CK: How to Marry/War Effectively?

[dojoboy]

Originally posted by Nikolai
I have to restrain myself to not owning half the world by 1150 and the whole lot by 1250 or somewhere along that road! I love CK, but its main flaw is that it is too easy, even for me that is only mediocre good. I've never needed house rules and restraining myself before I got this game.

Quoted from another thread.

I find it hard to make headway in CK, either by marriage or war. In war, it seems whoever I declare war on has a kingdom behind them and fielding 10x the forces I am.

(1) What is the most effective way to inherit realms?

(2) What methods in war cause the AI to seek a favorable resolution?

[CerberusIV]

I've recently gone back to CK (I initially abandoned it after getting excomunicated and having my kingdom fall apart - an aspect of the game that is still broken).

I'm getting a little further this time. Try starting as an established king (England is one of the easiest). You need to establish a core of provinces as your personal demesne that are fairly rich and can fund your wars. 5 or 6 should do.

Part of the trick is to be patient. You need to keep your reputation fairly good to keep your vassals in line. Unless you are going to use the exploit of assassinating your own courtiers (I don't), you have to wait for your reputation to improve (awarding titles helps). I also try not to use my vassals troops for aggressive wars as this makes them less loyal. Your money will build up over time too so patience pays.

The other aspect of war is to pick your targets carefully and be prepared to seize opportunities. As King of England I noticed that Brittany had lost 4 provinces out of 6 to a North African muslim state. So I mobilised my personal troops and took the 4 provs (the muslims were able to defeat Brittany but not strong enough to face England). That effectively gave me the Duchy of Brittany without any adverse effects on reputation.

My game is in the 1140's and I just finished uniting the 4 crowns of Britain. I managed to acquire the Hebrides, Shetland and Faroes from muslims and waited until many of Scotlands troops were attacking near Jerusalem before invading. Took the King of Scotlands personal provs and sued for peace so now I have that crown.

Norway is next as that King only controls Orkney and 7 norwegian provs are muslim controlled.

Oh, and my alliance with France has given me the excuse to grab 2 french counties that rebelled (my King won the sieges so he got the provs).

I've not really got the hang of marriages yet. I usually need to give my sons territory before they are old enough to marry as I can't manage that many provs efficiently. I marry daughters within my own court to keep the numbers of courtiers up.

[Nikolai]

Cerberius, by the sound of that(with muslims all the way andd such), you can't possibly be playing the betas. I recommend you to do so, they're making the game so much better.

BTW, regarding reputation: Make sure to get some piety, the more, the faster do you regain a good reputation.

[CerberusIV]

Originally posted by Nikolai
Cerberius, by the sound of that(with muslims all the way andd such), you can't possibly be playing the betas. I recommend you to do so, they're making the game so much better.

Actually, I downloaded the August beta and minipatch last week before starting this game.

However it is on a very easy setting so that may explain muslim control of odd places, particularly since the reconquista in Spain has already virtually been completed.

You're right though, the betas are much better than 1.04a and are what to play until 1.05 arrives (when 1.05 arrives? )

[dojoboy]

Thanks for the replies. I started a game (Hastings) as the Duke of Brittany and things seem to be going well in regards to war. I was able to claim the Count of Dublin and won it in a limited conflict with it's owner. I know have a foothold in Eire and intend to work toward the Kingship of Ireland. I screwed up marrying my son to a woman whose father has Elective Law.