Italian Nation Guide or How to bring a nation of traders and seamen to rule
Medieval Europe

Date: February 10th, 2003.
Author: Finargil
Contact: [email protected]

Contents

1.   Introduction
2.   General Advice
     2.1 MTW and STW
     2.2 The Italian Nation
     2.3  A people at arms, or raising a proper army
3.  Units
     3.1 Italian Units
     3.2 Your Enemies
4.  The Italian Campaign
     4.1 Starting point
     4.2 The Route to Outremer
     4.3 The Italian Lake
     4.4 European Power Politics
     4.5 Renaissance ruler
     4.6 Ending the Campaign
5. Final words

1. Introduction

This is my first Guide and possibly one of the firsts done for this game. I have
played the Italian "faction" (I prefer calling them "nations") in the "Glorious
Achievements" mode, difficulty setting at Normal, and starting in the early era.
I strongly recommend this mode, for it adds depth to the game, and helps refrain
the warlord inside you. The machine proposes you goals keyed to your nation
which are both difficult and historically accurate and well-timed, so the
playing keeps being interesting without limiting itself to a defeat-everybody-
conquest-everything sort of playing. Making a true "Walkthrough" is nearly
impossible due to the nature of the game, as every single decision affects the
long-term strategy and there are many ways of achieving success or fail
miserably. So after the very initial movements, the content will be mainly
illustrative. In some cases, I have tried different paths just to see what
happened, and the guide will reflect this. I assume that the reader is already
acquainted with the game mechanics, so I shall not discuss them here, except
when useful to the guide.
It would be really worth the pain reading something on medieval European history
to have a better taste of the game. I strongly recommend the popular Men-at-Arms
series by Osprey Military Publishing. Specifically on the medieval Italians you
can find MAA no 210, The Venetian Empire; MAA no 136, Italian Armies 1300-1500;
and Warrior Series no 25, Italian Militiaman. You should see the care for
historical accuracy the developers have put into the game, enjoy it much better
and learn something painlessly.

2. General Advice


2.1  MTW and STW

Die-hard Shogun players will have mixed feelings about MTW. Shogun was very
straight: to unify Japan under your Daimyo you had to kill every other one and
pound any other Clan into submission. In the tactical field it is very simple:
it has very few units shared by all combatants, with a few improvements in terms
of equipment (also attainable to any of them).
MTW, at least in the "Achievements" mode, is much more complex, but the
complexity does not only provoke annoyance: it adds depth. Probably, if you play
MTW like it was Shogun, you will be somewhat frustrated. The game is much more
subtle than that.
In the tactical field, there are subtle differences as well. The number of troop
types is huge. In STW, just comparing your army's roster to the enemy's gave you
an exact idea of how well it would perform. The troops were the same, and there
were but a few morale and command factor to consider. Now the variety makes it
impossible to assess the relative capabilities of two armies at a quick glance;
you should learn by experience the relative abilities of each kind of troop.
This is only emphasized in the Italian campaign, where you must face the rich
variety of Muslim, Turkish and Byzantine troops. Some differences even remain
obscure: are Hobilars better than Mounted Sergeants or Alan Cavalry? Are the
common Western knights comparable to Ghulam Guards or to the Armenian or
Khwarazmian heavies? Do the Almohad militia have more stamina than your militia
sergeants?


2.2  The Italian Nation

Italian homeland looks a bit puny: restricted to Venice, Milan, Genoa and
Tuscany, plus the poor islands of Corse and Sardinia. The general strategy
should obviously be geared towards maritime and trade development, with as
little as possible in the way of conquests, at last until the middle game (say,
around AD 1250). "Peace and Commerce" is the Italian way. If you look at what is
considered "Italian homeland" by the AI (by clicking the Calice icon next to the
Crown, and then on "homelands"), you'll see Naples and Crete are included, which
are held by the Byzantines. You should try taking at least Naples as soon as
possible. It is quite useful to peep at the other nations' goals, so as to deny
them if possible. Crusades to the Holy Lands are your main means of territorial
expansion in the early game. The Pope will ask you to launch a Crusade to
Antioch as early as AD 1190 and others to Edessa and Palestine soon after.
Launch them all, if possible, they earn you lots of points. I dedicated Venice
to Crusade preaching, so I built a Church and a Chapter House. The machine will
ask you to control more trade than any other faction by the AD 1204. This is an
extremely difficult goal to attain; I must confess I failed miserably. To have
the slightest opportunity, start building a navy ASAP. The last goal requested,
at around 1400, is building a Cathedral in Tuscany, finishing it by AD 1420. Be
aware that the level of development to start this is quite high: you need the
Monastery and the 8000 fl Fortress, so keep Tuscany development apace with your
main territories.


