Lord Chungus Plays Europa Universalis IV: This Episode, Uniting The Holy Roman Empire

[Arcus]

So, did you take a look at the mission screen yet? The new missions system means you don't even need to royal marry Bohemia anymore (though uh, they're not looking too hot over there).

Also yeah, try and give France enough land to get a coalition rolling against them. That might help, and you can join later to get your cores back.

 

[Lord Chungus]

I'll try to start doing it decadely again, now that I'm no longer being murdered.

Game-wise, I continue to be unlucky, though it's not all bad news. My excommunication was lifted after improving relations with Milan, the current Curia Controller. That meant the electors would back my heir as the HREmperor once my 64 year-old king inevitably died!

And they did back me, for all two seconds before my heir fell ill and died.


Looking forward, I'm hoping to drag the Papal State out of their alliance with France (and Hungary and Aragon). Lucky for me, they're allied with Montferrat, a tiny North-Italian state! Bad news, I don't have a CB on Montferrat.

 

[QTesseract]

I'll try to start doing it decadely again, now that I'm no longer being murdered.

Game-wise, I continue to be unlucky, though it's not all bad news. My excommunication was lifted after improving relations with Milan, the current Curia Controller. That meant the electors would back my heir as the HREmperor once my 64 year-old king inevitably died!

And they did back me, for all two seconds before my heir fell ill and died.


Looking forward, I'm hoping to drag the Papal State out of their alliance with France (and Hungary and Aragon). Lucky for me, they're allied with Montferrat, a tiny North-Italian state! Bad news, I don't have a CB on Montferrat.

Click to shrink...

Try aiming for a trade conflict CB.

 

[Arcus]

That meant the electors would back my heir as the HREmperor once my 64 year-old king inevitably died!

Click to shrink...

Improve relations with the electors.

If you get 5 of them to back you in the election and have +100 opinion you can get a free force union CB on Bohemia.

(Make sure you're actually in a state to use it though)

 

[Lord Chungus]

Improve relations with the electors.

If you get 5 of them to back you in the election and have +100 opinion you can get a free force union CB on Bohemia.

(Make sure you're actually in a state to use it though)

Click to shrink...

I already have that, actually. But I'm nowhere near being in a state to use it.

 

[Lord Chungus]

Hey so I lied again, looks like I do that a lot.

Anyway, I just realized that I have 4 years to take all of the Papal State, which tbh I don't see happening. I can't get a Trade Conflict with Montferrat, France and Aragon will kick my ass back to the Medieval Age if I try to fight the Popey State. Also, I have 9k manpower and I'm not too keen to have all my armies annihilated again because they lost and then couldn't recover.

On a good note, I got an Admin tech upgrade, and with it my next Idea Group; Religious, of course.

I also don't have to worry about a War of Succession! On the other hand...


Also, for some reason I've lost the Restoration of Union CB against Bohemia; I still have it against Hungary though, and once I'm healthier I'll go to war with them, stability loss from royal marriage be dammed.

 

[QTesseract]

Hey so I lied again, looks like I do that a lot.

Anyway, I just realized that I have 4 years to take all of the Papal State, which tbh I don't see happening. I can't get a Trade Conflict with Montferrat, France and Aragon will kick my ass back to the Medieval Age if I try to fight the Popey State. Also, I have 9k manpower and I'm not too keen to have all my armies annihilated again because they lost and then couldn't recover.

On a good note, I got an Admin tech upgrade, and with it my next Idea Group; Religious, of course.

I also don't have to worry about a War of Succession! On the other hand...


Also, for some reason I've lost the Restoration of Union CB against Bohemia; I still have it against Hungary though, and once I'm healthier I'll go to war with them, stability loss from royal marriage be dammed.

Click to shrink...

The CBS are temporary. You aren't supposed to trigger the missions before you are ready.

 

[Lord Chungus]

As I predicted, the Shadow Kingdom came to pass. I couldn't conceivably beat the Papal State, but I did do some war. Specifically, against Hungary. I used my Restoration of Union CB to go to war with them while they were already at war with Bohemia and the Ottomans and occupied as much as I could; I ended up taking Lika and Pressburg and restoring the union, but now I've inherited their war with Bohemia/Venice.

