Oh, man, I just got addicted to another Paradox grand strategy game. This time it's Crusader Kings + Deus Vult expansion. There's something incredibly appealing in how the game seamlessly combines core grand strategy mechanics with light RPG and adventure game elements based around a system of random, yet entertaining (and often hilarious) multi-choice events. As a result the game is easy to get into, yet remarkably varied and complex.
For example, right now I'm playing the 1187 campaign as house Branas of Adrianople and in a span of just a couple of years I've successfully demolished the power of the Angeloi and established my character Alexios Branas as Roman Emperor, survived a nasty Bulgarian invasion, subjugated the rebellious Byzantine aristrocracy and, in alliance with queen Tamar of Georgia, launched a massive war against the Seljuk Turks, completely annihilating the Sultanate of Rum and bringing all of Anatolia back under my control. Kilij Arslan was reduced from the fearsome Seljuk sultan to a mere vassal of the mighty Roman Empire. On top of all that, I had the time to marry a woman third my age (she's 20, I'm 59), spawn half a dozen children, impregnate a bunch of horny wenches, spawn a score of bastards and even assassinate a couple of them to reduce the damage inflicted upon my prestige. My first order of business right now is to restore the economic might of the depleted Empire and improve my horrible reputation. My second order of business is to bring Adana, Cyprus and (hopefully) Corfu under my heel. My third order of business is to recover the Dalmatian coast, Armenia, Mesopotamia, Lebanon and Syria. My fourth order of business is to crush the might of Venice, Bularia and Serbia. My distant fifth order of business is to accomplish what none of my predecessors could and recover Italy. Once more the world shall bask in the glory of Rome!
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