2.3  A people at arms, or raising a proper army

A good, balanced army is built around line infantry units. These must have the
ability to withstand charges and sustain moderate casualties without breaking;
the former is called "stopping power", while the latter is the "staying power".
In MTW, unlike STW, the common Foot unit is better charging than defending (but
"charge" is distinctly different from "attack", which involves "staying power";
troops good at charging but weak on attack should be relieved quickly with fresh
ones after the initial "impact"); this reflects the fact that charging along
with your buddies often has a morale-boost effect, while waiting the enemy's
charge in motionless close ranks (or becoming stuck in a bloody melee for long)
is unnerving to green troopers. They must be supported by missile units of any
kind, Foot or Horse, and "assault troops", to break enemy attacks by
countercharging; Horse is specially suited to this role, but some special Foot
units can be used. Finally, it must have some pursuit units, the traditional
role of Horse. Note that I have not mentioned the classic cavalry shock-action;
this unsubtle, costly tactic should be avoided completely against formed,
cohesive infantry of average or more quality. A push by a similar infantry unit
coupled with a flanking action by cavalry -more of a "pricking" nature instead
of charging home-, should lead to the enemy unit's dissolution -at a much lesser
cost. Consider that after being in action for any length of time, cavalry
quickly becomes "spent": though not having still sustained heavy casualties, it
becomes exhausted and any further attempt to commit it into a charge will result
in its turning tail and fleeing or being decimated; withdraw any such unit,
unless you have to sacrifice it in dire need. This reflects the common reasoning
of the medieval cavalry trooper that considers that after a couple of charges in
a single battle his obligations towards his overlord are duly fulfilled and
others should finish the job. Not also that I have described a mainly "defensive
action"; in fact, you should try to be tactically on the defensive whenever
possible. More often than not, when you are on the offensive, the defending army
will flee or will try a massive counterattack from an advantageous position
while your troops are approaching and still on line of march if they are
confident (or have troops with good "charge" bonuses), so be warned.
Special armies can be tailored to a special role: a castle-storming army should
include some artillery, some long-range, well-protected missile troops (the
pavise variety, if possible), and plentiful of cheap, spirited, expendable
infantry to perform the actual assault. Armies reinforcing a defensive position
should include missile troops (they expend their missiles rather quickly) and
fresh line infantry. Armies reinforcing an offensive battle should be mostly
cavalry (to reach the place of the action quickly).
I have read in some FAQs and on-line forums that people advocates armies formed
exclusively of the most powerful unit available (knights, generally); this kind
of army, though probably successful in open battle, is a waste of resources:
something much cheaper but better balanced would do the job in a much more cost-
effective way (Consider this: a full Royal Knight army would be 400-strong and
cost 15500 fl. A half-pikemen, half-arbalester army would be 1560-strong and
cost 11500 fl. Replacing the Royal for Chivalric knights should raise the number
to 800, but replacing the pikemen for Italian Infantry -your favourite!- cuts
the expense to 5100 fl!)
You have a quite good unit of Foot, the Italian Light Infantry, and a decent
Missile troop, the Genoese Sailors. You should key your development to both of
these. Do not hesitate in disbanding your earlier units as you raise better ones
(you should disband all your siege machinery as soon as you can replace them
with gunpowder artillery, even to the extent of destroying the related
construction facilities if on a tight budget), but always keep a number of them
for garrison duties. The same must be done to any mercenary unit that can be
replaced by equivalent national troops; their maintenance cost is much lower.

3. Units

I shall discuss in detail only the ones you should use as the Italians. Numbers
(when provided) are: troops quantity, initial cost, and annual cost. Then I
shall review briefly the most common units you will find on the opposite side of
the battlefield.

