
edit: ah lol era entro oggi non ho visto la data

Hello again folks, I do believe it is time for another dev diary!
We've basically covered most of the features in the game by now, so I thought I'd change tack and talk a bit about what we've been up to in the last week. Much of the focus lately has been on war and peace, both the rules and the AI behaviour. I am pleased to report that we've now got vassals within the same realm fighting each other like the vicious bastards they are.
We have also changed the rules a bit - vassals are now allowed to declare war on independent rulers, but independent rulers still cannot declare war on vassals. Thus, we now have William of Normandy as a vassal of France while invading England on his own. An unforeseen consequence of this is that he now tends to call in his father-in-law, another French vassal, Duke Boudewijn of Flandres to help him out. Marriage matters folks, and don't you forget it!
On a related note, Duchess Matilde of Tuscany, vassal of the Holy Roman Emperor (and the most eligible bride in Europe), tends to open the game in 1066 with a rather bad move, attacking the Pope to seize Orvieto (which is de jure part of her Duchy of Spoleto.) Other times, the Pope usurps the title Duke of Spoleto, and then Matilde feels obliged to attempt to take it back.
Either way, the unfortunate Duchess tends to get a rather nasty surprise. She has forgotten an important lesson that you might remember from an earlier diary - the Pope gets taxes from loyal bishops around Europe, making him a very, very rich man. So, while he has few levies of his own to raise, he can basically afford to hire every mercenary company in Europe! Even the mighty Holy Roman Emperor sometimes loses to the might of the Vatican.
...and there was much balancing.
Until next time!
Hello folks!
It's Thursday, and you all know what that means... pea soup, pancakes and warm Punsch! Also, a Crusader Kings II dev diary. Today's topic is Plots. Like in EU:Rome, characters can have a specific ambition in life. It can be innocuous things like getting married, getting rich, or having a nice glass of warm Punsch, but sometimes it can be more sinister, like having your wife fall down the stairs. These nasty ambitions are called Plots, and they are hidden from other characters unless they are in on it (or have been made aware of it.) Those of you who have played Sengoku will recognize the general concept, although it works slightly differently in Crusader Kings II. You pick an available plot, then you can start inviting other characters into it. If the plot is military in nature, like gaining control of a title, the plot gains power from rulers commanding a military force. If it's an intrigue plot, you should rather invite those who are close to the target of the plot. Plot power is just a percentage, and will unlock new events and decisions the further along it is. At 100% plot power, the plot is likely to succeed.
The problem is that Spymasters (the council position) can discover plots, depending on their intrigue skill vs the plotter's intrigue skill. Unless they too are in on it, they will report to their liege, who can then choose to take action. If you are lucky, he might just demand that you cease and desist. However, since he has evidence of your scheming, he is allowed to imprison you without repercussions (normally, other characters will perceive you as a tyrant when you throw people in the dungeon.) Being imprisoned automatically ends the plot, by the way.
These are some of the more interesting plots: