A Magyar nomad empire takes shape

[Langkard]

After multiple nomad games ending in severe bad luck with several dynasties wiped out by disease and/or attacks on my capital by random rebellions or hosts, I decided to start a game as the Magyars to see how the played out in an ironman 769 start.

The result has been enlightening. As long as I avoided antagonizing my initially bigger neighbors, the Khazars and the Bulgarians, the path to absorb all of the many small tribal rulers to the north was easy. Then it was a matter of stomping hard on the Khazars, allying with the Bulgarians and Yabguids and expanding east.

I'm about done taking most of the steppes and most of eastern Europe. I'm finishing up pillaging most of Khiva down to steppe lands and am now working on removing the remaining Uyghurs. Then I'll take and pillage down the Tarim basin and the rest of the steppes in Zhetysu and Samarkand and Dihistan. At that point, my poor Yabguid allies are toast along with the Khazars.

I'm saving the Crimea and Curonia areas for last to be vassal merchant republics when I'm done with my pillaging. Then the rest of the world will be ripe for subjugation and subordination conquests. I can already field as many horse horde stacks as the Byzantines or the Abbasids.

My capital is the lovely 7 holding Kiev, which I have been slowly upgrading to about halfway to fully upgraded, thanks to the massive gold amounts available from using my 3 stacks of 10K 90% light cav/10% heavy cav troops to pillage in wars and raid silk road rich counties.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=502051423

[Thundercracker]

just wondeirng, from that start date, can you form hungary?

[primoaurelius]

not totally 100% sure, because ive never played magyar (i play byzantine mostly) but i think not too long after the magyars settle you can form hungary. magyars ususally settle a few months-years after the 867 start date. you may have to undertake some reforms due to their tribal culture. you need 51% of the de jure counties of hungary to form it.

[Oxea]

From memory if you win their war/take certain land from someone you get an option to form Hungary right off the bat.

I don't remember the specifics since I haven't done it myself, otherwise I'm sure you can check in-game or give Google a run.

[Langkard]

The formation of Hungary event is only available if you do it from the Old Gods start date, with the Magyar event troops. From a 769 start date, you can't form the Kindgom of Hungary. The only option available at that date, at least as a nomad, is the Kingdom of Avaria and then the Empire of Carpathia.

Forming a kingdom as a nomad is a really bad idea anyway. It gives vassals or sub-clans in that territory a negative opinion modifier because they want the title and it can also cause an event to fire for a vassal or sub-clan to demand the title or they'll revolt. That's why it is also a good idea as a nomad to destroy any titles, even duchies, when you own all of the counties in the title area and can afford the money cost. You don't need the prestige which you'll get plenty of from wars and it allows you to give the counties away later to keep your other clans happy.

[Langkard]

One very odd thing which happened is Scandinavia is almost entire Finnish with the exception of a couple of independent counties for Austergautland. Apparently, after Ragnarr Loðbrok inherited Sviðjod, he also ended up conquering most of Finland and made that his main title. His heis eventually conquered almost everything else, including Iceland. They're still Norse culture and Germanic religion, but no Sweden or Denmark or Norway - all Finland. My Magyar khagan is related by marriage to both the King of Finland and the Finnish rebellion. I just ignore the competing requests to join their wars, at least until it's time to attack the Karlings, when an ally to the north will become useful.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=502130455

[Langkard]

The biggest mistake I've made so far is the marriage of the heir, which is probably going to cause me trouble later. I only had one option for a genius female marriage for the only genius son, despite a genius wife for the khagan and 3 genius concubines.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=502131918

She was 38 and he 16 when I got them married. Then I sent him off to be a mercenary. I should have wait a bit to see if anyone had a genius female child somewhere or I should have waited until he either had at least one son or she reached 40 but was still in my court so I could kill her off and try again with a younger genius female. Now he is 31 and she is 53 and he has no children and I can't get even 50% on the assassination totals because he isn't anywhere near my court. When he inherits, I'll have to scramble to get him married to someone lustful and get 3 lustful concubines, hopefully at least one with genius, so he'll have male children before he dies and then also hope he lives long enough for one of them to reach 16.

[Warlordnipple]

The amount of population any Nomad can get that is near Russia is nuts. If you want an easy game where you get Israel achievement play as Khazaria and alternate between taking Georgia (for pillage money), Russia, and the steppe. You will be much stronger than the abbasids in no time

[Langkard]

I have my 3 stacks spread out in various places now. One is in the Tarim basin keeping down revolts while I pillage the holdings down, another is down in Merv doing the same with my holdings there when not raiding the other silk road holdings nearby and the third is over finishing up taking the rest of Khazaria and raiding the Byzantines.

