I’m guessing the only thing I did wrong was not including all the lesser titles, but I’m usually careful about that.
So, my dude died in 1191. I came in, trying to be hyper-aggressive, with it paying off pretty well in a few places. Getting excommunicated was the worst part, where France came back in and took two territories (one back). The Fatmid Sultanate is REALLY big, and it’s going to take a long time to whittle away at that. I think its best to go after Leon, piece by piece, and build up to go after the Fatmids. (Off topic: I notice that there seems to be a cap on the number of troops you can summon. If I stay under the desmene size, I think I’ve been at 24k at the absolute most. That seems small, especially when you shake the hornet’s nest of one of the big players, like the Holy Roman Empire, France, the big Sultanates and the Cumans.)
You all are doing a wonderful job with the AARs. It inspired me to fire the game back up several days ago.
Keep up the good work and Iberia will soon be yours!
I am Alonso Beceksen, Chancellor of Aragon. I swore to my liege lord, King Jaime I, to take care of his son and heir when he cast off this mortal coil. King Jaime had acquired the unfortunate moniker of ‘the Drunkard’, but I think history will judge him less mockingly.
It is now the year of our Lord 1190. The boy, also named Jaime, has come onto the throne at the tender age of seven. He is a proud but trusting genius. It will be quite the job to help him navigate the treacherous waters of kingship until he comes of age. Fortunately, he has a streak of cynicism which will serve him well. There are dangerous factions within the kingdom; some want to lower the authority of the crown, some to install another claimant on the throne, some even want independece from the realm.
My first act as regent was to appoint myself seneschal. The title has quite a nice ring to it, don’t you think? Then I disbanded the levies still raised from the recent takeover of the County of Leon. Next, to see to the education of my charge. I toyed with the idea of teaching him myself, but thought better of it as I would be too busy attending to more pressing matters. So I left him in the care of the Baron Giacomo, the marshal of Aragon who will not only teach him the ways of the sword but also diplomacy and stewardship. He seemed to welcome the opporunity to educate the young king. While I was meeting with the council, I also replaced the spymaster with someone more qualified.
Marina, Duchess of Aragon, Cordoba, and Murcia (how did she come to acquire so many titles?) wants to not only lower crown authority in the kingdom, but also install Bishop Mendo of Girgenti on the throne. Really, a bishop? Granted, he is Jaime’s cousin, but I doubt a man of the cloth has the wherewithal to run the entire kingdom. Perhaps she thinks she can control him since she has his wife imprisoned in her dungeons. (Although how a bishop has a wife is beyond my understanding.) I granted the duchess the title of Keeper of the Swans. As well, I gave her charge of young Jaime’s sister Corexia. Hopefully she will grow to see the rightfulness of Jaime’s reign. I have also nominated her as successor to the throne, though it remains to be seen whether Jaime will ratify that nominatation, especially when he has children of his own.
Now the leader of both factions is Duke Muno of Navarra. I gave him a hefty bribe as well as naming him cupbearer. I then transferred vassalage of the Count of Najera to him. Count Abbad of Almeria, who was a member of the faction to lower crown authority, wanted control of the Bishop of Motril. That seemed a small enough thing to grant, so I did it.
Duchess Marina has indeed dropped out of both factions but the spymaster informs me that, not being content with simply being the successor to the kingdom, has fabricated an actual claim on the kingdom itself. I would imprison her now, but fear she has accumulated too much power of her own. She professes to love the king, but it remains to be seen whether she will act on any of her fabrications.
The bishop of Soria wants to collect an extra tithe. The peasants won’t be happy, but it would please the bishop, so I allow it.
Speaking of bishops, the bishop of Guarda has died in the dungeons. Which reminds me that there are still prisoners down there. Bishop Pelayo of Santiago has agreed to pay a fine in exchange for freedom. The other prisoners cannot pay the fine nor will their leige pay it for them, so I leave them there for now.
Towards the end of the year the marshal told me that young Jaime was being bullied, but fought back. By all accounts he acquited himself well.
Forgot to post some pics:
Dangerous factions - note the stength of the middle two; there was a real possibility that I would be kicked off the throne before I even started.
Not-so-dangerous factions - the factions after bribes, honorary titles, transfer of vassals and other underhanded shenanigans.
1191
It seems the pope views young Jaime with some disfavor, so I send the court chaplain Bishop Bernardo to Rome to talk to His Holiness.
Having guided the young king through the dangerous first year of his reign, I must now resign the regency in favor of Baron Galindo the spymaster. I hope my trust in him is not misplaced.
