Tips for playing African pagans

[The Uruk Scribe]

So I got the land to form a Empire all ready, and could probably get all tribes of my faith under my rule rather easy. But I am making basically no money at all!

I have next to no tech and soon my muslims neighbors to the north might become a threat to me. Or vice versa.

Any pointers on what I should be doing? (Also I turned defence pacts of as I hate them)

[Soul Binder]

Reform religion and go feudal asap. Longer you take to go feudal harder it will be to hold off the Muslims even without defensive pacts. Alternatively if you don't care about being Pagan then convert to Islam and get cozy or Christianity and make allies in Europe who will help put the pressure on the Muslims. Actually making European allies is good advice regardless of how you go as they can help keep the Muslims off your back.

[Yaldabaoth]

Conquer one hightech county, put your capital there, boom, instant technology. Have a few of your demesne provinces spread around at home to accelerate technology everywhere. If you have the DLC that enables trade routes, get all the counties with trade posts for near infinite money.

[Das Boot]

While you are pagan, take full advantage of the Warrior's Lodge. It will be really helpful in improving your character.

Don't be afraid to raid neighbors for loot; once you're realm is large enough that will be a great way to gain extra gold.

[The Uruk Scribe]

Thanks for the tips guys. I'll have them in mind moving forward.

[Dark3nedDragon]

The Pagans (in general) tend to be exceptionally powerful in a lot of aspects, particularly early on, but as time goes on, consolidation of resources and wealth generation means countries with Feudalism begin to mass a near insurmountable lead

Early Pagans tend to have more troops than the Feudal Lords, are able to call all vassals into war without penalty (again, significantly increasing the number of troops available at any given moment substantially), but earn less than those under the opposing system.

However, as the game progresses, the substantial upgrades that developed nations receive, results in significant numbers of forces from the territories they hold, to overwhelming degree. A single Capital Province, could hold as much as three Castles, a City, and a Church, and with a high-ranking Marshall, well developed holdings, one could easily have an army of over 8,000 from that one section of land.

So yeah, your best bet is to reform your Religion, AND proceed to Feudalism as soon as possible. These two in conjunction will make the unification of your peoples and religions stronger (the Christians and Muslims more manageable as a result), as well as significantly bolstering the power of your lands.

[K E N N I]

Going feudal is definitely the right choice, but be careful. When you turn feudal, your vassals will still be tribal and they will give you close to 0 taxes and levies, so you will be extremely vulnerable. In this situation you should spend money only on hillforts of your vassals, so they can convert too and be useful again. A useful trick is giving one tribal vassal multiple counties. Then when he has a stone hillfort in his capital and converts to feudal, all his counties will be converted regardless of their hillfort levels. You can save some precious gold this way. Anyway I would recommend clicking the "Adopt feudalism" button only when your most powerful neighbours are engaged in war.