Europe later. If it's not going to cripple you, you might even consider forfeiting the Crusade. This is one of those games where it's not always bad to lose a war. Remember you're playing on a scale of centuries, so if the Christians want to take a few provinces from you but then leave you alone, it might be worth it in the long run. You can use peace timers to take land/vassals in Scandinavia to strengthen yourself for the next crusade.

(I've only played as a Norse briefly so I can't offer much better advice. Sorry! Someone else here probably has better advice)
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if you cant handle losing wars and going from king to a count (if you are lucky) you lose a lot of the fun haha.

I completely forget how educating your children worked before conclave dlc. Iirc your childrens education and basic traits depend on who you choose to be their guardian. If you want your sons to be good at war they need to be with guardians with the highest or second highest martial education.
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Just let it happen. He'll either die or live long enough that you become him and that sounds like fun.

I generally don't give any of my kids land since I don't like the AI doing stupid shit. I also like to name my grandchildren, and I can't do that if my sons are landed. (I think some cultures like the various Muslims require you to land sons for them to inherit, but I've also never played as them).

I started playing a new game as a Suomenusko chief of Savo. That was fun. I wrote down everything that happened during the rule of my first guy, so I might post that later for someone's reading pleasure if anyone cares.
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...yeah, dark stuff like that does make it seem less appealing to me.
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