I, Galindo, Baron of Castrobarte, spymaster of Aragon, now take over the regency for King Jaime II of Aragon. I fear the stress of running the kingdom has proved too much for my predecessor. He remains chancellor, though, and I have sent him off to Denia to talk to the duchess there. I also found him a nice Castillan woman from Badajoz with a claim on the duchy.
A fascinating development: Duchess Guiomar of Barcelona favors Duke Muño of Navarra as king, but Duke Muño himself still favors that strange Bishop Mendo of Girgenti. These factions are mostly toothless now. My predecessor as regent did a good job of defanging them.
Ah, little Jaime’s sense of fairness is developing. He always makes sure that all the children get equal parts when the cook gives them sweets.
Oh, dear. The wife I found for chancellor Alonso died after less than a month of marriage. I fear for Alonso’s mental health. I shall have to find him another wife.
The queen mother has been making some noises about being lonely. And here I was hoping she’d take the vows.
His Holiness, Pope Eugene III has called for a Crusade on Hungary. I am disappointed that His Holiness has seen fit to fight for such a distant land, especially when the infidel is right here on our doorstep.
Measles has broken out in Almería. I’m sure those godless infidels from Granada have something to do with it.
1192-1194
Bishop Bernardo has died in Rome without ever having been granted audience with the pope. I have appointed Bishop Vela as court chaplain and sent him to the Vatican in the hopes that he will have better luck.
The King of León has declared war! He wants his county back. I can’t imagine why; by all reports, our claim was quite legitimate. We easily defeat his forces, but it’s so laughable that he has been dubbed ‘the Great’ as a result of this fiasco. Now we have to deal with the peasant revolt that has cropped up.
While Christian fought Christian, we get news from Rome that the pope is dead and a new pope has been elected. Pope Paschal II views little Jaime with even less favor than his predecessor.
The war is over and I want to exact some revenge on the King of León by taking away one of his duchies. But look! The emir of Granada is revolting along with other bits and pieces of the Fatimid Dynasty. I think I’ll hire some mercenaries and take the land off his hands.
Still, that seems a bit worrying. Is there a long-term (or short term, for that matter) way to reduce the power wielded by the most powerful vassals?
Assassinating them is usually pretty effective.
Well, your reports were straight and to the point. Which certainly helped with playing as quickly as you did (I’ve spent more time writing reports than actually playing, I guess). On the other hand there are some points that have been left unclear to me
How old were you when you started the game? And if you were an adult, why did you chose to be bethrothed to a 2 yo? It means no children for many, many years, and her situation might have massively changed meanwhile. Was there a compelling reason?
That is more a technical question. I essentially never try to sow dissent. I’m not sure what the expected results are and how efficient this action is. Could you elaborate?
Wait a minute. I’ve seen the screenshots, but when and how did the fatimids became such a powerhouse? And how did they they take a hold in Spain? And when did we lose Murcia, anyway?
Almost always do that to. Defeating an army generally gives much more victory points than a successful siege, and it’s vastly quicker to. And finally, when you have completely destroyed the main enemy army, you’re pretty safe for a while.
Why did you elect not to create another kingdom?
Who was/is count Tiflwit?
When did we even get Rosello and Navarra? Last time, they were both solidly blue already.
Don’t know. Contrarily to apparently everybody else, I don’t automatically give all lesser titles. I don’t like powerful vassals, generally speaking.
Is there really such a cap?
A question for my predecessors. I have title to the Duchy of Castille though the title of Kingdom of Castille was destroyed at some point. As well, I don’t have the title of Duke of Aragon - the Duchess of Aragon is a separate vassal of the King of Aragon. In other words, I’m King of Aragon but don’t have the Duchy of Aragon. I have the Duchy of Castille but don’t have the Kingdom of Castille.
Just how did this situation arise?
Answered above in bold.
Yo. I think that happened early on in my reign. I believe the King of Leon usurped that title…or something.
1194-1195
Alea iacta est! We have declared holy war to reconquer the Duchy of Granada.
I found Chancellor Alonso another wife to marry, a nice German woman. Hopefully she lasts longer than the first one.
Success in Rome! Bishop Vela has been granted audience with the Pope. and been convinced to see little Jaime in a different light. I shall leave him in Rome for now to continue to speak to His Holiness.
1196-1197
King García has joined in the fun and decided to take Badajoz. As they are still loyal to the Fatimids, I wish him luck.
I have recalled Bishop Vela back to the kingdom. His mission in Rome was quite successful and his skills are much more needed here. Not only are there still Muslim infidels, but also Lollard heretics that need to be dealt with.
