Good starter nation for Grand campaign?

[jonandbeth]

DOnt want to pick a small nation that will get crushed early on, but dont feel up to playing something like the Byzantine empire.

Any ideas/thoughts on good first nations to try first time out?

Thanks!

[Nepos]

Kingdom tier factions allows you to have fun without having to worry too much about balancing authority for your first playthrough. Good and fun factions include Castille, Aragon (can expand quickly), Georgia and France

[Grognerd]

My recommendation would be Georgia. You start next to a huge country which with you have good relations and share the same religion (Byzantines), and your Muslim opponents in the region are all weaker states. Which should make for a very relaxed start, until the Seljuqs come knockin' ... but if you play your cards right, you should be ready for them as well.

[jonandbeth]

Castile is alot to handle with the religious turmoil. May try Georgia.

But thanks and keep the ideas coming!

[Silkow]

Hungary seems fine, too. Halfways stable petty Kingdom, midle sized,defendible but relatively central.

[jonandbeth]

Poland is actually working for me. I control several provinces and have some independent Germanic tribes I can beat around early.

[Brucato]

Keep us posted

[Panfuricus]

Normandie seems fine, but kinda slow start.

[Thunder Bagel]

Sweden I think is the best. Moderate sized kingdom, few enemies but plenty of potential to expand. Lets you learn the mechanics at an easy pace while consolidating Scandinavia

[jonandbeth]

I may also start a sweden game next to my poland game. Germanic tribes next to me have ALOT more units than I do currently, may be a while before I can afford to expand. And only having access to levy and mercs is expensive.

Keep the ideas coming!

[Commissar Antonios]

I started a Byzantine Empire game and my first turn took me about...an hour...
And i thought that the Seleucid kingdom was a logistical nightmare.

[gregmannuk]

England is a reasonably good starter. You can focus more on region development than conquest but there are still conquest options available if that's your thing. The one snag is if the Normans decide to attack you instead of France.

Another interesting choice is the Almoravids. It's a slow start but with only a few neighbours you can expand. The early focus is on food production. There will be some revolts in conquered regions due to religious differences (heretics) but it's a good chance to learn how to deal with this issue and not quite as extreme as the issues Castilla has to deal with.

[jonandbeth]

Thing with england seemed like most of the country was owned by vassals and you only owned 1 region, and 4 total provinces. Might make for some internal politics game, but Seemed a little off what from what I was thinking.

[Henrique Lique]

Venice is great, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ rich and easy to expand anywhere. Buy HRE cooperation with tons of coins and you free to do whatever you likes.

[jonandbeth]

I love Venice type games in these games. Rich and small and can use money to influence things. May have to be my next play through.

Thanks for the suggestion! Keep em coming!

[Ricochet]

Rus is actually a good one because you have multiple allies to start with. Make sure to change your foreign policy stance to EVERYONE at the start because AI will bring you to their aggressive war and you will take authority hit. If it's defensive, you won't receive any hit.

If Cuman did try to wage war against you, eveyone of your ally will honor your diplomatic treaty. So far, in my game, the Cumans are shattered.