3.1 Italian Units

- Peasants (100, 50, 26): Do not bother with these. They are not even the equals
to Shogun's Ashigaru. In the middle game, however, you'll find yourself making
some of them to serve as garrison troops; at 0.5 apiece, they are the cheapest.
Urban Militia (60, 100): Slightly better. They are still not your basic Yari
Samurai; prone to route if forced to stand and fight, they are better in sudden
downhill charges. Their upgrade, the Militia Sergeants, (60, 150), are good,
reliable troops. You must build the Town Guard.
- Spearmen (100, 125, 50): Your basic grunt troops for the early, well into the
middle game. They are still not your trusty Yari: they do not defend well,
except against cavalry (though knights usually cut their squares in the first
impact). They have no "staying-power" in the attack either: charge and retreat
back is still your tactic. However, at 1.25 fl apiece, they are the cheapest
real soldiery you'll have. Their upgrade, Feudal Sergeants (100, 175), are very
good, reliable troops which will form the backbone of your armies well into the
late game. Build the Spearmaker Workshop.
- Pikemen (100, 200) If you upgrade the Town Militia all the way into County
Militia (you'll need the 8000 fl Fortress) you'll have the common stock Pikemen.
Inexpensive, reliable Foot; at 2 fl apiece, it make sense raising them even for
garrison duties. If you also upgrade your Armory all the way, you'll have Swiss
(?) and then Armored Swiss Pikemen, which are even better, though far more
expensive, at 700 and 900 (oddly enough, they are 96 men-strong). If you can
afford it, it is a good deal for the most powerful Foot unit of the game.
- Archers (60, 225): Well, for those loving the English "Pike and Bow" tactic,
they are an absolute necessity. Take into account that they are not your Samurai
Archers: they will run for their lives if merely approached by an enemy melee
unit. If you deploy them in true Shogun fashion, ahead of your pike line in
skirmish, they will run to safety not only through your spearmen but your amazed
entire army as well. True to Western medieval archery traditions, I'm afraid (at
least up to the Agincourt battle). They are also expensive, but they are the
only game in town until you develop the Genoese Sailors (60, 275), even more
expensive, but at least have some stamina. No upgrades; Crossbows are a
different game.
- Crossbowmen (60, 200): Though they require the Bowyer's Workshop, they are
actually cheaper than Archers, giving a clue to their wholly different nature
(and reflecting their weapons' easier training). They shoot slowly, real slowly,
but their bolts are more powerful and shoot in a straight line (Archers shoot in
overhead volleys). The entire front rank of an enemy's formation can fall to a
well-aimed crossbow volley. They are armored and not incapable of defending
themselves. Upgrade them to Pavise Crossbows (by building the Bowyer's Guild),
and they will be able to face enemy Archers.
- Arbalesters (60, 250): Only a tad more expensive than common archers, they are
quite powerful, if slow-firing. You'll need them to face the heavily armoured
Byzantine horse and those dreadful Varangian Guards, not to speak of the Golden
Horde heavies. Cover them from other missile troops with Archers and support
them with pike units. You need the Bowyer's Guild. If building the Master Bowyer,
you can make Pavise Arbalesters at the same cost.
- Feudal Men-at-Arms (60, 150): General purpose Foot, with both better Defense
and Attack than Feudal Sergeants. They are more expensive, and you need both the
Spearmaker and the Swordsmith. A matter of taste: I usually prefer the big
squares of Sergeants. Their upgrade, the Chivalric Men-at-Arms, (60, 275), are
true elite shock troops, expensive and powerful. Raise a few of these, for
special assault purposes. You need the Swordsmith's WS.
- Order Foot Soldiers (100, Crusade): Appear in the Crusade. They are good.
- Italian Light Infantry (100, 262): Well, your state-of-the-art infantry.
Excellent GP Foot troops, second only to the various Pikemen. These should be
your backbone from the middle game onwards; I have never seen them route. Build
the Spearmaker's Guild, though you need the Castle (2000 fl), they are worthy of
some investment. This unit effectively replaces all infantry except perhaps the
Pikemen, to whom it is a good complement as flankguard. Other close-combat heavy
infantry such as the Halberdiers (60, 300) and Chivalric Sergeants (100, 250)
can be skipped safely.
- Handgunners (60, 131, 30): Good, cheapo substitute to crossbows. Add flavor
and technology to your army. I have seen entire formations of Easterners turn
