Pic related: Muh empire in CKII. The Empire of Prydain. Ye olde story of the Empire of Prydain
Spoiler:
>Start as county of Dyfed
>Die in battle against vikings, leaving my only daughter as Duchess of Deheubarth and Gwynedd.
>Switch succession to Absolute Cognatic and Ultimogeniture
>Claw my way up, form kingdom of Wales
>Take over southern Scotland/North England
>Then most of England, then Ireland, then Scotland, kicking out the Scandi's as I go, until I form Prydain
>Somewhere around 900, the entire fucking Karling dynasty converts to the Ibadi Muslim heresy.
>Use this as my chance to get off the Isles, declaring holy war for Brittany
>Pope calls a crusade for West Francia, to give it to the only remaining Christian Karling.
>fuck that, kill her off, then go about crusading
>It gets given to some random chick
>she tries to assassinate my king
>Countess Costanza, some random countess going full North Korea mode, being Countess of EVERY county in West Francia
>Her bungled assassination attempt must have been a socially awkward way of getting my attention
>Marry her, our child inherits all of Prydain and ALL of fucking Francia
>After fixing the Francia situation when my mom dies, I give land to every damn Dyfed member I can find, from the chamber pot cleaners to the bumfuck courtiers
>Pope calls crusade for Germany, take Germany, same situation in Italy, Sicily, and Bavaria over the next three generations
>Emperor Myrphyn, the holy, a violent schizophrenic, declares his brother an anti-pope after reigning Pope in Rome refused to accept Myrphyn's declaration that he was the reincarnation of Jesus. Said declaration was made in Saint Peter's Basicilia during a pilgrimage.
>Myrphyn is also noted for having shot and killed one of his daughters with a bow and arrow, randomly picking of people from the tallest tower in the castle
>Given that the Empire of Prydain is the largest military force in the world at this period, Rome gets its shit kicked in, and Myrphyn's brother is made Pope
>Sometime after the conquest of Francia, but before the Pope thing, I take Jerusalem from the Abassid's
>Rename it, and the duchy of Galilee, to a proper Welsh name. Iddwyrrlam, and Gylylyy, respectively. Having taken enough land (51% of the de jure land) to from the Kingdom of Iddwyrrlam, I do so.
>Abassid's are not happy about this, and declare Jihad to take it back
>I lose Jerusalem, briefly
>Pope calls a crusade to get Jerusalem back to me
>We take it back, and I get 100% of Jerusalem, not just my 51%!
>Ilkhanate and Golden Horde appear around their usual times, like I give a fuck
>Conquer Hispania and Scandinavia
>Ilkhanate swallowed up the Golden Horde, and then converted to Catholicism.
>Whatever.
>Empress (Mother of the Swarthy half-greek you see in the screenshot) kills the Byzantine emperor's current wife, then marries him
>MATRILINEARILY
>THEY ACTUALLY ACCEPTED
>The child that will be king is cruel and cynical, but he's born in the purple
>Once mom and dad kick the bucket, I destroy the title of Byzantine Empire
>Byzaboo's mad
>Currently trying to bring Ruthenia, Lithuania, and the Ilkhanate into the fold via clever marriages.
>Die in battle against vikings, leaving my only daughter as Duchess of Deheubarth and Gwynedd.
>Switch succession to Absolute Cognatic and Ultimogeniture
>Claw my way up, form kingdom of Wales
>Take over southern Scotland/North England
>Then most of England, then Ireland, then Scotland, kicking out the Scandi's as I go, until I form Prydain
>Somewhere around 900, the entire fucking Karling dynasty converts to the Ibadi Muslim heresy.
>Use this as my chance to get off the Isles, declaring holy war for Brittany
>Pope calls a crusade for West Francia, to give it to the only remaining Christian Karling.
>fuck that, kill her off, then go about crusading
>It gets given to some random chick
>she tries to assassinate my king
>Countess Costanza, some random countess going full North Korea mode, being Countess of EVERY county in West Francia
>Her bungled assassination attempt must have been a socially awkward way of getting my attention
>Marry her, our child inherits all of Prydain and ALL of fucking Francia
>After fixing the Francia situation when my mom dies, I give land to every damn Dyfed member I can find, from the chamber pot cleaners to the bumfuck courtiers
>Pope calls crusade for Germany, take Germany, same situation in Italy, Sicily, and Bavaria over the next three generations
>Emperor Myrphyn, the holy, a violent schizophrenic, declares his brother an anti-pope after reigning Pope in Rome refused to accept Myrphyn's declaration that he was the reincarnation of Jesus. Said declaration was made in Saint Peter's Basicilia during a pilgrimage.
>Myrphyn is also noted for having shot and killed one of his daughters with a bow and arrow, randomly picking of people from the tallest tower in the castle
>Given that the Empire of Prydain is the largest military force in the world at this period, Rome gets its shit kicked in, and Myrphyn's brother is made Pope
>Sometime after the conquest of Francia, but before the Pope thing, I take Jerusalem from the Abassid's
>Rename it, and the duchy of Galilee, to a proper Welsh name. Iddwyrrlam, and Gylylyy, respectively. Having taken enough land (51% of the de jure land) to from the Kingdom of Iddwyrrlam, I do so.
>Abassid's are not happy about this, and declare Jihad to take it back
>I lose Jerusalem, briefly
>Pope calls a crusade to get Jerusalem back to me
>We take it back, and I get 100% of Jerusalem, not just my 51%!
>Ilkhanate and Golden Horde appear around their usual times, like I give a fuck
>Conquer Hispania and Scandinavia
>Ilkhanate swallowed up the Golden Horde, and then converted to Catholicism.
>Whatever.
>Empress (Mother of the Swarthy half-greek you see in the screenshot) kills the Byzantine emperor's current wife, then marries him
>MATRILINEARILY
>THEY ACTUALLY ACCEPTED
>The child that will be king is cruel and cynical, but he's born in the purple
>Once mom and dad kick the bucket, I destroy the title of Byzantine Empire
>Byzaboo's mad
>Currently trying to bring Ruthenia, Lithuania, and the Ilkhanate into the fold via clever marriages.