EUIV - Amaranthine Invitational #10 (1700)

Author: kamichi
Published: 2018-02-17, edited: 1970-01-01

Part of the campaign:

EUIV - Amaranthine Invitational

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Game: Europa Universalis IV

EUIV - Amaranthine Invitational #9 (1675)

Images: 58, author: kamichi, published: 2018-02-11, edited: 1970-01-01

Session #8, aka the dawn of imperialism and the one where I was right about everything. Honestly, it was less action-packed than previous, absolutely ridiculous sessions, but it was nevertheless an intriguing one.

Extra special start time of 8PM on Sunday 18th Feb to try to get through to 1750.

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As we enter the 18th century, it's high time we took stock of our campaign's colonial nations. First up, the mess that is North America.

Epiphany (1268 development)
- Epiphanine Canada (388)
- Epiphanine Louisiana (31) [mixed terribly with Canada, west of Great Lakes)
- Floride (68) [annoyingly, in Georgia and South Carolina, not Florida)
- Antilles (231)

Free Scotland (264)
- Freest Scotland (365)
- Scottish Mexico (501)
- Alaska (30)
- Scottish Louisiana (91) [it's in there somewhere, around Michigan and Illinois]

Neroland (211) [based in Mexico itself]
- California (70)
- Nerolandian Louisiana (31)

Lurtzland (196)
- Lurtzian Columbia (113) [in California and the Caribbean (how??)]

Pirineos (51)
- New Pirineos (63)
South America at least has far fewer, more dominant colonial nations, even if Neroland have made the map itself look terrible.

Patria (825)
- Patrian Brazil (192)

Neroland (211)
- Nerolandian Brazil (218)
- Nerolandian La Plata (146)
And while it's not strictly New World in EU4 terms, Australia is still its own colonial area like the rest.

Australia, no longer Minor (105)

Takeela (1332)
- Takeelan Australia (75)

Lurtzland (196)
- Lurtzian Australia (76)

Interesting point I've only just realised: neither Australia Minor nor Takeela have explored New Zealand, which is why they never settled it and Lurtzland had the chance to steal in and confuse us all with multiple yellow coloured countries in the same place.
All subject nations have a Liberty Desire, signifying how much they want to break free. Any subject with over 50% LD is Disloyal, allowing them to seek out allies and declare a war of independence against their overlord. A lot of different factors affect Liberty Desire, and a lot depends on what type of subject (colony, vassal, march, personal union) a country is. However, in each case, the most important factor is relative power. Scottish Mexico have nearly twice as much development as Free Scotland, which is enough for 50.1% LD by itself. There are various policies and actions a country can take to reduce LD, as well as straight up paying Prestige or spending Monarch Points on developing a subject's provinces, to the point that a human player can easily wrangle a whole host of subject nations. However, the AI doesn't deal with colonial nations efficiently. I suspect it's for the purposes of realism in that many colonies did break free and declare independence during the EU4 timeline.

Despite Scottish Mexico's desire to rebel, Free Scotland are in a strong enough diplomatic position that Mexico realises they won't win an independence war. It's worth keeping an eye on.
All these colonies are on the path to freedom because of our latest Institution, the Enlightenment!*

Who are the most enlightened people in the world? Why, of course it's the people of the Polish Democratic Republic, and so the Englightenment emanates outwards from Krakow, its second city. The Enlightenment spreads quickly wherever there's a University, as well as sufficiently advanced countries who employ a Scientist, Philosopher, or have full Innovative ideas.

*nb: i don't think that's an actual mechanic.
Ruler: kamichi
429 -> 357
41 -> 33

Amaranth continue their slide into blissful irrelevance. They have no current allies, but they are protected by the fickle whims of Samudr Lee Katha, who are looking to stop their own allies expand faster than them. This practice was last seen by Samudr protecting Bengalistan, which lasted less than a decade. Not a good omen for Amaranth.
Ruler: Rey the Great
329 -> 239
52 -> 39

Well and truly out of the game now, the Kabus backstab not only led to the Turks' own collapse, but the ultimate military defeat of every single major Islamic power. Arkansas have been partitioned and are bordered on all sides by hungrier, more powerful countries.
Ruler: RevReb
192 -> 105
20 -> 13

Australia Minor have a new archipelagic enemy in the form of Demak, which means they're still subject to the same old story of revival and subjugation. Having Takeelan Australia on their border - who can act independently of Takeela within the Colonial Australia area - is another massive threat that is a tough ask to defend.
Ruler: Shamed
925 -> 980
101 -> 101

Austurstrond have sat around doing nothing for the past 25 years. Well, that isn't strictly true, but they have led a grand total of 0 wars, having ran out of targets, and have somewhat become a very rich, very powerful lapdog of The Savage Men. It makes it all the more impressive that they've managed to gain 55 development without conquering new territory. They have full Economic ideas, which cuts Development Cost by 20%, as well as full Quantity ideas, which as a Policy when combined with Economic which gives a further 10% reduction.