tail and flee at the first volley. Well armoured (to be protected from their own
weapons!), they can even charge a flailing enemy. Can be upgraded into
Harquebusiers. Their low maintaining cost (barely more than the useless Peasants)
make them very useful garrison troops.
- Knights: The first variety (Royal Knights, 20, 300) is at hand from the very
beginning: you only need Royal Palace and Court buildings. They are powerful but
very expensive, prone to indulge themselves in reckless charges and get
surprised motionless in woods. They come in small units (very accurate
historically, twenty men was the number of a common conroi, or knightly "unit"),
losing a single one is a pain. Their upgrades are even more powerful and way
more expensive (450, 625 and 775) so you wonder if they are worth at all. I am
usually content with the princes' retinues.
- Feudal Knights (40, 475): Expensive and with extensive building requirements,
at least they come in sizeable numbers. I do not raise many of these units, but
it's a matter of taste. Their upgrades, the Chivalric Knights, are formidable if
more costly, at 875. However, do not make the folly of committing them headlong
against pike infantry in ordered ranks (a most common medieval chivalry
mischief).
- Knights Hospitaller (40, Crusade): OK, they appeared in my Crusade, and they
are great. Hone them and use them sparingly.
- Mounted Sergeants (40, 175): Your basic shock cavalry trooper. I raised many
of them, being cheap, fast and moderately powerful. Use them in countercharges,
against nasty missile troops and for pursuing routers. They won't break knights
or formed infantry all by themselves.
- Spanish Jinetes (40, 250): if you happen to get hold of any Spanish province
(you will) raise them. They are fast, flexible troopers that can throw javelins
to an enemy and then charge home. They can cope with any tactical situation,
except headlong charges into pikes or heavy cavalry.
- Mounted Crossbowmen (40, 300): Good, cheap (building wise) troops, supreme for
ambushes and skirmishing well ahead of your battle line. They can wear down
slow-moving, heavily armoured enemy units long before they reach your troops,
while having a reasonable chance of staying out of trouble. They will retreat,
firing their weapons, keeping a safe distance. However, they tend to do so in a
completely divergent direction, instead of falling back into your main line. Do
not send them in Shogun Cavalry Archers' fashion, to cut down routers, nor to an
arrow-fight against Foot Archers.
- Heavy Horse (in general): Until fairly late in the game (circa AD 1320) I used
very little of Heavies, just the princes' retinues, the Crusader knights and
some mercenary troopers. I'd rather pay the mercenaries higher maintaining costs
and skip the expensive building development needed to raise these units, anyway
in relatively few numbers. I have had two really brilliant such mercenary units:
the Armenian and the Khwarazmian Heavies. They countercharged and routed both
the heavy Byzantine Kataphraktoi and as well as any middle-game Western knights
whenever they met. Muslim Ghulams were somewhat harder, however, as were the
very late knights. In the late game I raise some Feudal, Chivalric and very few
Royal knights.
- Mercenary Troops: The Italian is a Republican citizen army, but I encouraged
the hiring of services of some special mercenary units. It is wise to build an
Inn in any faraway overseas stronghold; should it be cut off, you can in case of
need increase the number of troops in the garrison dramatically in no time.
Otherwise, check your Inns periodically and hire, whenever they appear on the
offer, Khwarazmian or Armenian Heavy Horse, Pikemen, Italian Infantry (yes, it
sounds weird, but they appear much earlier as mercenaries), Longbowmen, Billmen
and, if you cannot still raise them, Arbalesters. Desert and Mounted Archers
from Middle East and Hobilars from Western Europe are handy, if a local shortage
of troops arises. There is so much to choose from, that it becomes a matter of
personal taste: I like the "Bulgar Brigands", who are a kind of Foot archers
with an eye for dirty melee fighting, and Vikings for use as assault troops in
the early stages of the game (also, in mockery of the Byzantium Emperor's
Varangian Guard -internal joke)
- Siege machinery: I do not like to build these, except Ballistas; the rest I
hire. Assaulting castles is not a wise policy; make it only when you are in a
hurry, the fortress will hold out for a long time (five to seven years) and the
remaining garrison is ridiculously small. I usually complete the siegework cycle,
but keep a siege train of a dozen machines just in case. Even so, I let the AI
