Little Fish in a Big Pond: Let's Play Napoleon Total War!

[Flickerdart]

Napoleon: Total War, Creative Assembly's newest Europe Total War, is more or less Empire with a few tweaks, set in the Napoleonic wars (1805-1812). One of the big changes is the dominance of large empires at game start: France, Prussia, Russia, Austria and Britain control most of the territories, and are the only playable nations.

By default.

Since the main game is laughably easy even at highest difficulty, I've experimented some with modding it to play as the neglected minor nations in the game. Since I'm not completely insane, I'm only going to let you guys pick nations with two or more regions so that I'm not completely at the mercy of a stronger neighbour. Without further ado, the cast!

Sweden(6)

Sweden, a major nation in Empire, has been knocked down a peg. Since the map in Napoleon ends further south than Empire's, Sweden and Finland have lost a lot of land, and the land bridge between the two provinces. Lacking a Dockyard for building ships to ferry troops between the two, and under threat of Russia taking Finland as one of their objectives, Sweden's only recourse is to blitz Denmark and hope for the best. For some reason, Sweden has an army stationed in Mecklenburg, which can be used to gain the element of surprise by a skilled commander.


Denmark (4)

Denmark, Sweden's bitter rival, has an even bigger problem. Their capital region is an objective for Britain, and the Brits are not shy to declare war. Hanover, the region to the south, is also a British prize, and belongs to the French to boot, meaning that Denmark has trouble staying neutral. However, past Hanover are the independent German states, easy pickings for an ambitious general.


Spain(1)

Spain is the strongest of the minor nations by far, as anyone who has felt the sting of a random Spanish army from nowhere knows. With Gibraltar and Portugal practically undefended, Spain effectively starts with six regions, though only a couple are any good. Since France stands between you and the Coalition, the Spanish fleet can take your men to Italy to conquer the states that have allied against Napoleon. The Ottomans are vulnerable to that same fleet, and conquering them means control of most of the trade theatres.

Ottoman Empire(1)

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. All of the lands of Asia have been brutally shorn off the map, leaving the Turks with only a handful of regions. Russia wants one and Austria another, and they will declare war within a handful of turns. Additionally, a glitch in my mod means that the Ottomans will never get gentlemen or build trade vessels. Their one strength lies in the 18lb cannons they can make from game start - since they can't build Line Infantry until Drill Schools, this is their only saving grace.


Batavian Republic

Another major nation brought low by the loss of overseas holdings, the Batavian Republic only has one region. Why do I mention them? They're right next to the German states, which are easy picking, and a strong navy means Denmark and Sweden are at your mercy barring the intervention of Admiral Nelson. Once Britain captures Hanover (and they will) that's another region for the taking. The wildest dreams of a Batavian general is the capture of England, making the entire West coast of Europe and its trade theatres controlled by Bonapartist followers.


So, Playground, which awful nation will I be saddled with? Which lacklustre country will I lead to glorious survival? And how many regions could I possibly capture in seven years?

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

Denmark. I've always liked that Danish red.

[Flickerdart]

Sure, go right for the worst choice. Hopefully the subsequent voters will be more charitable.:smallbiggrin:

[ThirdEmperor]

Denmark. Totally Denmark.

[Kraggi]

I'll throw my lot in with the ottomans. Let's see a new European caliphate!

[The_JJ]

Heja Sverige! And I'm pretty sure Sweden picked up a slice of Pomerania in the... Thirty Years War. Go Gustavus Adolphus.

To further supplement my argument. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=194540)

[Klose_the_Sith]

Sweden all the way! :smallbiggrin: (They're probably my second favourite in Empire, so this oughta be a fun contrast :smallwink:)

[Sarco_Phage]

Throwin' a vote in for those classy Danes.

[ShellBullet]

Sweden since that is the only faction that I haven't played in any total war series.

[Octopus Jack]

Definitly Denmark gets my vote.

[Demon 997]

Spain, to be different and give you half a chance.

[Murska]

Sweden so that more fuel is added to the fires of the age-old rivalry between the Swedes and the Danes.

[Flickerdart]

It looks like people love them some Scandinavians. I'll start as soon as there's a clear winner.

[VonFenris]

I could vote for the Batavische Republiek, since seeing your homeland kick ass get trampled, but since they seem to be even less popular than the turkish, I'll throw my lot in with Sweden. Why? Scandinavia is awesome, and Sweden is more scandinavian than Denmark *ducks for various objects thrown by Danes*

[The_JJ]

To complete my argument in favor of Sweden:

We have cool butter knifes.
http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/mylips/mylips0905/mylips090500114/4864659-swedish-traditional-wooden-butter-knife.jpg

Delicious bread to spread butter over.

http://cookerycontent.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/wasa-bread-approved.jpg

Meatballs to eat along with the bread.

