Crusader Kings II Co-op Game Thread!

With so much interest in Crusader Kings II around here lately, I thought we might start up a cooperative game, as we’ve done successfully around here in the past with Medieval II: Total War. Here’s how it works: we all agree on a faction to play, then one player starts the game and plays until the ruler dies. Then that player e-mails the saved game along to the next player, who picks up with the second ruler and plays until that ruler is killed. We go around and around like that for the whole game; it’s a lot of fun because you get to jump into another player’s game and see their style of play, plus you get the fun of inheriting a kingdom at its height after a good or lucky player, or a kingdom in dire distress if not!

So who’s interested? I’d be happy to coordinate and to play, but I don’t want to be the first player, partly because I’ve had the game less than a week and I don’t want to hamstring us right at the start and partly because I’m going to have a series of friends in town for the next two weeks, so little time to play. We should also discuss what expansions and DLC we’re using: I just snagged this on Steam this week for their big 75% off sale, so I’ve got everything except The Old Gods, the newest expansion. I know that there’s been interest in the other CKII threads-- who’s in?

I don’t mind starting, but not with the count of Aargau that I’m already playing in another game.

In fact, I’d rather play the king of Aragon amongst the three proposals made, just to be long away from the HRE for a change.

Sure, I’ll throw in. I have all of the expansions except for Old Gods also, but I am happy to play a game in plain vanilla for the sake of others.

Sounds fun! I can’t play (not nearly enough time), but I’d love to read a discussion about the progress of the game as it unfolds.

I’m down to play multiplayer in the future but I’m only really interested in playing with the CK2+ mod + Shattered Worlds. I can’t really go back to vanilla after it.

Currently I’m on the fifth generation of a dynasty that started in Bordeaux in southwest France. Now I’m the King of Aquitaine and Navarra with plans to expand into Aragon and Brittany. There’s a huge Muslim empire to the south though, so wish me luck. :wink:

I’m in.

clairobscur and Johnny Bravo, what DLC do you have?

Everything but the Old Gods.

I have all of them, but wasn’t it agreed in the other thread that we would use the vanilla game, with no DLC at all?

That’s what I thought as well. I am also interested.

I’m in. I’ve got all the major DLC (except for Sunset Invasion - no Aztecs for me), but I don’t have all the faces and whatnot. As proposed in the other thread, we should play probably pure vanilla.

In the other thread, I proposed some starting locations:

  1. Count of Aargau
  2. Duke of Bohemia
  3. King of Aragon

After poking around in the HRE, I found a couple of other promising characters:

  1. Duke of Brandenburg - has a couple of counties but can probably snag some more from the neighboring pagan states. Then roll out the black eagle to unite the Kingdom of Germany.

  2. Duke of Bavaria - the duchy is large but the duke himself has only has a single county in the middle of a sea of vassals. Keep things together long enough and he might be able to create the Kingdom of Bavaria.

Outside the HRE:

  1. Duke of Barcelona - more powerful than Aragon, maybe you can take advantage of the king’s weakness to take the kingdom for yourself. Watch out for his brothers, though. They may not particularly like each other, but might band together long enough to take out an outsider. Plus you also have to contend with those pesky Moors.

  2. Duke of Slavonia - play your cards right, you could end up king of Croatia. And Serbia. And Hungary. (I believe the latest patch also gives the opportunity to form an empire in the region.) Play your cards wrong and you could be smashed between the HRE and the Byzantines.

I’d like to use as much of the DLC as we can. If everyone’s got Sword of Islam, for instance, why not play with it engaged?

In any case, here’s the order so far–

clairobscur will start.
MsWhatsit
Johnny Bravo
Least Original User Name Ever
Terminus Est
appleciders

I think that’s plenty to get started. Any feelings about starting location?

I don’t mind DLC except for Sunset Invasion. Please, please no Aztecs.

I second this vote.

Semi off-topic, but how do you even select the Aztecs?

You don’t select the Aztecs. They will simply appear at a certain point if you have the Sunset Invasion loaded.

Like, you can select them during the game, then?

Wow. That sounds ridiculous. I think we can agree to turn that one off.

I don’t understand what you mean by “select”. Consider the Aztecs to be rebels - giant doomstacks of rebels that magically appear off the western coast of Europe.

Possible confusion - you can select what DLC(s) to play with at the start up screen. Selecting Sunset Invasion enables the ridiculous ( IMHO ) fantasy Aztec invasion from across the Atlantic. You cannot select to play as the Aztecs.