calculate the result. When gunpowder artillery appeared, I made some Bombards
and Demi-culverins; they are great in sieges and terrifying, if cumbersome, in
field battles. Deploy them at the back of your line; they are unwieldy and have
a rather long minimum range. Take into account that it is the crew you train; if
they withdraw safely, all will be well; but cut down the enemy's crew, not the
machines themselves. I had not the chance of using Serpentines and Siege Mortars,
though I raised a few.
- Strategic units: I have played the entire game with only two Emissaries.  To
make the common spying work, I sent my Princesses in worldly tours before
marrying them, usually to sponsored officials. Two Bishops are necessary from
the very beginning; later on, as you conquer Muslim territories and heretic
cults appear in Provence and Genoa, a couple more will be needed. Half a dozen
Assassins are of the essence; to let them gain experience, station them in
Venice and Naples, which are well-trodden paths for Muslim Emissaries and
preachers and murder them. Be careful, for they will follow their targets to
foreign territories where they can be easily caught and executed; I made all the
dirty work at home. Most my Assassins were four, five and six-star ones. Then,
station them on duty on every hot frontier and beside any high-ranking commander
you have. I have not trained Spies until the very late game; they are useful for
counterspying work, bagging honor when discovering plots, but the intelligence
they gather is not very accurate. I did not make any Inquisitor, and killed any
coming close on the spot; it is a matter of principles.
- Shipping: start building a navy ASAP. Have a couple of Dromons, which, if
relatively defenseless, are the only ships capable of catching Muslim Dhrows.
Prepare to confront the Byzantines in the middle game with two/three
galley/firegalleys squadrons in every square of sea. Most ships have a better
attack than defense abilities; should naval warfare occur, always be on the
offensive. I only lost one naval battle being on the offensive, and it was
because I did not realize that was attacking single-handedly a two-ship squadron;
even so, one enemy ship was sunk. Contrary to what I have seen reported, number
counts in naval warfare; a two or three-ship squadron has victory guaranteed
against a single one, if they are of the same kind and they manage to catch it.
Captains gain battle experience; after a successful ten years' long naval war
against Byzantium, most of my captains were three to four star commanders.
Upgrade to Wargalleys and Gun Galleys by building all the dockyard upgrades
(you'll need the 4000 fl Citadel and the Cannon Foundry), but if you have been
lucky, yours will be the only sizable navy by that time.
- Titles: Choosing good governors is of the essence. The income of a province
can rocket about 50 per cent with a really good one. Anything from four Acumen
"plumes" is acceptable, while six is outstanding. At first you'll have to make
do with what you have, but do not hesitate about stripping titles (dropping an
Emissary on the disgraced official) or disbanding an early unit when you find a
really good financist. Titles give some abilities: most give one or two Loyalty
shields, some Acumen plumes or Piety crosses, and a very few give Command stars,
so consider this when choosing candidates. Also, a really outstanding candidate
should not be wasted in a poor territory. If Loyalty level is the problem, nail
him marrying him to a princess. Keep an eye on them; some develop bad habits and
their skills diminish. I have the vague, unproven idea that the Italian nation
provides good candidates; a friend of mine, playing the Germans, has experienced
an acute shortage of learned men; he regards a three-plume Acumen candidate as
quite good, while it would have been a very mediocre official in my game. Also,
it may be true that Urban Militia from Tuscany, Italian Infantry and Spanish
Jinetes provide good men both in Acumen and/or Command, while Knights are mostly
uneducated men (though you can assign titles to the royal family once they slip
out of the succession line). May be it is a tribute to the witty, audacious,
hard working Italian medieval citizenry, maybe it is only a false impression
caused by my own bias towards them. It has also been reported  that getting your
king out to campaign, aside from gaining him Influence and Command, makes the
royal lineage stronger, and that heirs appear having more skills. If such is the
case, the Doge, given the extended periods of peace, should be a mediocre to
average ruler most of the time.