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTkHdvgklQd7Z4C6D-YS8rTEus8fcrfvUZrXXU80mqnGCkxBpvImA

Massages for relaxing after the meal.

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQIc5cZi3Ck7P0CfRUj_fEuZddK9mrzz 95CDRq__KsvhIGaf33lJA

And the most hilarious naval screw up in history!

http://europeforvisitors.com/europe/images/plan_sweden_stockholm_vasa_museum_ship_sq.jpg

[Flickerdart]

Ah, the Vasa. It is notoriously difficult to take good photos in that place, which is a shame.

I guess that settles it. Time to viking it up.

[The_JJ]

It's a really fun museum though.

[Flickerdart]

It is. I especially enjoyed the axe-gun. Shame there are no axe-guns in Napoleon.

Update is on its way - I have to replay some stuff cause my Mecklenburgian (Mecklenburger?) army glitched out, but things are looking surprisingly good for Sweden.

Edit: When I said good, I meant very bad. Keep voting - I might need a new nation soon.

Well...within a year, all the major nations were at war with me, and those I bribed to stop killing me got back in the war only weeks later. I'm not sure whether or not this qualifies as success or miserable failure. I shall have to try another way.

[Flickerdart]

Update 1: The Emperor's Own
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1216-04-18-73.png
This is the glorious domain of Sweden. You will notice that it is actually not all that glorious, because most of it is off the map. We've got one trading port (which is now trading with Great Britain) - we'll need more if we want any sort of income. The only people we can trade with overland are the Danes, and they don't want to because they don't like us. We also have a College - I've set it to study National Debt, which will give us money. We don't have a Gentleman, though, so this will take ten turns (five months) to complete. There's also a logging camp and an iron mine, both undeveloped. Our starting cash will be used to get these going.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1216-10-26-32.png
Because we've got to ferry troops between two regions, I've commissioned a Merchantman. These are trade ships, and all the good trade theatres nearby are taken by the British, but it'll work.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1216-11-51-70.png
This war always happens - the Ottomans and the Austrians are at one another's throats again. It will probably never affect me, all the way up here. The furthest north the Ottomans get is Hungary.
That message in the corner of the nobles complaining is because my government sucks and I'm pushing them into revolt. This will hurt my economy a little, but also give me a brand spanking new Revolutionary Army that I can defend myself with. The armies also have sweet flags that you don't get to keep.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1221-38-58-15.png
Because one of Russia's military objectives is Finland, I give it away to them - but because it's their objective, they give me more for it. Estonia's capital, Riga, has two build slots instead of one, meaning I can have a tax office and a cantonment. Estonia also has a trading port, which Austria doesn't wait to capitalize on by offering a trade agreement in exchange for war with the Swiss.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1221-54-16-82.png
My new government! Now that the King looks like a mix between Doc Brown and a metric ton of drugs, I can begin my glorious conquests. My ministers are also slightly better now.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1222-05-04-40.png
And Denmark shows its ugly side. I don't call my allies, because they'll just break the alliance and then declare war on me later on. The bastards. Still, I'm pretty confident that I can take Denmark on by myself.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1222-08-35-29.png
Britain, the opportunistic bastards, saddle me with their Spanish war in return for helping with the Danes. Since the Spanish are as far away as the Ottomans, this is not a problem. Now if only Britain would actually send troops.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1222-11-43-98.png
A spy! Major nations start with one, but we don't even have a Member's Club to spawn them, so they are precious. I promptly send the upstanding member of society to murder the Norwegian general.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1222-21-09-34.png
This will happen a lot - Prussia wants to ally with me in exchange for stopping trade with Britain and/or Austria, presumably so that they can take the slot away from me. Screw you, guys.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1222-22-06-54.png
Savvy to my schemes, the Danish put said general and his army on a boat, and send said boat to my capital. I don't have any navy except that one ship, so I can't do anything about it - I'll have to fight them on the shore.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1222-23-39-46.png
The armies clash! With billeted Line Infantry and cannons, my army is far their superior, and the cowards flee. I follow, attempting to run them down, but militia can run faster than cannons can roll and they evade me.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1222-27-58-85.png
With cunning that I did not expect from them, the enemy army doubles back past me and attacks Stockholm! I always forget that an army can't intercept unless they have enough move left.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1222-58-08-45.png
Foolishly, I gave my best forces to the pursuing army. Only a handful of Line Infantry remain - the rest are automatically generated Armed Citizens that are even weaker than Militia. I garrison my best units inside a house and gather the rest around it. This will be where I make my final stand - if Stockholm falls, my treasury will be in tatters and my men will desert. Incidentally, even bankruptcy won't dent my reputation with my people, as the Swedes get very patriotic as soon as a single Dane steps on their land, bagging me the People's Crown (100% approval) achievement.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1223-06-37-00.png
My citizenry flees in short order, and my general is chased off with them. Only the fortified building remains, with my best and bravest inside. The enemy storms it many times, but are always pushed back. My men are knee-deep in enemy corpses, and many have fled or died, but a unit of 75 still holds the line.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1223-11-37-06.png
They hold until the time runs out - when that happens, the defender automatically wins. For their valour in combat, I rename the 2nd Regiment of Foot into the Emperor's Own, and let them recover in Stockholm while my artillery crushes the upstart Danish mercilessly.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1223-21-12-67.png
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1223-21-49-92-1.png
Denmark's army may be destroyed, but they have at least one and a half stacks in Copenhagen and as many in Christiania (although those are all Militia, and not worth considering). While defending myself will be a simple matter, taking the fight to the enemy will be challenging, especially on my limited budget.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Ooooh, that was a pretty epic moment of epic with that last stand.

