King of Frisia and Jerusalem in Holy Roman Empire

[Strategyking]

I had formed the Kingdom of Frisia within the Holy Roman Empire. It took decades before I was able to conquer holland, but I was successful when they decided to rebel (The Fools!)

After I got so lucky with this, I joined the Crusade and eventually came out with more war contribution than anybody else, so I gained the honor of "King of Jerusalem". Problem: The Emperor started revoking my titles. I literally lost all 5 of my remaining demense in the span of 2 years and I lost the game because I became a Bishop... Like WTF??

So how do I prevent this gross tragedy from happening in the future? This was actually one of my more successful games with the Duchy of Flanders and I keep wanting to try again and eventually form a more Powerful Frisia and @*#& over the HRE :-)

[Italian Albania]

you cant really prevent emperors taking your titles unless you kill them with plots or assasins.Same thing happend to me i was in HRE and i was doing very well and in 1 year the king tried to take 4 of my lands away i rebeled and died.

[sounds like a wooosh]

The Middle Ages were a cruel time…

Thanks for sharing your story! Go, Frisia, go!

[lfsthor]

kill hre emperor make new one love you only thing i can advise that or start faction to reduce crown athority to minimum then he cant revoke stopgap if you reset bribe him still chancelor in his capitol to butter him up

[NinjaPepper]

Keeping crown authority low in the HRE is definately advisable. Being a vassal of HRE offers alot of protection while you continue to expand your powerbase - but that said, if it becomes too much like being within a kingdom, not only will it prevent you from becoming more powerful, it will also open you up to revokation. The best time to get crown authority lowered is either right after it has been raised, or right when a new emperor has taken the throne. Thus, assassination is a good tool to use in combination with factionism to achieve these goals.

Also, becoming Holy Roman Emperor yourself through intrique, plots, and factions is another good way to avoid getting your titles taken, though you will also have to deal with foreign wars at that point.

[Arkeangel]

Do not panic if the Emperor tries to revoke your titles unless you have medium or higher crown authority.
If a title is revoked by plot or tyranny you should get a strong claim on it. The Emperor will usually give it to some else. When he does declare war and take it back.
I was Bavaria and the HRE kept creating duchies and giving them to my count vassals to reduce my realm size. I simply de jure warred to take them back.

Otherwise try and kill the Emperor or use factions to pressure him.

[Goragg]

I suggest not winning the crusade next time :)

Even if you held the title against the emperor the follow-up JIhad would likely make you very vulnerable to internal attack. You need ot be careful about which Crusade titles you actually win.

[NinjaPepper]

Actually, winning a crusade title while part of the Holy Roman Empire is the best time to win crusade titles. Because then you have a MASSIVE army backing you that you don't have to pay for - after all, as a vassal of the Empire, anyone trying to take land from you needs to declare war on the Emperor. At that point, you can let the AI do most of the work, and mop up where needed. Mind you, you wont get the big piety and prestige bonuses from winning against such an attack, but it gives you time to consolidate until you are ready to put on your Big King Pants and declare your independance. Or not, if you have your eyes set on the Emperor's chair yourself. ;)

[NinjaPepper]

Though yes, internal attack can be a worry. That is why having lots of children and making alliances can often be a good thing. If you balance it right, anyhow.

[prince_of_arfon]

Do you have a previous save from before the revocations started happening? You can start that up again and follow some of the advice given above: namely, plotting against the Emperor through factions and/or assassinations. For the factions, see if there's another claimant to the imperial throne who already likes you, and see if you can start a faction to press their claim.

[Strategyking]

Actually this game as Frisia ended up being a lost cause. The game was set to 5 year saves and A LOT happened in those 5 years which didn't save.



My next game ended up being with the same count of Zeeland. I went Zeeland-->Duchy of Flanders--> King of France in only two generations. My game was going great until a hundred years later. I had just won the crusade for Sicily (notice a trend?) when my character died of severe stress at the age of 32, leaving his 6 year old heir with envious enemies. Eventually I was fighting three civil wars, an invasion from the Breton band (which was BS because I released them) and then Genoa and HRE invaded almost simultaneously. Basically: I got murdered and was powerless to stop it.

I am really amazed how dynamic this game can be though.. And also how interesting the county of Zeeland is at game start, being as it can either be a HRE or French possession.