3.2  Your Enemies

I would classify them in three categories: Western nations, Muslim nations, and
Byzantines and other Easterners. Of these, Western are the most predictable:
they have the same kind of troops like you, with some exceptions easy to tackle
with. English Longbowmen and Billmen, the various Swiss Pikemen and the Danish
Vikings are widely know and it would be wise to avoid them entirely. French and
Germans excel in some varieties of knights, but the "Pike and Bow" tactic should
make short work of them.
- Muslim nations are more complicated. In a word, in the early period they top
you, while their advantage diminishes with time. Muslim troops are better than
the Western directly comparable ones. Muslim infantry is better than average,
both the spear and the militia varieties, they have very useful javelineers, and
most their archers have a bite in a melee. Turks have the benefit of the steppe
kind of very strong cavalry, of both the shock and archer variety. Ghulam
Bodyguards can tackle with any Western heavy, and I have already praised
Armenian and Khwarazmian heavies. Do not make the mistake of considering all
Muslim cavalry as scimitar wielding horsemen wearing light clothes and turbans!
Those who indeed are can wear you down with arrows and close in for the kill
later, or clung to your flanks and route any flailing unit. Keep them away with
many archers or comparable light horse, like the Jinetes or Mounted Sergeants or,
if you are that lucky, Alan or Hobilar mercenaries. In the end, it is nothing
that the "Pike and Bow" tactic cannot handle.
- Byzantines have an excellent early basic infantry, well armored and capable of
both attacking and defending. Their heavy horse is also first class,
Kataphraktoi are comparable to early knights and they come in troops of 40. They
also have the dreaded Varangian Guard, a single unit of 60 of whom can put to
flight almost all your infantry line. Last but not least, they have access to
much of the steppe cavalry troops. Regarding Kataphraktoi and Varangians you do
not have a chance if you let them charge unhindered; wear them down with all the
missiles you have, the heavier the better, then countercharge against their
flank with the heaviest units you have at hand. A good tactic is sending forward
some Horse Crossbowmen to start wearing them down early enough.
A word of warning must be made about Naphta Throwers. First, they are a truly
historical unit (there was also a method of throwing flammable material by means
of a kind of blowpipe). Second, though each unit is only twelve-strong and comes
at a walk in a single line looking puny, they are to be feared. Wear them down
with arrows (lots are needed since they come in open order) and charge with fast
troops against their flank.
- The Golden Horde, when appears, does so in the form of incredibly powerful
armies of heavy horse (both their own and Khwarazmian) and horse archer units,
with some siege machinery. If allowed to stay, they develop some standard
infantry units and maybe launch a boat into the Black Sea. The wisest way is
letting the Hungarians and the Byzantines do the work; if you have to face them,
be sure to have plenty of armor-piercing missile troops.


4. The Italian Campaign

4.1 Starting point

The basic strategy lines I took and kept were: remain at peace with the most
peoples possible and encourage trade whenever profitable; never make offensive
war to an fellow Catholic people and always prefer warring Muslim and Pagans to
Orthodox; making the most of Crusading and keep the Pope as an ally. To prevent
unwanted wars, a dissuassory tactic works most of the times to appease war
mongering neighbours: save often, build up troops in attacked areas and load the
game again, until the would-be attacker thinks it over. They worked most of the
times until the late game; then, it grows wild.
You start with Venice, Milan, Genoa and Tuscany, plus the very rustic Corse and
Sardinia islands. Venice is your Metropolitan area, and it is well developed.
Set each province to raise a specific kind of troops: I chose Milan for Spearmen,
Tuscany for Urban Militia (they are +1 honor there), Genoa for Archers and
ultimately Genoese Sailors, and Venice for shipping, Crusades and special troops.
Build a Trade House in each territory having tradable goods, and keep an eye on
farming development: wherever the annual income approaches fifty percent the
investment, build them. I skip mine building, for it produces about the percent
the investment per year (unlike they were in Shogun, where they virtually
guaranteed your profits); I usually priorize farming. Build an Inn in Milan,
hoping to attract warlike Swiss; while none of these may appear, other
interesting troops will show up for hire. There should be a Tavern  somewhere,
and you should train an Assassin/Spy for each hot frontier or high ranked
general you have.
Your first move should be taking Naples from the Byzantines, before they are too
powerful. In true Shogun fashion, take your king and all you have. If possible,
take a hold in the Dalmatian coast (Croatia and Serbia) ASAP, and, if you can,
Crete. If you do, be prepared to abandon them at any moment: do not develop them
too much, but build an Inn. Then, make all efforts to appease the Byzantines to
make a ceasefire and ultimately an alliance. You need that to launch your
Crusades to Outremer (such as medieval Europeans called the Middle East).
It is very convenient to take Sicily, a well-developed land, but it is held by a
Catholic nation, so you risk retaliation by the Pope. Try luring the Sicilians
into attacking you in Naples, but do not lose the province when they do. The
Pope will warn them to make a ceasefire and abandon any won territory in two
years; if you pass to the counteroffensive may be you could take Sicily and the
Sicilians still will cease operations not to get excommunicated. If they do not,
they will get the excommunication and you will be able to attack them. Pass to
neutral quickly, for they can block your trade routes easily. You can raise
Horse and shipping in Sicily.