Austurstrond already has the best economy in the game despite its less lucrative trade positions. They have a gargantuan Production income that dwarfs all but Takeela's. Their recently finished Quantity ideas give them a large enough army to compete with anyone. Austurstrond have all the tools to succeed, but they need the ambition to match it, and that's what's missing.
Ruler: OoohYou
301 -> 305
32 -> 32

Bengalistan were given a stay of execution for the past 25 years due to a guarantee of protection from Samudr Lee Katha. That guarantee has been withdrawn, with the truce running out in 1703. One more war with Takeela - and their sky high Absolutism - will be the end of Bengalistan.
Ruler: Denial
224 -> 55
42 -> 10

not like this

*looks up, sees incoming Maltan troops*

not like this
Ruler: Epiphanus
1136 -> 1268
70 -> 78

Epiphany remain in the driver's seat. Our score leaders have secured alliances with almost every relevant country surrounding them, with a restablished Triple Alliance bloc (Epiphany, Erit Lux, Patria) supplementing the Little Entente (Epiphany, Free Scotland, Legendia). They maintain avenues of expansion into Lahndahn, into Switzerland and into Canada. They have the largest Force Limit in the world and still, STILL, haven't taken Quantity ideas. Epiphany's idea choices (Humanist, Exploration, Offensive, Economic, Diplomatic, Quality) have all been absolutely perfect throughout the campaign too.

Having picked up the Rhone estuary in Provence, they are now the largest collector in the most valuable trade node, Genoa. All they need to do tradewise, is secure more of the Champagne node, which currently sends half its trade to Genoa and half its trade to the English Channel.

How do they do that? They destroy Lahndahn. Easier said than done, given Lahndahn's Norse connections. An easier path would be through Switzerland, which would be a perfect way to achieve all their main foreign policy objectives: control home trade, expand into Lahndahn, and split the Norse Bloc through annulling Nordischreich treaties.
Ruler: Ardus
24 -> 0
3 -> 0

There was a country here, I swear it was here even a month ago, but I can't remember the slightest thing about it.
Ruler: SolarS
512 -> 514
27 -> 27

Why write a long screed decrying Luxian inaction, when the game has already done it for me?
Ruler: Mello
241 -> 264
27 -> 33

Free Scotland are at least clearing the absolute lowest bar, in that their colonial efforts are faring better than real Scotland's did. Despite this success, Free Scotland are still a bit of also-ran. All their efforts and resources are laser focused on not having their colonies rise up against them, which is all the more likely now that the colonies are outgrowing the motherland.
Ruler: Devilyn Caster
228 -> 282
28 -> 33

Georgia have done the smart thing: when The Savage Men come for you, stay out of their way, let them take what they want, and you might just survive. Georgia have nearly retaken all their cores and pushed further into Kabus and Arkansas, with a spot of help from new allies Tolkmaria. TSM and Qumis remain dangerous, even despite the neutering of Qumis' larger friend Qizil Bronxo.
Ruler: Ardus
293 -> 244
25 -> 22

There was a country here, I swear it was here even a month ago, but I can't remember the slightest thing about it.
Ruler: Jeoh
489 -> 500
45 -> 46

It has taken over 250 years, but Jeohia is finally attempting to expand further into China. They've either cancelled or lost their alliance with Sonyeo Sidae, but it's come far too late to be interesting. Unless they somehow manage to beat up Sonyeo and become the new champion of China, but that's wishful thinking if ever I've seen it.
Ruler: Archon
438 -> 281
43 -> 27

As it turns out, warring with four more powerful countries at the same time isn't a good move for your future prospects as a country and should be avoided at all costs. Junlin now have less development than Ninjakorutsu - let that one sink in.
Ruler: Lebubu
674 -> 422
76 -> 45

I do really like the endgame of an EU4 campaign, moreso than most players, who allegedly tend to lose interest. The scale is so much more brutal as entire armies of tens of thousands can be stackwiped in a second. The same applies to countries. Increased Admin Efficiency, from higher Admin tech and Absolutism, means you can take far more land in the endgame. In the one world conquest I did, at roughly this point I just owned most of mainland Europe and most of the Americas in colonies. 100 years later I owned the world.

What I'm saying is that Kabus are fucking dead; owned literally, figuratively and spiritually by The Savage Men.
Ruler: Tribute
513 -> 534
33 -> 33

Lahndahn continue to be the lynchpin of Europe. Epiphany dearly want to kill them off, as do most of their allies, but Lahndahn are rich and well connected enough that they endure. In fact, they're the only country within touching distance of Austurstrond's massive production based income, built almost entirely off of English Channel trade domination. Their position remains precarious while they maintain 'dangling' alliances with Utrecht and Switzerland.