Also unfortunately, the Ottomans took 2 of the provinces I need to complete the Royal Hungary mission. I'll try to take them later on, if I can.

 

[Lord Chungus]

This decade has been a quiet one. My war with Bohemia and Venice wrapped up quickly, giving me Dalmatia and a whole bunch of money, and I've used the rest of the decade to recover.

Milan and I have declared each other rivals, and once I've got manpower built up I plan on invading them. Until then, I'll stay put.

 

[Plausbius]

This decade has been a quiet one. My war with Bohemia and Venice wrapped up quickly, giving me Dalmatia and a whole bunch of money, and I've used the rest of the decade to recover.

Milan and I have declared each other rivals, and once I've got manpower built up I plan on invading them. Until then, I'll stay put.

Click to shrink...

Take them back in the name of the Empire! Adding their provinces gives a good bit of IA!

 

[QTesseract]

This decade has been a quiet one. My war with Bohemia and Venice wrapped up quickly, giving me Dalmatia and a whole bunch of money, and I've used the rest of the decade to recover.

Milan and I have declared each other rivals, and once I've got manpower built up I plan on invading them. Until then, I'll stay put.

Click to shrink...

Consider getting the age bonus "transfer subject" and then attacking denmark, so you can steal its PU over sweden.

 

[Lord Chungus]

20 year gap this time, because I got wrapped up and forgot to do this. Oops

Anyway, a few things happened. My old Archduke finally died, and then his replacement died shortly after (a good thing, considering he was 0/0/4 for stats) leaving me with a mildly above-average Archduke and enough Imperial Authority to pass the second reform. I went to war with Denmark, doing well enough to make them release the two HRE provinces they had.

Also, the Protestant Reformation started!

I had to go with war with Silesia to make them become Catholic again, and it went pretty well. I've only got the first Religious Idea, so I'll need to focus on getting those as quickly as possible.

On that note, is there any way to make Hungary enter the HRE? It's my vassal and everything, so I'm trying to find if I can make em join the HRE and give me that sweet, sweet IA.

 

[Plausbius]

20 year gap this time, because I got wrapped up and forgot to do this. Oops

Anyway, a few things happened. My old Archduke finally died, and then his replacement died shortly after (a good thing, considering he was 0/0/4 for stats) leaving me with a mildly above-average Archduke and enough Imperial Authority to pass the second reform. I went to war with Denmark, doing well enough to make them release the two HRE provinces they had.

Also, the Protestant Reformation started!

I had to go with war with Silesia to make them become Catholic again, and it went pretty well. I've only got the first Religious Idea, so I'll need to focus on getting those as quickly as possible.

On that note, is there any way to make Hungary enter the HRE? It's my vassal and everything, so I'm trying to find if I can make em join the HRE and give me that sweet, sweet IA.

Click to shrink...

Don't worry about Hungary. They won't join the empire, but you can integrate (slow) or inherit upon ruler death (luck based) if you are bigger and have a ton of diplo rep. Then, you can add those provinces to the hre yourself.
Beat the snot out of those Princes who turn Protestant! Take all their money and make them convert back!

 

[Lord Chungus]

Over the last decade, a few minor things happened.

Most importantly, I waged war against Milan, as well as their allies Mantua and Sienna. Mantua was annexed, and the province of Welsch-Brixen was taken from Milan; aside from those two provinces, I also earned a lot of money.

Despite my earlier war against them to make them return to Catholicism, Silesia converted to Protestantism and is currently converting Bohemia and other nearby places to their heretic religion; once I finish my current war against Holland (who converted to Reformist) I'll deal with them; perhaps I should try to annex their Center of Reformation, and convert it to Catholicism? Food for thought.

I also got my third Idea Group, Influence.

 

[Plausbius]

Over the last decade, a few minor things happened.

Most importantly, I waged war against Milan, as well as their allies Mantua and Sienna. Mantua was annexed, and the province of Welsch-Brixen was taken from Milan; aside from those two provinces, I also earned a lot of money.

Despite my earlier war against them to make them return to Catholicism, Silesia converted to Protestantism and is currently converting Bohemia and other nearby places to their heretic religion; once I finish my current war against Holland (who converted to Reformist) I'll deal with them; perhaps I should try to annex their Center of Reformation, and convert it to Catholicism? Food for thought.