4.2 The Route to Outremer

Start Crusading. Build a Chapter House in Venice or Naples, and preach the
Crusade to Antioch. Take into account that you are competing with the French in
the Crusading business, and that they have the goal of building a Citadel in
Antioch, so be warned. Also take into account that a Crusade army, powerful it
may be, cannot succeed all alone. You have to escort it with a couple of strong
national armies. The advantage is that, not only your brave crusaders will form
an army of your own but also the province will be added to your territories.
This is the basis of your Mediterranean empire. The Crusader Army can pass
freely through foreign territories, if allowed to do so, but your escorting
national army cannot. The trick is to send a seaborne supporting operation, but
you need at least the neutrality of the Byzantines, for a single enemy ship can
disrupt your ferry route (later in the game, I was able to whack the Greeks out
of the seas in half a dozen years, but early in the game it would have been all
but impossible). While you set foot in Antioch, preach another Crusade to be
sent to Edessa while it is still controlled by a Muslim nation; I was late, and
my allies the Byzantines already occupied it; I could not afford war against
them, so I let it pass. You should also take Lesser Armenia to the Muslims
before the Greeks do it, for it is considered part of Byzantium's homelands, and
you shall deny them valuable points. A third Crusade should be launched in quick
succession to Palestine. I made the mistake of taking Palestine with a national
army, losing valuable points. I recommend fighting any battle fought with Allied
troops using the automated system; allied troops are uncontrollable and the
numerical advantage melts very quickly. By fighting manually you could let your
ally bore the brunt of the fighting and cut your own losses, but more often than
not your ally will be routed and your own troops will follow! Expand westward
along the coast until you meet the Almohads; refrain to attack them until you
have taken out of the game both the Turks and the Egyptians.
Rest and consolidate, making profit of the well-developed areas you have just
taken. You should be able to raise Militia Sergeants, Mounted and Foot
Crossbowmen and possibly Feudal and Mounted Sergeants in most of your
territories.

4.3 The Italian Lake

Now you face several choices. Almohads should be rampaging through Europe, and
the French should have engaged in a foolish war against Germans and probably the
English. Mount your trade routes. Entering the Black Sea is extremely profitable,
but the Byzantines are very sensitive to ships going up and down the Straits. If
you manage to remain in peace with everybody, your trade profit will increment
dramatically, which is good, let alone because the next goal which the machine
will make you attempt will read "Control more trade profit than any other
faction". Problem is that the AI will have someone attack you soon. You can
parry that to some extent saving and reloading, making dissuasive shows of force
on the borders and perhaps retiring ships from hot areas. Even if you keep this
policy, sooner or later the French will attack you, possibly in Venice, whether
they can win or not. It does not matter they lose, for your trade will be
spoiled anyway. Another possibility is that the Byzantines start a naval war. In
this case, if you are prepared you could sweep them out of the seas in a few
years. But your trade profit will nevertheless be spoiled. It is very tempting
making alliance with the Almohads, which are powerful, trade-inclined and loyal
allies indeed. In this case, they will sweep the French and reach Scotland! Then
they will attack you, and you'll be lost.
In my case, I preferred parrying the French into not attacking me in Venice, and
facing the Byzantines at sea. As my own trade diminished, I attacked the
Almohads in Africa to spoil theirs, and ease the pressure against the French.
They become my allies immediately, and we conducted several joint operations
against the Almohads. I thrice sent a relief force that lifted the siege in
Burgundy to their profit, which indeed cemented the alliance, and took Provence
and Toulouse from the Almohads at a later date. Several Jihads against Italian-
held Cyrenaica (a historical necessity? But my Italians were fighting in the
wrong direction! -another internal joke-) were repulsed, and the French launched
a Crusade against Aragon.  I sent an escort army to Aragon and when the Crusade
succeeded, the province was left under my rule! So, when the French invaded
Castile I sent a supporting force that timely retired leaving the province under
theirs. By that time, Italian forces were pushing through Portugal to Leon.
Morocco, Cordoba and Granada had already been occupied; they were extremely
developed territories, which made profitable conquests. By the way, an Almohad
goal is building a citadel in Granada, so anything you could do to prevent that
is profitable; outflanking them with sea borne operations is risky but pays
handsomely. But commerce never recovered, until I managed to set a trade route
around Spain to Flanders (perhaps the richest county in the game).