[Flickerdart]

I must note that nearly everything not in a building was dead within the first 20 or so minutes. The 75 held out for around half an hour all by their lonesome.

[Coidzor]

They ever explain why they like butchering factions' territory in all of their games by determining where they draw the borders of their map? :smallconfused: At least, it seems like they do this in all of their games.

Edit: Looks like fun though, so far. Making me wanna try out the game for myself, actually.

What does this Gentleman you've mentioned do though?

[Flickerdart]

Ah, yes. I suppose I should try to explain mechanics more. A Gentleman can do a few things, but their primary benefit is research - having one in your university makes you finish technologies a lot faster. They can also duel with one another, and do a half-decent job of scouting since they can't be attacked.

Update 2: The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

With the upstart Danish force repelled, the solution seems obvious - raise a second army and crush their two regions at once. However, this isn't a major nation, and one consequence of that is being dirt poor. We simply can't afford many more troops, and we need troops to take regions, which gives us the money to build troops for taking more regions.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1411-47-48-97.png

We were getting money before! What happened? You'll never guess - turns out there's another war going on, against some Bono Part fellow. And this guy's ships were busy blockading the port the British use to trade with us. Why they couldn't use another port I have no idea, but they didn't seem in any hurry to take care of the issue, so I started trading with Austria instead. Damn Brits. If only they were some sort of naval superpower, this wouldn't have had to happen.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1411-49-21-27.png

Invasion plans were going along right on schedule, except I couldn't afford to recruit anything. Instead, the game spat out a Gentleman at me, which is nice because they're free. This guy alone boosted my research by two turns. You will notice that the entire Industrial track is greyed out; this is because we don't actually control any Manufactories. The easiest way to get one would be to trade a region with one from Russia, but I don't really have anything they want anymore.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1411-52-05-97.png
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1411-52-58-13.png

Seeing just how few technologies we have, I decided to start sharing the love with everyone not at war with me, in exchange for their own knowledge. This went pretty well, grabbing me some of the basic military technologies. Some, like the Papal States, refused to share, even though the deal was in their favour and also the Pope was Karl I's twin brother.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1411-54-29-80.png

Remember spies? Turns out Denmark got some of those too. Enemy nations in Napoleon are none too shy about using their spies to get the job done, and since Sweden doesn't have an invulnerable general like major nations do, I'm forced to divert the general from my capital. I sure hope nobody attacks it while he's gone!

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1411-52-11-11.png

Oops. On the plus side I learned something important about besieging cities - you don't get any income from one while so preoccupied. Since Stockholm is the only one I have that's worth a damn, this is disconcerting.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1412-13-11-49.png

This scenario is a lot like the last time I defended Stockholm, except this time artillery will decide the victor. Hanging around inside houses won't work - cannons can tear them down very quickly, killing everyone inside.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1412-28-26-11.png

The enemy targets my best units - my Line Infantry - first, and the Emperor's Own are the only ones to suffer no damage. Evidently, balls of steel are more powerful than lead cannonballs.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1412-33-52-36.png

I throw some expendable Armed Citizenry at their cannons to soften them up, at which point the battle is over. If you have artillery and your opponent doesn't, then victory is only a matter of time. Cannon-rushing is best done with cavalry, but I don't have any, and probably won't build any for quite a while.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1412-38-14-88.png

The inevitable victory nets my hastily recruited General two traits and a Command star. He's still a joke compared to the 10-star generals major powers sling around, but against Denmark this man is a terrifying force.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1412-48-54-35.png

While my capital is busy throwing my people at problems until they go away, the main army has reached Norway, where they face militia and more militia. Remember what I said about cannons? See all those cannons they don't have? You can guess how this went.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1412-04-38-96.png

Denmark briefly blockades my trading port with a merchant vessel (while their navy is cooling its heels in Stavanger for whatever reason). Their ship's presence also means I can't cross the gulf into Copenhagen. What follows is the world's least exciting naval skirmish between the Swedish navy and the Danish hunk of junk.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1412-58-22-85.png

With that delay sorted, my army marches triumphant into Copenhagen, bringing Denmark to its knees before me. I'll have to contend with a 25 Resistance to Foreign Occupation, but it's not like the army is going to be doing anything else right now. After all, who would possibly declare war on us when we're battered after a major battle and vulnerable?
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1412-58-51-60.png

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

The next step is clearly declaring war on Russia.
Clearly.

