interesting characters?

[MeeptheSheep45]

before i ask, let me say i know theres the internet (aint the first time i asked this on games)

but you know, im curious what the more recent comunity thinks.

(Skip to the bottom if you dont exactly care what im putting next, i like to add a little backstory of why im asking something)

well i im newer (i think) to this game, but i got the basics down when playing Alania. well now im thinking what are some fun starts to play as? well, interesting as in, fun to play as, but not too easy. for some reason, i hate it when things get too easy on games. so i always end up doing more than i can handle (another reason im asking)

now dont get me wrong, im not exactly asking for the toughest start their is either.


so, on to the question that is the title. anyone know any interesting characters to play as?

also forgot to mention, i play vanila for the time being

although i plan on getting the pagan dlc (the old gods?)

(side note, its 3 am in the morning, i do aplogise if any of this sounds rude)

EDIT added a question mark, it was buggin me :D

EDIT2 Added a small detail

[jfoytek]

Honestly I think the question doesnt make alot of sense for the game....

The Reason that I say this is because most of the characters, especially ones that will be interesting are not known yet.... There created mid game.... If your asking about starting locations then one could say a location is intersting much more so then the ruler... as the ruler is not set in stone his stats and traits change each time you start the game....

As for too easy that is pretty much most starts as the game once mastered isnt really that difficult....

But there are a few very difficult starts that are indeed near impssible:

Ostfriesland 769 without converting or joining france!
Canarias 769 without converting muslim
Socotra 769 without converting muslim
769 Khan Kaur of Sathisi Vassal of Alania...

[Zsrai]

Wiki has you covered.[www.ckiiwiki.com] That's a good place to start. A lot of these tend to be historic figures, but there are some just interesting starts as well. There is also a sticky thread over on the official forums for interesting female characters too, which I'm not sure are all included on the wiki link. I think one of the more interesting is Gagik of Armenia, the count of Lykandos in 1066. He's on the wiki article too, but he's the last King of Armenia[en.wikipedia.org] and is basically the last (he has a couple of sons) of the Armenian (elder) branch of the Bagrationi dynasty.

[Its_0k]

Haestenn of nantes in 867. Starts with 500 gold and event troops. Kingdom of jerusalem has no boring moments also.

[Throwitinthecooker]

Baldwin IV Jerusalem. Saladin jihads you from the word go with around 30k troops vs your 7k but you get the Templars and Hospitallers as vassals you can call for next to no piety who each have about 4k so you are around 15k total in strength. Oh by the way you are a leper with no heirs but your sister and half sister who are both plotting on the crown and probably will never sire any children of your own. And you are dying.

[MeeptheSheep45]

thanks for the answers guys :)

Originally posted by jfoytek:

Honestly I think the question doesnt make alot of sense for the game....

The Reason that I say this is because most of the characters, especially ones that will be interesting are not known yet.... There created mid game.... If your asking about starting locations then one could say a location is intersting much more so then the ruler... as the ruler is not set in stone his stats and traits change each time you start the game....

As for too easy that is pretty much most starts as the game once mastered isnt really that difficult....

But there are a few very difficult starts that are indeed near impssible:

Ostfriesland 769 without converting or joining france!
Canarias 769 without converting muslim
Socotra 769 without converting muslim
769 Khan Kaur of Sathisi Vassal of Alania...

yeah ik i should have worded a bit better.... 3 am in the morning doesnt help with that you know?
also ill have to try those once i get charlemagne. No matter what i said in the post, im a sucker for the hard starts :D


i think that might be all i need to reply too, but i do apreciate the answers :) ty guys

[NewbieOne]

Anyone from the bookmarks is interesting and is usually large enough to avoid getting steamrolled by a powerful neighbour but challenging also to keep together (vassal management etc.).

There were topics about interesting characters in Paradox forums too. What I also did was get Wikipedia's list of saints ordered by century and take it from there — I've actually played as almost all of them that are playable, just one character's lifetime, then next, without playing as the dynasty. Got me a nice overview of times and places. Definitely a good one if you like to play as the good guy.

Then there are also historical characters from your nation's history or perhaps you can find an ancestor on the map.

I also like the random button — get a random character, follow the Wikipedia link, if any, and see if you like it.

If you've had enough of the steppes, Asia Minor and the Levant, Mongols and jihads etc., perhaps play in Scandinavia. Not going to be easy at all, but different.

Asturias 769 is great in how it's difficult to even survive, but at the same time if you play it well you may very quickly overcome the Umayyads, bring Byzantines to the party (marry Princess Anthousa in C'ple), conquer some coast in North Africa etc. Not sure if that's still doable after the recent patches, though, it's been a while since I did it.

Also Nubia and Abyssinia, but it does take a masochistic streak.

And India. Much different experience. I had a blast as a Nestorian custom-designed count => Catholic emperor, though in such a case the game does make you feel alienated from the affairs of everybody else around you (except in the same realm, to a small extent), and you do risk getting converted by your liege (with the chaplain mission, which you don't have choice about) or holy-warred by your neighbours. It's only up to a point that smart management can tip the scales for you vs larger realms nearby.

Pomeranians are interesting to play, as a culture that has no modern counterpart. They're neither Polish nor German, and close to the Norse, a class unto themselves. Coastal location makes for potentially some rich cities if you manage to keep prosperity up.

[Nestor Oskar]

Viking age: Halfdan whiteshirt, Rurik.

[Ravenbolt]

Nubia isn't so hard if you start as Makuria, then the muslim world leaves you alone to unite your desert kingdom, from there, now that we have a central african land bridge, you can go seize all the central african trade routes, convert the heathens, and then after some building up can show the Caliphate whats what >.>