4.4 European Power Politics

In the late game, around AD 1300, I could not prevent the French from attacking
me. Following a strictly defensive strategy and performing some surgical strikes
I dodged the Pope excommunication: you must launch a one-year campaign, take
some territories and stop operations when the Pope warns you. I came out holding
Flanders and most of England. The French kept sending Crusades through my
territories; to prevent them enlisting my best troops I cleared them of the way.
In the end, the failure of the Crusades brought the French kings' influence so
low that rebellions sparkled everywhere. You can take a rebel territory without
consequence from the Pope, but it may be more convenient to keep a neutral rebel
leader trading with you! When you are doing well the AI goes really mad: the
Pope attacked me in Tuscany with a rather contemptible army, and would
excommunicate me as soon as I retaliated, so I kept a defensive strategy and
offered him cease fire on a yearly basis, but he kept refusing it. Trade
suffered, and I was out of money often: I licensed all peasants, most early
spearmen and militias and most mercenary troops, even resorting to destroy
useless buildings, until the Pope himself offered a ceasefire, which I accepted,
and income began to slowly rise. When you reach a total of 60 % of Europe
conquered, the machine offers you to claim a "lesser victory", but I refused,
and go on playing, bagging points for fulfilled objectives. Be careful, for the
machine quite suddenly requests you "building a Cathedral in Tuscany". Now, a
Cathedral is a complex building, not to mention its cost! If you had not been
developing Tuscany at a good pace (just like me!) it will be probably too late,
so be warned.


4.5 Renaissance ruler

As I said above, anything can happen at this stage, so all this is mainly
illustrative. At around 1400, you'll find that your field army is quite
different from what it was twenty or thirty years ago. In fact, it will be quite
un-medieval. My main field army was more akin to a Seven Years War one than to
its trusty predecessor: formed around pike-armed Foot supported by harquebusiers
and field artillery, with a few man-at-arms as the cavalry component. Of course,
"provincial" armies remain truly medieval all the way - and doing most of the
fight, for your most modern armies will spend their time as dissuasive factors
facing the bigger powers in an "armed peace" fashion. You'll probably die for
trying your "New Model Army" against a worthy foe, but doing that and avoiding
either Papal excommunications, an abrupt fall in income due to canceling trade,
and multiple rebellions sparkling everywhere for no reason (yes, the AI cheats
and sends you huge masses of discontented folk where Loyalty level still reads
"200" if you launch a too successful offensive campaign) will probably prove too
much a task. My options were staying quiet and wait for the end of an already
won game, or making huge savings and wage a war against the Orthodox Novgorod
people, facing a drop of income. The goal of "Biggest trade income" pays points
again in 1453, so, if your  follow the first alternative, you'll have a good
chance of getting them. Upgrade all your Merchant Houses to the maximum possible,
and just wait. If rebellions break in enemy's territories and successfully
establish Rebel rulers, take the chance to conquest them only if they are not
willing to trade with you. Sometimes, attacking a Rebel territory automatically
sets all the others to "enemy" status, potentially spoiling trade. Sometimes
Rebel territories acquire official "independent kingdom" status. In my game,
Burgundians and Swiss managed to be officially recognized as such.


4.5 Ending the Campaign

There were no surprises to the end of the campaign. I eliminated successfully
both the Burgundians and the Swiss; the former by assassinating both the ruler
and his heir, and conquering the hapless rebel provinces. The Swiss were
conquered in a formal military campaign; the Pope did not bother about them. At
around 1448, the French attacked me suddenly in Flanders, held by a small
garrison army; theirs was also an army of sorts, and I managed to stave them off.
That was the last event of the campaign.


5. Final words

At the end of the campaign, a pretty picture appears showing your ruler in his
throne room, attended by his Court, and a legend informs you that, however some
of your rivals still exist, yours is the glory of victory. It is, really, more
rewarding than the extremely discreet message showing up in Shogun. After that,
titles are run over some most artistic pencil sketches of typical different
characters of the game. Well, that's it. Replayability? In theory, the game has
a wide replayability, but sincerely I think you will most probably feel full of
it for a while. Enjoy the game, take the chance to read a little History and
good luck!

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