[Coidzor]

The next step is clearly declaring war on Russia.
Clearly.

Sweep Norway and have a united Scandinavia before the French decide to take it all away from you?

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

Sweep Norway and have a united Scandinavia before the French decide to take it all away from you?

Right, forgot he hasn't done that yet. Alternatively, do that, then ALLY with France and invade Britain?

[Flickerdart]

I got Norway; they were the pile of Militia that only got one screenshot because it was so easy. But don't worry - there's always more people to fight.

[Flickerdart]

Update 3: Ultima Ratio Regum

Time waits for no man, and it would seem that neither does war. While we've been stretching ourselves thin through conquest, the pitiful state of Mecklenburg to the south of Denmark has been building troops in secret, and now that it has more than we do, it things it can win. They are allied with Prussiam so I call my allies to fight with me, but they were all busy that day. Russia seemed to like me enough to help, though (probably hoping to carve out a tasty chunk of East Prussia).
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1413-03-52-41.png

My incomes are stretched thin with the cost of Town Watch to quell the Danes, who have been rioting all this time. Town Watch is automatically generated repression that can only bring a happiness level to 0, but it's not enough. I try to send out my trading ship to get Sweden some trade goods, but there is a French navy in the North Sea for some reason. After a long chase, it decimates the Swedish fleet. It's ok, though - now that we have Norway, we can build real ships of war in the Dockyard.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1413-08-28-90.png

Meanwhile, Mecklenburger troops have made it to my doorstep. Notice that Danish army? Those are rebels - two stacks of them have appeared because of discontent. If they capture the region, Denmark will liberate itself again, which I cannot allow to happen. Thankfully, they aren't allied with Mecklenburg, and so they won't be participating in the battle.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1413-09-24-22.png

My strategy here is the same as always - a powerful artillery battery in the centre, and infantry to either side. However, most of our deployment zone is inside the city, where guns are absolutely useless. Instead, I put my forces at an angle to the enemy, where my cannons can batter their flank until they can regroup.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1413-12-52-61.png

This works well, mostly - a regiment of cavalry makes it past the barrage and crushes three of my cannons before I can put them down. A regiment of artillery has four guns, and I have 8 regiments, so this is merely an insignificant dent in my destructive power. I send more men to cover the weakened flank, and the battle is as good as won.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1413-14-14-85.png

Even though they lost three times the men, Mecklenburg is still stronger than us (we're still considered Feeble because I can't afford to build anything). Still, Copenhagen is virtually impregnable so long as I have my guns. This doesn't mean I can count on Russia to do a damn thing - all they've done is blockade Mecklenburg's trade port, a futile gesture since the AI on Very Hard seems to have infinite money.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1413-36-28-08.png

I slowly try to rebuild my alliances, but the offers I get are ridiculous. Britain is the most important former ally to court, and so I get them back first. The demands of the much nearer Prussia and Austria grow more and more ridiculous. They're not actually threatening me at this point (that's what the dagger button on the Diplomacy panel is for) but they might as well be.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1413-51-20-29.png

We're doing pretty well technology-wise. Since there's no exclusive tech we have, I have another go at trading technologies with the other nations, pulling us forward somewhat. Still no Manufactory, but there doesn't seem to be any nearby. The reason one of my colleges is on fire is that I never bothered fixing it after it was damaged in the revolt. Since it gives -2 happiness to the region due to clamour for reform, repairing it will wait until the Danish people stop being malcontent.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1516-35-30-29.png

I've finally built up a decent army, and now it marches to take Mecklenburg down. However, on the way I remember that another thing lies south of my borders - Hanover, which belongs to that French fellow nobody likes. I don't think anyone would mind terribly if I took it for myself.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1516-37-28-43.png

Mecklenburg is easy picking - few things can resist the grand battery aside from a huge cavalry charge. I choose to Liberate it, making it a vassal state that tithes me half their income. I Liberate whenever I can in normal play, because I hate having to hang around and wait until the people stop whinging that they've been brutally conquered. Liberating also gets you a handful of troops depending on the wealth of the region - you can get generals if you liberate the capital of what was a multi-region nation.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1517-11-07-65.png

I get Hanover shortly after, and liberate them too. It does take some assassinating, though, as I kill first Bernadotte and then his replacement before the battle even happens. Going up against a real general with what I have now would be supremely foolish (the better they are, the faster they seem to realize standing in the range of my cannons is a terrible idea).
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1517-15-20-48.png