Hopefully that will be their downfall.
Ruler: LegendoftheSkies
452 -> 497
45 -> 48

Legendia's East African adventures continue at pace. They realised they didn't scoop up all the gold mines last time and so returned to complete the deal. Legendia remain diplomatically tangled in the Western Europe Catholic web, which is probably a good thing for them, given that The Savage Men are just a short hop away across the Adriatic Sea.

They're supporting the independence of Patrian Brazil, which is an immensely stupid idea which would bring them to war with Patria, Epiphany and Erit Lux should that war ever happen. It's unlikely to happen because of the aforementioned list of heavy hitters, but that it's even a possibility is ridiculous on Legendia's part.
Ruler: DarthLurtz
197 -> 196
18 -> 17

Lurtzland have done something that no other country has done during this campaign: they've diplomatically rescued themselves. Alliances with The Savage Men and Lahndahn have effectively stopped the advances of Austurstrond and the PRD, and not a war too soon.

A large part of this is how the AI works in EU4. Despite being long time allies of Austurstrond and PRD, The Savage Man perceive one or the other as a threat to their hegemony, and so take indirect diplomatic steps to curtail their expansion. It's probably the cleverest, most realpolitik thing the AI does. Samudr Lee Katha have done the same thing in protecting Bengalistan to curtail Takeela. I'm not sure of the actual details of how it works, but I feel like it's a late game Great Power kind of thing.

In more Lurtzian news, they've somehow landed in New Zealand. They took the least direct route possible, going around Tierra Del Fuego in South America, giving up on their Peruvian colony, establishing Lurtzian Columbia around the Northern end of the Rocky Mountains, jumping to Hawaii before eventually settling in New Zealand, where I will continually confuse them with Takeela for the rest of the campaign.
Ruler: Voytek
106 -> 1
13 -> 10

Truces are up in 1704. It's not a great time to be Medvedstrana.
Ruler: Nero
172 -> 211
23 -> 43

Neroland is an actual mess. Now that their capital is in the New World, any colony they make in the Americas doesn't transfer to a Colonial Nation and instead stays with the parent country. Colonising countries have the ability to start Colonies in adjacent provinces to their Colonial Nations. What this means is that South America is a mess. Nerolandian La Plata borders Nerolandian La Plata. There's a bit of Nerolandian Upper Peru beside Nerolandian Brazil, while the gold mines of Nerolandian Peruvian Coast are their own exclave.

For the first time, I hope they continue to get crushed by the Catholic powers, just so I don't have to puzzle out this horrendous patchwork of a map.
Ruler: ninja colt
327 -> 340
36 -> 37

god

damnit
Ruler: Mistra
583 -> 602
44 -> 44

Another Nationalist war for our Germans, and this time they have Vienna in their sights. Unfortunately for Nordischreich, they called in The Savage Men to help, and as we've long since found found, The Savage Men Want Everything. The Nordisch should end up neatening their borders though, which can only be a good thing.
Ruler: Anarch
659 -> 825
100 -> 110

At the ripe old age of 66, Queen Tigmi Nasrid has ruled Patria for 51 years and counting, and has transformed her country from a slightly backwards afterthought at the edge of Europe, into a truly relevant Great Power in their own right. It's almost unfortunate that Tigmi has an Administrator personality and not a Militarist one, because West Africa remains a tempting target.
Ruler: Gobb
127 -> 51
9 -> 5

Pirineos are next on the list of countries to be exiled to the New World. They're still holding on in Barcelona, but once Epiphany feel like neatening up the edges of their pseudo-Bourbon empire, Pirineos have no defence.

King Guiu de Gobb is currently fighting a shockingly close war in Louisiana, possibly in an effort to pull a Neroland and survive in the colonies once their mainland holdings are dissolved.
Ruler: iosif
614 -> 653
55 -> 55

Always the bridesmaid and never the bride are PRD. The Norse Bloc are feasting on Grunhammer once more, and the PRD have once again been left out. They may well be able to pick at scraps later, but their supposed allies are doing a great job of curtailing their expansion.

An interesting side note: while The Savage Men and Austurstrond are on the same side of a war with Nordischreich (Grunhammer), as well as a separate war with PRD (Qizil Bronxo), it means that neither would be called to the defense of their Norse Bloc allies if one was to attack the other. That would boil down to a war between Nordischreich/Lahndahn/ vs PRD/Vikingar. That's a war I would jump at if I were playing as Nordischreich and has always been a potential danger for PRD. I'm very sure that the AI doesn't know how to exploit the game rules like this, but sometimes I really wish it did. Not when I'm playing single player of course.
Ruler: rsox
614 -> 650
91 -> 97

Since establishing themselves with early victory over Equestria, Qizil Bronxo have been content to sit back, maintaining an array of minor allies to keep themselves as Central Asian hegemon. The reason this worked is that no other major powers really cared to fight an attritional, draining war just to claim relatively undeveloped land in central Asia.

