Crusader Kings

[Xercies]

So i started on Crusader Kings because a lot of people were recommending it and it sounded really great from my personnel standard, having loved Medieval History in school and the idea of running a dynasty sounds like a game for me.

Then i actually played it and well...I have no clue what is going on really i don't, It just seems so complicated, the war mechanics i don't really get, you have so many things pop up at you.

So what i'm saying is that i need help for me to truly get the game. Anyone who can teach me or any links that can teach me.

[squirrelfanatic]

There was a similar thread in the old forums, but Google makes a troll face and doesn't want to cooperate. It is one of the games that gets better the deeper you dig into it. I still find it hard to enjoy, although pretty awesome stuff can unfold during a campaign. A few tips:

- If you want to get some fighting practice, try a demesne near muslim territory. You can declare war to religious enemies without penalties.
- Try figuring out which rulers have few sons and pretty (intelligent/rich/etc.) daughters. ;) Then see how many of the potential heirs you have to murder to get a daughter to place numero uno in the inheritance chain and try to marry one of your male heirs to that very special girl. Tadaa, you got yourself some land.

I think there are lots of other people around here that could give you better advice. Also check out this FAQ over at the Paradox forums.

[Joseph]

I've been very tempted to start it but have decided against it as I'm just going to wait for the second one to come out. But If you get to a point where you totally give up with it you can always try The Guild which lets you run your family in a medieval town (Although it seems nowhere near as robust as Crusader Kings).

[moth bones]

Change the game speed according to what's going on. If a war breaks out, switch to very slow. Whenever you get overwhelmed, simply pause and then you can work through everything at your own pace.

Experiment a bit with the message settings till you're comfortable with what's popping up.

If you have a liege, be careful when waging war on his behalf. It's very easy to do all the work of taking a county only for his army to stroll up at the last minute and claim it.

I had the same sort of bafflement when I started, but I just kept playing and things kind of fell into place (I also found myself able to play EU3, which had hitherto defeated me). But things still occur that I don't understand e.g. finding I suddenly have a vassal hundreds of miles away and I don't know why.

[Xercies]

The thing is I kind of quickly got EU3 and HOI3, but this one is just so much information at once. I'm playing England and i have no idea what exactly i rule, i have all these people that are friendly to me and are Dukes but they are apprantly under my rule but I have t have permission from them to get there army. i just wanted to put all of England under my rule but I had no idea how to do it or even if I had to even try because a lot of them are apprantly under me anyway. Its all very confusing to be honest.

Thanks for that link by the way, it looks like it may make things seem a bit easier.

[Colonel J]

There was a similar thread in the old forums, but Google makes a troll face and doesn't want to cooperate.

Here you go
and this one

[squirrelfanatic]

I gather many people think that CK is one of the more easier Paradox games to get into, so I always thought that I am just too dumb for that. I am having serious problems getting into the game as well. And I think that it is a bit limited because of the few ways of expanding your demesne (marrying in - not reliable, fighting for it - hard to do IF you are allowed to declare war without being dismembered by your fellow rulers, concerning the latter option: make up titles as an excuse for declaration of war - VERY unreliable as it is really expensive).

A thing to keep in mind: CPU players can't go bankrupt, but you can. This is something to keep in mind when starting a possibly lengthy war.

Edit: Thanks Colonel J.

[rhizo]

I gather many people think that CK is one of the more easier Paradox games to get into, so I always thought that I am just too dumb for that. I am having serious problems getting into the game as well. And I think that it is a bit limited because of the few ways of expanding your demesne (marrying in - not reliable, fighting for it - hard to do IF you are allowed to declare war without being dismembered by your fellow rulers, concerning the latter option: make up titles as an excuse for declaration of war - VERY unreliable as it is really expensive).

The thing about CK in comparison to other grand strategies of Pdox is that while it's simpler in many ways, it approaches the whole strategy aspect from a different perspective. This means that CK imposes limitations that will most likely frustrate those who tend to go for the military aggression route in, for example, EU3. You can't just go about thrashing neighbours left and right and expect that your vassals will always respect your call to arms. This is just one instance where you don't have absolute power over your kingdom in CK. The feudal mechanics provide complicated and interesting challenges that are often very different from those of EU. So yes it's simpler than the grander Pdox strategies, but no, it's not that much easier.

One important thing to remember about CK (as well as pretty much all of the Pdox strategies) is that while you're able to take control of any given county in the Christendom, the game makes no guarantees that playing that specific county will be fun or worthwhile. It's not balanced to be interesting with any possible dynasty and if you start from an historically hopeless position, you'll most likely get demolished. The offensive style in this game is all about managing claims and keeping your army that one crucial step ahead of your neighbour's one... and not starting as an Anatolian count.

For anyone starting the game, the interface is clunky to say the least and you'll need to get used to it to be able to have a better grasp of the events and your own strategic position. Usually the starting map mode in Pdox strategies is the least informative and most use the political/realm modes to make any sense of the map. And please for the love of everything dear, use the LEDGER to find out about stuff. I remember the day I found out that there was a wife-finder page in there. So many hours wasted... Oh and get Deus Vult. That's a very useful expansion.

[Xercies]

Yeah i think I am slowly getting this game to be honest, The thing is all those limitations make this one of the more interesting and fun Paradox Strategy games, i found all the others a little dull to be honest while this one is actually keeping my interest.

This might sound like a weird request but do you know which country has a mad King, I was thinking of doing an AAR for this game and a mad king sounds like an interesting writing exercise even though it might be really hard in the game.