My spies keep getting captured, but new ones appear to take their place. This spy murdered his way through Oldenburg (now held by the French too) into the Batavian Republic, who doesn't look all that powerful. If I capture them, and then liberate Belgium to the south, I will have completely blocked off potential adversaries with my vassal states - another thing they are useful for.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1517-22-22-37.png

Sweden is now a powerful nation - 2000 gold income per turn, four regions (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Estonia) and two protectorates (Mecklenburg and Hanover). We're still behind where most major nations start out, but looking at the world map, very little has changed. The Kingdom of Italy was captured by Austria, and the Ottomans lost three regions to Russia and Austria. Usually by this time Napoleon has taken over Wurtemberg and Bavaria, but without troops in the area I have no way of knowing where the dangerous French generals are.

[Arang]

I'd like to make a couple of remarks on history. If I were me, I'd skip this entire post.

Remember the French general Flicker assassinated in Hannover, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte? Just remember that name for now and we'll do it from the start. In 1794, during the French Revolution, there was a woman named Julie Clary. The Clarys were an unfortunate family, and after Julie's father died and her brother was arrested by the revolutionary government, Julie had only one person to turn to: her suitor and friend of the family, Joseph Bonaparte. Joseph was the later King of Naples and then of Spain, and the Queen of both those countries would be Julie Clary.

Why do we care about any of this? Because of Julie's younger sister Désirée. With Julie and Joseph already spliced, it seemed natural to have them introduce to each other their younger siblings: respectively, Désirée Clary and Napoleon Bonaparte. To make a long and complex story short, they got engaged but eventually broke up so Napoleon could be with his future wife, Joséphine. By now, Désirée needed a husband, which her brother-in-law could easily find among the new social elite of Napoleonic France: the officers and administrators. After even more drama she was finally married to Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte in 1798.

So far so good, but why do we care about this guy in Flicker's Sweden LP? Bernadotte at several turns in history only narrowly missed becoming Napoleon: they married the same woman, Bernadotte's career nearly mirrored that of Bonaparte until he seized the power in France. After Napoleon started upsetting the power balance in Europe, he needed trustworthy men in place, and Bernadotte just so happened to be one of those men. He was commissioned as a governor and took his post. In Hannover. As the commander of a large French force in northern Europe, he was to lead a planned, but never enacted, assault against a partner in the Fourth Coalition. Sweden.

In the end, though, the Peninsular War happened, Bernadotte's Spanish soldiers deserted and the campaign could never be carried out. Meanwhile, in Sweden, the nobility were facing a problem. The king, Charles XIII (the numeral was actually wrong, because Swedes are abnormally silly), was dying of old age, and much more significantly without heirs. He himself had only gained the throne following a scandalously upsetting war with Russia, in which Sweden had lost the vital territory of Finland. The Swedish nobility looked for some suitable noble on the continent and settled upon asking for a Frenchman. They sent off their messenger to Napoleon, asking if he'd like to put one of his men on the throne of Sweden.

Napoleon, of course, would be delighted to, especially since he could solve two problems in one stroke by getting rid of his annoying relative and rival while gaining an ally in the north all at once. He sends Bernadotte to become the Crown Prince and effective ruler of Sweden. Now dubbed Charles XIV John, Bernadotte wastes no time in backstabbing Napoleon and joins the country in the Sixth Coalition following Napoleon's defeats in Russia in 1812.

The Royal Navy allows the Swedish army, under Charles John, safe passage across the previously Danish-controlled sea into Germany to fight alongside the rest of the Coalition, primarily in the Battle of Leipzig, in which Napoleon suffered a disastrous defeat and lost control of Central Europe. While the French retreated west to mass new forces, Charles John left his new allies in the lurch and marched north, towards undefended Denmark. Denmark had been on the French side to counter Sweden's involvement in the Coalition and also because of British aggression over its large fleet, but with the superior Swedish army in the country the Danish king is rapidly forced to sign a separate peace.

Charles John's main motivation for joining in the Napoleonic Wars was to compensate for the Swedish loss of Finland and the resulting shift in the balance of power in Scandinavia. Knowing he'll never take Finland back from the Russians, who are by now seen as the most powerful country in the Coalition and thereby the world, he forces the Danish into giving him Norway. The Norwegians resist, however, and by now the actual negotiations of peace are taking place in Germany. Charles John has to hurry for a stabilised situation the other allies will acknowledge, and has to settle for a personal union with himself as the Crown Prince and heir of Sweden and Norway.

So, let's recap: under their brand-new leader, Sweden joined the war against France, fought the Denmark into giving up Norway, fought the French in northern Germany, lost Finland to Russia.

Flickerdart has just assassinated himself.

[Terraoblivion]

I only just got around to looking here and I'm seeing some bizarre things. For example, they have a Sweden that is missing most of the actual country of Sweden, including, as far as I can tell from the map, the vital mining district of Dallarne. Similarly it appears that the Ottoman Empire, or the Turks, are lacking the actual, Turkish part of the country. So Turkey exists in this game, without Turkey actually being present.