I also got my third Idea Group, Influence.

Click to shrink...

Yeah either take the Center of Reformation to convert it yourself, or force them to convert back if: 1. They are small enough to give convert and 2. The CoR is their capital, then it will be gone immediately when they convert.
Pump up your diplo rep! Maybe you'll get Hungary in an inheritance!

 

[Lord Chungus]

To put it mildly, the Protestant reformation is not going well.

Every single Center of Reformation, Protestant and Reformist alike, has sprung up in the HRE. Heretic Princes are popping up faster than I can put them down (the current count is 11 heretics) and it doesn't look like it will slow down any time soon.

Honestly, I'm starting to think I should just bite the bullet and convert to Protestantism. Ride the tides of reform, and all that. If I do, I should do it soon; I'm currently at war with 3 of the heretic princes, and I don't want to force them to Catholicism if I'm going to convert to Protestantism not long after them.

 

[Plausbius]

To put it mildly, the Protestant reformation is not going well.

Every single Center of Reformation, Protestant and Reformist alike, has sprung up in the HRE. Heretic Princes are popping up faster than I can put them down (the current count is 11 heretics) and it doesn't look like it will slow down any time soon.

Honestly, I'm starting to think I should just bite the bullet and convert to Protestantism. Ride the tides of reform, and all that. If I do, I should do it soon; I'm currently at war with 3 of the heretic princes, and I don't want to force them to Catholicism if I'm going to convert to Protestantism not long after them.

Click to shrink...

Personally, I feel that's a good thing, due to it being impossible to get rid of if someone like France or Denmark spawn it in God knows where.
I've never converted to Protestant as Austria, since you'd lose the Emperor position, have to get religious victory in the League War/have religious peace, then win again. Or hope that the Protestant League declares on you so you can lose the war, have the Empire become Protestant/stalemate for religious peace, then do the Emperor thing.
I don't really like the League War, since usually the Ottomans and France join the Other Side cuz "screw you", and the leader doesn't do anything either way.
You also can't enforce religion under religious peace even though the penalty for heretic princes is halved.
I'd say keep fighting the good fight, those heretics might be allied to one another, so you could convert a bunch of them in one war!

 

[Arcus]

You're the Emperor and the HRE is like a bunch of angry cats. You should have plenty of excuses to declare war on heretic princes and force them to convert back.

Also the most important thing is to take out the CoRs. Keep forcing conversions to destroy those CoRs instantly.

 

[Plausbius]

You're the Emperor and the HRE is like a bunch of angry cats.

Click to shrink...

Yeah. Luckily, unlike cats, the Princes will become your loyal and unwavering vassal after you keep them for long enough.

 

[Lord Chungus]

Every day, the Protestants grow larger, and yet no League forms. Please! I just want to fight them all!

I forced a few peace treaty conversions, made Silesia convert its CoR, and took two provinces with Reformed CoRs in them; the first has Religious Zeal, the second is being cored. Also, I have 0 Imperial Authority and I'm losing IA every month. *cries*

On that note, I can Integrate Hungary if I so choose; is it worth it, or should I hold off til later?

 

[Plausbius]

Every day, the Protestants grow larger, and yet no League forms. Please! I just want to fight them all!

I forced a few peace treaty conversions, made Silesia convert its CoR, and took two provinces with Reformed CoRs in them; the first has Religious Zeal, the second is being cored. Also, I have 0 Imperial Authority and I'm losing IA every month. *cries*

On that note, I can Integrate Hungary if I so choose; is it worth it, or should I hold off til later?

Click to shrink...

Tbh you don't need the IA or land that integrating Hungary would give right now. Since you have 0 IA, go do whatever you want! The League will likely form soon, wait for the French and Ottomans to join and you'll have tons of not-fun.
You'll have to wait on the stupid religious zeal, so that sucks.
Keep fighting the Protestants! Get some strong allies like Castile (with Iberian Wedding) and Russia/Poland!
I'm sure you can do it; once three CoRs of a single religion pop up, no more can spawn! So you'd need to rid of 6 in total!

 

[QTesseract]

Every day, the Protestants grow larger, and yet no League forms. Please! I just want to fight them all!