And then Qizil found The Savage Men on their border, and The Savage Men want it all. And now they're dead.

Well, not really. What TSM want (this time) is complete control of the Black Sea and to control the Crimean and Samarkand trade nodes, in order to funnel their profits to Constantinople instead of Novgorod.
Ruler: LegendoftheSkies
588 -> 665
50 -> 56

Further expansion into Indonesia was the story of Samudr Lee Katha's session. They've helped their ally Demak become the regional power of the Malayan archipelago, while still taking vital provinces such as Brunei for themselves.

Samudr are playing a dangerous game. They trying to curtail Takeela's expansion - through guarantees of independence for Bengalistan and Amaranth - while not actively provoking the Golden Scourge, who could just as easily cut down Samudr as they have every other neighbour. To be fair, Samudr have one of the world's best navies, and a large, well balanced army. It just means nothing when outnumbered two to one against a similarly well armed foe. Especially when you lack proper defensive terrain and a robust fort system.
Ruler: Denny
268 -> 299
22 -> 24

With the advent of the Nationalism casus belli, Schwarzwald are re-enacting their path of destruction through the Holy Roman Empire, only in the name of a unified German nation, not Catholicism. It's certainly not enough to protect them from the larger German power with dreams of their own German nation, and alliances with Erit Lux and Pirineos won't be enough to dissuade Nordischreich either.
Ruler: King Brandon
594 -> 665
70 -> 77
Ruler: tequila
1207 -> 1332
107 -> 121

Takeela have largely contented themselves by destroying their former steadfast ally Sind Sagar. I'm sure that has no relevance to other Indian powers, so no comments need to be made there. They also took the island of Hormuz from Arkansas, presumably in an attempt to prevent trade profits leaking out of India, which is a lost cause without also annexing Baroda, which they should do for many reasons. Firstly, their name on the map would be far more nicely positioned. Secondly, it would bring them into direct conflict with Samudr Lee Katha. Thirdly, it would actually be good for Takeela, but that's the least important part.
Ruler: csm
925 -> 1243
97 -> 135


"The Savage Men have an unprecedented ability to expand and I feel like they'll rocket up the charts once they've consolidated their Turkish gains."

"I hope we're going to see The Savage Men on a warpath to propel themselves up the scoreboards, and unlike every other hope placed in the AI, it might just happen."
- noted scholar of history, me, 1675

I'm not going to say I called it - I don't need to because the evidence speaks for itself. As we discovered last session, The Savage Men expanded at an unprecedented rate and rocketed up various charts. So far, Emperor Boethios is truly proving to be 'the Great' as he expands his holdings in all directions. Current simulteneous wars with Grunhammer and Qizil Bronxo should end up with TSM as the main beneficiaries, with the Greeks getting both the lion's share of land and cutting off rivals from similar expansion. The PRD have been particularly curtailed by TSM, with both their avenues of expansion cut off.

Following these wars, there's a further 400 development in the pinata that is Kabus. Georgia will be easy pickings with their main ally Tolkmaria far away. Arkansas wouldn't be able to mount much resistance either. The vital question remains, when, how, or even if, the Norse Bloc is going to go to war with the West.
Ruler: tolk
485 -> 610
79 -> 94

The true Renaissance didn't happen in 1450, ask any scholar of Tolkmarian history. It happened in the late 17th century, as Tolkmaria reclaimed its rightful core territories and finally became the unassailable hegemon of East Africa it was meant to be.

Its founder, the great Tolkheleknar himself, dreamed of a country that stretched from the great trading ports of Muscat in the North to Zanzibar in the South. Zanzibar is freshly conquered from Mombasa, with its eponymous, 37 development city next in line. Muscat belongs to the Masirah, whose Tolkmarian truce runs out in 1702.

While this Renaissance has come too late for Tolkmaria to become a truly major power, at least they're achieving their own campaign goals. And they're not under Kabus' heel. That's good too.
Ruler: quinoa rex
128 -> 140
14 -> 16

Vikingar are just trying to quietly hold on to Norway, clinging desperately to the PRD while hoping Austurstrond forget they exist.
the boys have left the town

Next chapter:

Game: Europa Universalis IV

EUIV - Amaranthine Invitational #11 (1750)

Images: 49, author: kamichi, published: 2018-02-25, edited: 1970-01-01

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