Also, I'll admit that I'm not sure it was a good move to antagonize the French. Without proper allies you'd be easy pickings for Napoleon if he's sufficiently angry, although I might have missed a declaration of war somewhere.

I do have some problems following this, however. It seems very oriented towards people who know Empire or Napoleon quite well already, skimming over explaining what is going on. Part of it is that the screenshots are too small for me to read the text or easy see the borders of regions on the map, though.

[Traab]

Spain was one of my favorite christian provinces to play in medieval total war 2. It gave me the choice of picking a fight with the european nations, (always fun trying to avoid the excommunication) or the easy path (sort of) of taking down the muslim nations one by one. With egypt not that far away, those coastal countries provide big bucks for a well connected trade route and merchants guild. You could control all non byzantine or christian port cities of the mediterranean before your grandson becomes king if you do it right.

[Flickerdart]

Sweden starts as part of the Coalition, meaning they're at war with the Rhine states, Switzerland, the Batavian Republic and France by default. I'd never have declared war on France myself (though they would have probably declared war on me, being as they are terrible people).

Napoleon's map cuts off a lot, yeah. Empire included all of Norway and Sweden, all of the Ottoman Empire from Armenia to Persia to the Barbary States, the aforementioned Barbary States, Morocco, Iceland, some more Russian territory and Persia in the Europe region of the game. Most of those regions were terrible and just added more walking to the game, so their elimination is pretty welcome from a gaming standpoint.

I reduce the screenshots in size because they'd be too big otherwise. I suppose I could run the game at a lower resolution and see how that works out. I'll try and go over things a little more, too, but if anything in particular about the mechanics doesn't make sense I can explain in more detail.

[The_JJ]

You're going to want some cav soon. Having something to shoot up the flanks and bother arty is going to matter a lot more pretty soon.

[Flickerdart]

I've got a pair of Hussars on that job, they tend to do it well. Couldn't hurt to get another pair, I'll admit, but things get played very close to the chest very soon and there's not much time for that.

[tribble]

remind me, weren't swedish hussars the ones who wore heavy armor and had feathery decorations?

[Demon 997]

Spain was one of my favorite christian provinces to play in medieval total war 2. It gave me the choice of picking a fight with the european nations, (always fun trying to avoid the excommunication) or the easy path (sort of) of taking down the muslim nations one by one. With egypt not that far away, those coastal countries provide big bucks for a well connected trade route and merchants guild. You could control all non byzantine or christian port cities of the mediterranean before your grandson becomes king if you do it right.

I loved when you got to the point where the pope would excommunicate you, or even sneeze too loud, and you'd murder him and put another of your cardinals in place. At one point I had a team of 10-20 assassins whose only job was to murder the pope if got uppity. You'd think he'd learn after a while.

[Coidzor]

remind me, weren't swedish hussars the ones who wore heavy armor and had feathery decorations?

I believe you're thinking of Polish Hussars who were heavy cavalry and had wings for whatever reason.

[Traab]

I loved when you got to the point where the pope would excommunicate you, or even sneeze too loud, and you'd murder him and put another of your cardinals in place. At one point I had a team of 10-20 assassins whose only job was to murder the pope if got uppity. You'd think he'd learn after a while.

Heh, I generally avoided doing that. I was pure military might so I would build up a massive army, have my ships to move troops fast, and invade every province of a catholic country in a single turn. By the time the pope got around to warning me, I was ready to make my final assault on the castles and suddenly, BANG, england is mine. If I couldnt take them all in time, for example, they had provinces a couple turns inland, id take what I could get, then stop fighting, keeping my new territory and wait the 10 years or so till it was safe to repeat. Any time id take down the pope, or try to hold the papal states id have to deal with a large rebellion every so many years and it got distracting, so I worked around him. Best part was how early on the pope would frequently just give me money almost every turn. An extra 1000 florins really helps getting started in the game.

[Terraoblivion]

Hmmm, I can't point to a specific thing that I'm not sure about. It is more that the entire system for how things work outside battle is kinda vague to me, speaking of things like trade and how to make an income, for example. The basis for troop recruitment. All the general bits that come together to determine what a good or a bad idea is.

[Traab]

Just a little note, all this time I was lying. Apparently im playing total war, not total war 2. Not that im able to play it very much atm as I cant get it to run on my newer computer, and my older one is getting fixed.

[Flickerdart]

Sorry for recent lack of updates, but I've been looking for a good cut-off point and haven't found one yet, so I'll just throw everything I have into the next update. It's now two years in and we're not dead yet.

[Elm11]

To be honest i've mostly been skim reading the thread, but did you set youreself any victory conditions, or are you going for those expected to be reached by the majjor powers?