Just as King García made peace with the Fatimids and took Badajoz (However did he accomplish that?) the Duke of Portucale and Duchess of Toledo declared independence from Leon. Whatever keeps García busy while we finish our own war in Granada.
And done! Granada is ours. I would continue press on to Seville, but do not want little Jaime to gain the reputation of being a trucebreaker. Besides, I want take advantage of the chaos on León. It would be a good present for Jaime when he takes the full control of the throne next year.
I decided to give Chancellor Alonso the Barony of Baeza; it’s a nice reward for his service. Other titles went to other worthies in the kingdom. We can’t quite usurp
the title of Duchy of Granada just yet as the emir is still at war with his liege.
Pics:
Rebellion in the Fatimid Sultanate
Fall of Granada - also shows the last remaining faction
Very fun to follow along. Just as a reminder, I’d like a turn after applecider, who is next.
I generally do not create additional kingdoms until I think I can start an Empire. It’s too easy for them to get split, by differences in succession laws or factions, etc.
Will do! I had missed that earlier. Consider yourself in line.
I wish I’d realized this before playing my most recent solo game. I was was the King of Ireland and Scotland and feeling pretty smug about things, considering maybe making a play to take over England as well. Then a couple of powerful vassals started demanding that I switch to Elective Succession and I couldn’t really fend them off, so that happened, and then they chose a different heir for Scotland than for Ireland, I died, was left with only Scotland, and then Ireland invaded me and conquered me to the point that I only had one county left to my name.
I ended the game at that point. 
But yeah, be careful of holding too many kingdom titles.
Are you in the Crusader Kings subreddit?
Yes. Why?
Saw your screenname. Figured it was you. I just finally looked to see if there was a subreddit for it, and, well, there it is.
1197
I hired the White Company to take the County of Valladolid from the Duke of Portucale.
1198
Duchess Guiomar of Barcelona has some designs of her own. She has wrangled her fellow dukes to take the County of Cuenca away from from the Duchess of Toledo. At the same time, she plots to see the Duchy of Córdoba granted to a new ruler. Since the Duchy of Córdoba is owned by Duchess Marina, I take no steps to stop it.
16 August 1198
The regency has ended. King Jaime II of Aragon has come of age and asssumes full responsibilty for running the kingdom. Long live the King!
On advice of my council, I have been betrothed to Duchess Oda of Susa. Our children would inherit the territory in north Italy. She is still not of age, so there is still time to change my mind if a better candidate comes along.
1199
Duchess Guiomar was successful in her little war. Cuenca is now a part of the realm.
Valladolid has fallen, yet the duke still does not concede. Wanting a quicker resolution to the war, I raise my personal levies to join the mercenaries and fight the duke in the field. After chasing him around the Portucalean countryside, Duke Luis has conceded Valladolid to me. Now I must deal with a rebellion in Granada.
King García has asked to pope to excommunicate me, like he did my father. These Leónese dogs will pay. I issue a Declaration of Repentance and the Holy Father has agreed to lift the excommunication against me. He perhaps liked the gold I sent along with the letter.
I recall my father telling me about a certain Tifilwit giving him problems. Now his grandson, also named Tifilwit, has founded an Independence faction.
1200
The Granadan rebels are quickly taken care of.
Now Tifilwit seeks to fabricate a claim on the Duchy of Granada. While he performs this intrigue, he boldy comes to me himself and outright asks to be granted the duchy. The nerve! I sent him on his way, but immediately regretted the decision. So I tried to imprison him, but he raised his flag in rebellion.
I had no idea that running a Kingdom was so stressful!
1201
I’ve finally captured Count Tifilwit and revoked his County of Almería.
Alas! Baron Galindo has died; he shall be remembered not only for being an effective spymaster but also his long and fruitful service as regent. I search my court for a replacement but find no suitable candidate. Widening my net to the entire realm, I find Ramón, the spymaster of Barcelona. I entice him to my court by granting him the County of Valencia and appoint him my own spymaster.
And now my marshal Baron Galindo has died. In contrast to the spymaster position, I easily find a replacement in the form of Baron Lubb of Huelma.
The Holy Roman Empire has been reconstituted; my betrothed Oda has become a mere countess and is no longer suitable for one of my stature. I break the betrothal and instead marry Benoît de Bourgogne, Princess of France.
Pics:
King Jaime II assumes the throne
Aragon in 1202 - I have no idea how England came to acquire Navarra, but France has come to take it back (along with the rest of England)
Classic Tiflwit.