The money is ridiculous. I'm keeping all of the silk trade road counties and the 6-7 holding counties without trade routes. I have 4 trade posts on the trade route, upgrading them slowly as my trade tech in them inproves. I have 9K+ now and it just grows. My income when not replenishing my hordes is over 30/month. Not that it matters with the money I make pillaging in war and raiding when at peace. I have a few more counties to make all horde by pillaging down the holdings, then I can create a couple of vassal merchant republics and make even more cash.

My population should reach 150K soon and the max is already 170K. I can't quite reach that magic 90% of max so I can use the invasion CB, though. I'm expanding too fast, even with all of the downtime while I destroy newly conquered holdings.

My manpower grows so much I've started just forming new stacks 1500 at a time (half light half heavy cavalry). I'll have another 10.5K stack in a month or two and my next Baghatur council upgrade in Kiev should be finished just in time to give me another commander for it.

And it isn't even year 900 yet. Nomads are a bit too easy, I think. After I finish the nomad achievements, I think I'll switch back to non-nomad stuff.

[Thundercracker]

Originally posted by Langkard:

From a 769 start date, you can't form the Kindgom of Hungary.

wow, this seems very odd.

[Langkard]

Originally posted by Dr. W:

Originally posted by Langkard:

From a 769 start date, you can't form the Kindgom of Hungary.

wow, this seems very odd.

It may just be nomad, but as a nomad the only option is Avaria, at least as of an 892 date but was a 769 start.

[Thundercracker]

Originally posted by Langkard:

Originally posted by Dr. W:

wow, this seems very odd.

It may just be nomad, but as a nomad the only option is Avaria, at least as of an 892 date but was a 769 start.

either way, it really just seems like they neglected to add relivant events to the earlier start.

they could at least do like isreal.

[Surimi]

Once the Avars lose control of Avaria, there should be an event which changes it to Pannonia. It'd be worth seeing if the "form Hungary" decision appears once that happens.

[Langkard]

Originally posted by Deep Hurting:

Once the Avars lose control of Avaria, there should be an event which changes it to Pannonia. It'd be worth seeing if the "form Hungary" decision appears once that happens.

That may be the problem. In my game the Avars remained owners of the area for much longer than normal and Pannonia never formed as it usually does. Maybe because I allied with them early, since I was next door as the Magyar ruler.

I haven't gotten around to invading that area yet, but I think there are still several feudal Tengri duchies fighting over it, at least 2 and maybe 3 total, each a descendant of the original Avars there and still Avar culture. Bulgaria, Serbia, Moldau and Wallachia are all controlled by feudal Tengri rulers was well, and all nephews of the Magyar khagan. When I work on that area I'll try to remember to check and see what kingdom it will allow me to form after I conquer the de jure area of what should be Hungary.

[Langkard]

Still plugging along. I have 5 more counties to take before I won all of the world-steppe lands for the achievement. I'm done pillaging down holdings now. All of Khiva and Samarkand and Tarim Basin are empty nomad lands. I have a few more years before I can make war for the last of the Khazaria, Aybakid and Uyghur lands. I made the duchy of Cherson into a vassal merchant republic.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=503586247


The hilarious part is that while I was focused down in the Black Sea area, one of my sub-clans had a successful subjugation war against the huge Finnish empire in Scandinavia I posted a screen shot of a few days ago. Now the Magyars empire includes most of Scandinavia, including Iceland and several counties in the north of Scotland. And I didn't even have to lift a finger.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=503586266

I need boats. Or my sub-clan khan does, if he intends to keep those Scottish lands!

I reformed Tengri for the easy holy wars, since I'm expanding too fast and can't get near my population cap for invasions.No one can field enough troops to stop my holy wars. The Catholic realms are just France and Lombardy and the scattered English realms. The Byzantines are broken since the Bulgarians succeeded in a revolt and the Abbasid Caliph is weak now too. The only question is whether to go west so I can move my capital and get all heavy cav hordes with the proper commanders (Frankish, Norman, Breton, etc. for their heavy cav bonus) or south and then east for India and a mix of light cav/elephant hordes.

[Warlordnipple]

BTW it does not matter how many holdings your county capital has as nomads, Kiev is a bad cap for nomads.

Things that make for good capitals are being on silk road, being in desert, being near a major river, being near a large body of water, being in a jungle province (YES). I would suggest you move your capital to somewhere near a large body of water on the silk road. That will allow you to make more money (mint), faster population growth (fishery, and more tax dollars (harbor). If you want camels then I know Anxi in the far west has a desert and is on the silk road. The best places for caps are actually all in India. You want a coastal indian ocean province with jungle (for elephants).

You want to see real op place cap on jungle province and max out the elephant building upgrades then add elephant hordes to your armies. (+80% attack and defense with max buildings)