Also, thoroughly approve of you playing Sweden, since i took over the entire world with them in Empire and missed being able to play them in Napoleon. If you ever have time, could you give me a layman's version of the mod? I'd love to play the Swedes again.

[Coidzor]

To be honest i've mostly been skim reading the thread, but did you set youreself any victory conditions, or are you going for those expected to be reached by the majjor powers?

Also, thoroughly approve of you playing Sweden, since i took over the entire world with them in Empire and missed being able to play them in Napoleon. If you ever have time, could you give me a layman's version of the mod? I'd love to play the Swedes again.

It sounds like just editting the raws and setting Sweden and the other minor powers to "Playable."

[Flickerdart]

Yeah, it just comes with files you swap for the standard Europe multiplayer files (make sure to back up). It's not perfect (for some reason, Sweden can never build steam ships even with the tech) and the victory conditions are completely absurd (for instance, Sweden's are all of Russia down to Muscovy). Since Russia is probably the strongest military power right now, that's not going to happen.

[super dark33]

:smallfrown: i just want to play it...
but i cant. i've tried to install it, but it keep saying "you dont have enough disk space available to run this game. please try to free some disk space and try it again". the problem is that i do have free space. alot. like 90 giga on C and even more on D. but its not asking me wher i want to install it. what sould i do?

[Coidzor]

:smallfrown: i just want to play it...
but i cant. i've tried to install it, but it keep saying "you dont have enough disk space available to run this game. please try to free some disk space and try it again". the problem is that i do have free space. alot. like 90 giga on C and even more on D. but its not asking me wher i want to install it. what sould i do?

Tried Defragging? :smallconfused:

[tribble]

Flickerdart, please come back! I love this LP!:smallfrown:
Why do all the LPs I actually like get Duke Nukem Forever'd...

[Flickerdart]

There will be an update! It's just that now is FITC and I am at it and also all the employers are interviewing right now. But the update is screenshotted, I just need to post it up. Friday, I promise. Both in and out of game, we're still alive.

[Coidzor]

Well, I eagerly await the next update. :smallsmile:

[tribble]

There will be an update! It's just that now is FITC and I am at it and also all the employers are interviewing right now. But the update is screenshotted, I just need to post it up. Friday, I promise. Both in and out of game, we're still alive.

oh, okay then.:smallsmile:

[Flickerdart]

Update 4: Gotta Get Down On Friday Saturday

In the heat and excitement of blitzing through the Germanies, I haven't neglected my home region, and now the Cannon Foundry has received an upgrade. What does that mean for my armed forces? Howitzers. These guns are absolutely fantastic, because cover can't be used against them, since they lob their shells in an arc. They're less accurate than regular cannons, though, so I only build some.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1714-00-25-01.png

Meanwhile, my spy has been discovered by the Dutch, who send one of their Gentlemen to challenge him to a duel. This gentleman is skilled with both sword and pistol, so either choice will most likely end poorly for my dashing rogue. I pick swords, because swords are more dramatic.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1714-10-54-40.png

Unfortunately, the victory goes to the bookworm. When was the last time you saw a college professor duke it out with an enemy secret agent and win? It's not even that the Dutch are overly fond of fedoras and leather whips.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1714-11-14-34.png

Fortunately for me, the wound is not fatal, and my assassin recovers. I promptly order him to get back in the game. A duel is much easier to win when your opponent thinks it ended.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1714-12-09-93.png

Brief recap of the historical situation here: the Coalition states (Russia, Austria, Sweden, Britain, some bits of Italy) are fighting Napoleon and his allies (France, Spain, the Netherlands, a bunch of German states, the rest of Italy). The monarchies of the Coalition hate and fear Napoleon and everything he stands for. This is, of course, a perfect reason to make peace with the guy and break off their alliances with me. Then Napoleon sends me a "present".
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1714-44-19-67.png

Look at the size of that fleet! And how we don't have one! Fortunately, my army is still hanging around in Copenhagen, and without a general leading the enemy, we win without too many losses. France is usually swimming in generals. I wonder where they all went.
Brief update on current events: without France to worry about, Austria has completely crushed the Turks. The era of the Ottomans is ended. This is the first time I've seen Austria do anything at all about them, so it's rather impressive.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1715-18-29-00.png

Meanwhile, Napoleon's huge navy is wreaking havoc with my seas. It's a good thing they didn't go for Estonia, which has nobody defending it. My howitzers get their first taste of action, but I'm outgunned by the French and losses are very heavy.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-1715-36-00-34.png

There's an interesting side benefit to trade routes - they give you limited vision around them, so that you can spy fairly effectively on enemy shores. Which means that I could take a look at the French port at Calais, to check out what was going on in terms of future invasions.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-2012-51-36-09.png