I forced a few peace treaty conversions, made Silesia convert its CoR, and took two provinces with Reformed CoRs in them; the first has Religious Zeal, the second is being cored. Also, I have 0 Imperial Authority and I'm losing IA every month. *cries*

On that note, I can Integrate Hungary if I so choose; is it worth it, or should I hold off til later?

Click to shrink...

Eh, depends. I usually don't, because it gives you more troops this way. Also, don't care that much about the imperial authority, it's really not a big deal. Even on my speed running austria, I usually don't get more than 3 reforms in before it starts, and I usually have to spend a few decades dealing with the reformation before I get anywhere.

A few things.
1: are you supporting a Habsburg heir for Poland Lithuania? It gets you monarch points when they pick your candidate
2. Have you considered stealing Sweden as a PU partner (or Naples, if there hasn't been an Iberian wedding yet
3. Don't worry about your diplo limit. Having 3-4 more allies than your cap hurts, but it's well worth it to get serious firepower on your side for the league war. On the flip side, if you don't have good allies, the league war can be a good time to get them

 

[Lord Chungus]

Another decade, still no Leagues. It's a good thing this time, given that I've got about 10k manpower and am currently at war with Denmark.

TL;DR, I went to war with Bohemia and took some stuff, and in the middle of it Sweden asked if I would support their independence. I clicked accept, hoping to get an ally and fuck over Denmark, but then they rebelled a second later. It's going well, though, even if it cost me a bit.

Also, I spawned the Printing Press! It was in Lorraine, aka far away from Austria proper, but I'll take what I can get!

Eh, depends. I usually don't, because it gives you more troops this way. Also, don't care that much about the imperial authority, it's really not a big deal. Even on my speed running austria, I usually don't get more than 3 reforms in before it starts, and I usually have to spend a few decades dealing with the reformation before I get anywhere.

A few things.
1: are you supporting a Habsburg heir for Poland Lithuania? It gets you monarch points when they pick your candidate
2. Have you considered stealing Sweden as a PU partner (or Naples, if there hasn't been an Iberian wedding yet
3. Don't worry about your diplo limit. Having 3-4 more allies than your cap hurts, but it's well worth it to get serious firepower on your side for the league war. On the flip side, if you don't have good allies, the league war can be a good time to get them

Click to shrink...

1. Yes, I'm supporting my heir; their current king is a Hapsburg, actually, due to my supporting him.
2. This is a bit obsolete now, but I assume you mean by going to war with Denmark and then making them give me Sweden in the treaty?
3. I currently have Castile and Poland as my allies, so I'm not too worried about getting more major allies; I'll make more friends once the Leagues start forming, though.

 

[QTesseract]

Another decade, still no Leagues. It's a good thing this time, given that I've got about 10k manpower and am currently at war with Denmark.

TL;DR, I went to war with Bohemia and took some stuff, and in the middle of it Sweden asked if I would support their independence. I clicked accept, hoping to get an ally and fuck over Denmark, but then they rebelled a second later. It's going well, though, even if it cost me a bit.

Also, I spawned the Printing Press! It was in Lorraine, aka far away from Austria proper, but I'll take what I can get!


1. Yes, I'm supporting my heir; their current king is a Hapsburg, actually, due to my supporting him.
2. This is a bit obsolete now, but I assume you mean by going to war with Denmark and then making them give me Sweden in the treaty?
3. I currently have Castile and Poland as my allies, so I'm not too worried about getting more major allies; I'll make more friends once the Leagues start forming, though.

Click to shrink...

Yeah. It's a bit late for that now, though, I think; it's not a huge deal, just a nice stretch goal if you see the opportunity. If you need / want another ally, England, Portugal, or Muscovy would all be good options, but you're right that you're probably fine.

Also, keep an eye on France. It if gets into a war with England, that would be the perfect tone for you to jump in with a recon quest CB.

 

[Lord Chungus]

Yeah. It's a bit late for that now, though, I think; it's not a huge deal, just a nice stretch goal if you see the opportunity. If you need / want another ally, England, Portugal, or Muscovy would all be good options, but you're right that you're probably fine.

Also, keep an eye on France. It if gets into a war with England, that would be the perfect tone for you to jump in with a recon quest CB.

Click to shrink...

Ahaha, just as I was reading that France got excommunicated. Nice timing, Pope-man.