Chapter 1 – Sigurd Hring – Ten Thrones
Welcome to the first chapter of my Ten Thrones Achievement Run for Crusader Kings 2! If you have not already done so check out the preamble to this run for an overview of the strategy we will employ here.
Sigurdr Hring – Opening Moves – 769AD
Hail Sigurdr Hring Petty King of Sweden! So this handsome character is our first hero to get us started on this mighty quest. As can be seen on his character card his legendary son Ragnar has already been born at two years old. Although he has not yet earned his nickname Lothbrok.
Sigurdr himself is a pretty impressive character. We rolled the genetic trait Quick which is good. Though sadly Ragnar does not seem to have inherited it. Sigurdr’s other traits and stats are decent enough.
We are not going to mess about with Sigurdr, we pick “become king of Sweden” for his first ambition and select the martial focus to help raise troops and give him some extra options on the battlefield. We also join the Wolf Society.
I hope that before he dies we can get the Kingdom of Sweden title and successfully use his one use subjugation on a neighbour to bag up to another kingdom title or at least a big duchy.
First move is to score an alliance with the strongest neighbour we can with Ragnar as marriage bait. Then begin conquering our other neighbours starting with the weakest and nearest.
I get a black eye in my first duel to get into the Wolf Society. It could have been worse, I’ll survive this time.
Ragnar’s betrothal gets me an alliance with the chief of Jamatland. Not a huge ally, he can muster about 428 levies, but it is the best I could get given the marriage options available. It will do for now
First Conquest
The ink is hardly dry on the alliance when I pile into a subjugation war on a single county neighbour, Helsingland. It is a walk in the park and in hindsight I hardly needed to call my Jamatland ally in for it as my own troops were more than enough.
Note to self: don’t call on allies for easy targets, save the favours for tougher targets. Make the opinion maluses from calling an ally into war count for something.
Is this Incest?
Without meaning to I let Sigurdr turn a friendship with a fellow wolf lady into a saucy sex romp. After she agrees to get naked with me I check out who she is exactly and it turns out she is the wife of an independent chief in Norway who also happens to be the father of my wife… Okay I am pretty sure that doesn’t count as incest but it goes to show one should be a little bit careful who one sleeps with.
Note to self: conduct background checks on sex partners.
In other news the discovery that my wife has a father with territory means I can hit him up for an alliance. He accepts apparently oblivious that I am nailing his wife. War councils could get a little awkward if he finds out…
770AD – Medelpad and our First Traitor
The chief of Medelpad is subjugated. He has the content trait so he will be easily won over as a supporter. Nice. At the same time the formidable commander and marshal of our realm the chief of Aland is being decidedly discontent having been discovered fabricating a claim on my title!
I send a thousand of my troops to his holding to effect an arrest, somewhat regretfully as he was a very skillful Marshal. I get him safely under lock and key and will probably feed him to the next blot. Sadly I can’t revoke his title as the legalism tech is not sufficient yet. Hopefully his heir will be less treacherous.
770AD – First Biggish War
Stepping up the unification wars I declare on the Petty King of Vestergautland. He ranks about the same as me but I have a few more territories and allies. I call in the allies for this one and it is easily won. Now I have most of Sweden though not the title yet. I am also showing up as a threat to my fellow pagans. I may let that cool off a bit before expanding further.
772AD – Gotland and some Dueling
I do a bit of dueling to rank up in the wolf society and I pick a fight with the recently subjugated chief of Vestergautland. He doesn’t like me much so I hope to cure him of his unsightly growth of hate with a bit of axe surgery. I lop off the chief’s hand but he doesn’t die. Boo.
All that is left to subjugate in Sweden is the chiefdom of Gotland which is independent and also three jarldoms in the south which are all subject to a Petty King in Sjaelland. I go after Gotland now as it is the easier of the two by far. I just use demense levies and it is over in no time.
773AD – Subjugation War on the Petty King of Sjaelland
I notice this king is busy attacking Saxons to the south and his total muster is quite a bit less than mine. If I subjugate him I’ll have all of the de jure Kingdom of Sweden, most of Denmark and a bit of Norway too. Why not?
Aaagh! The war is going well when the berzerker rage gets me killed on the battlefield. So endeth the short but bellicose reign of Sigurdr Hring! He did quite a lot in his four years of play but he made no other heirs and his only son Ragnar is inheriting at just six years old. This is a very precarious situation. The earliest I can even begin backing up the dynasty with more heirs is still another ten years away. Just one nasty accident in the meantime and my dynasty and play-through will come to a very premature end with it. Crikey!