Yeah. On the plus side, I found all their generals. There would be no way we could beat so many of France's overpowered units. I decide to take a cue from my "allies" and sign a peace treaty, bribing them with Top Gallants to leave me alone. The very next turn (two weeks of in-game time) they re-declared war on me, probably bribed by Spain. Bastards.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-2013-15-36-68.png

Meanwhile, my liberationist policy pays off when, instead of declaring war on me to get a region they want, Prussia merely goes for one of my protectorates. Unfortunately, I have to abandon them to avoid getting dragged into the war, but, you know, what have they ever done for me?
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-2214-54-55-42.png

Prussia gives me some spare change to join their war, I re-liberate Oldenburg and make a push for Amsterdam. This was a very big battle - two full stacks on either side. I hate this sort of battle because reinforcements can come from very inconvenient directions.
Another special thing about this battle is the terrain. Napoleon has some amazing terrains, like this one - two hillocks border a small stretch of land where three infantry regiments and my general will hold the line. On each hillock, I place my artillery batteries, which the enemy will have difficulty flanking because of the terrain.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-2415-58-55-62.png

The plan goes off flawlessly, and the entire enemy army routs without too much effort. The Dutch get around the narrow battleground by charging their troops into melee, but I bring around my cavalry for a brutal strike to their rear and they break. Everything is wonderful.
Oh, remember how there's two armies on each side? The enemy's second army was now coming from my flank, and the terrain meant I had to lug my cannons a long way. The way that the reinforcement system works, cavalry comes first, and was able to rush my cannons before they were set up. This ended disastrously for me - I lost most of my units and three generals, and the enemy still had about three units of line infantry...
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-2421-16-11-62.png

...to face my entire reinforcing army. At this point, victory was mine, and so was Amsterdam. Now that another naval power answered to me, the seas should get a little safer for my trade.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-2421-27-50-89.png]

Meanwhile, Austria and France were at war again for some reason. Maybe Napoleon realized that an Austria that isn't fighting on two fronts is a fearsome enemy, one that now controlled everything from Hessen to Greece. The main problem with that was French borders once again getting dangerously close to my puppet states, but the help from Austria was nice too.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-2421-34-25-93.png

I began saving up to recruit new generals as replacements for the ones who died taking Amsterdam. Not all of them were...entirely sane.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-2421-52-05-84.png

Because the French had gathered all their generals within spitting distance of my regions, I decided to pay them a little visit. With a knife. In the back. Through the kidneys. They're dead, is what I'm trying to get across. Unfortunately, Napoleon will recover back in Paris within a month, and France can recruit new generals easily, but it felt good.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-2422-02-26-98.png

Oh, and remember how we used to have allies? And one of these former allies, Britain, has their heart very much set on Denmark, which we control? The sudden appearance of this was very worrying indeed, especially with Prussia declaring war on and capturing the Netherlands shortly before.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/PresidentPSkillz/Napoleon/Napoleon2011-04-2422-06-09-78.png
Looks like playtime is over.

[Coidzor]

Looks like the [FUN] is really about to get going here. So it's basically looking like Prussia and Britain are poised to take all of your continental holdings/protectorates other than Estonia that they haven't already taken?

[Elm11]

I'm really looking forward to this. Best of luck fighting off everyone, you could be in a bit of a tough spot.

[Flickerdart]

Looks like the [FUN] is really about to get going here. So it's basically looking like Prussia and Britain are poised to take all of your continental holdings/protectorates other than Estonia that they haven't already taken?
Yep. I was hoping this moment would come later, when I had a decent amount of regions, but it was always a matter of time.

[The_JJ]

I await the inevitable bloodshed with barely constrained joy.

I mean... GO SWEDEN, YEAH!

I'm wearing... oh wait, that's my Brazil jersey. Winners.

[Flickerdart]

Before I get the update done, voting starts for the next minor faction.

[The_JJ]

Lawl. I guess we know how to call this one.

Would Spain count? Restore our former glory, start from a (semi) defendable position ready to knock out the French before everyone starts the inevitable mass attacks.

[Terraoblivion]

Where's the fun in Spain? Let's go for Turkey. They have funny hats and an overabundance of umlauts, who doesn't love that?

[Kraggi]

I'm all for the Ottomans! I'd love to see an underused piece of furniture finally get a place in the spotlight.

[Coidzor]

Well, Denmark and the Batavians both have a similar strategy of grab Germany from the north that Sweden had, right? The Ottomans basically are squaring off with Austria and maybe Russia and also trying to grab the Germanies, right?

Spain or Ottomans seem to be the most different though...

[tribble]

Aw, you died? Darn, I was rooting for you. Are the swiss playable?

[VonFenris]

Are the swiss playable?
someone is inspired by some other LP :smallwink:
But no, seriously, the Dutch! And then spit napoleon in the face, for an extra challenge :smallamused:

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

Gonna have to go with the SofasOttomans.