Crusaders Ambitions (1st preview included)

[Romanos IV]

It would be brilliant to have a mod with the Crusader States in the Holy Lands. I mean all of them.
The mod will be for "Kingdoms".

Timeframe: 1135-1305
Area: same as Kingdoms/Crusades Campaign, a little more Balkans maybe.

Factions:

1. The Royal Domains of Jerusalem
2. The Principality of Antioch
3. The County of Tripoli
4. The County of Edessa
5. The County of Jaffa and Ascalon
6. The Lordship of Oultrejordain
7. The Principality of Galilee
8. The Lordship of Ramla
9.The Lordship of Ibelin
10.The Lordship-Archbishopic of Nazareth
11.The Lordship of Nablus
12.The Lordship of Saone
13.The Byzantine Empire
14.Egypt
15.The Seljuk Sultanate
16. The Sultanate of Aleppo
17. The Chaliphate of Baghdad
18.Cilician Armenia
19.The Knights Templar
20.The Knights Hospitaller
21. The Teutonic Knights (Emergent)
22. The Kingdom of Armenia
23. The Kingdom of Sicily (Emergent)
24. The Kingdom of Hungary (Emergent)
25. The Kingdom of Bulgaria (Emergent)
26. The Serene Republic of Venice (Emergent)

EMERGENT
Latin Empire (appearance outside Constantinople in 1204, elsewhere in 1205)

The Kingdom of Jerusalem

The Kingdom of Antioch

The Kingdom of the Outremer
----------------------------------------------------------

Independent States (rebels)

The Crusader States:



The Minor Asia


The Balkans


Units:

4-5 more units for the Crusader States. No more needed.

New Features:
As the Centre of the Templars was in the Temple of Jerusalem, I have decided to divide the city in Western Jerusalem, Eastern Jerusalem and the Temple of Jerusalem.

additionally, Constantinople will have in it western (land) side, a castle, which will be exactly next to the city, in order to represent the double Wall.

Also, when the player conquers Jerusalem, Tripoli and Antioch, he will be able to form "The Kingdom of Heaven", or "The Superior Crusaders State". ( I have not decided the name yet). any more ideas?

Using the Union of Kalmar even more, we can made the vassals of Jerusalem and Jerusalem itself to be able to form the "Kingdom of Jerusalem" and the vassals of Antioch "The United Principality of Antioch".

Factions:

The Royal Domains of Jerusalem


After the First Crusade, the King of Jerusalem conquered many cities in Palestine. He gave them to many of his knights, according to the Feudal European traditions. But, his direct control is extended in few lands. He must fight to unite the lands of the Kingdom and to face the Egyptian danger.

The Principality of Antioch

The Prince of Antioch controls directly not many lands, but has one vassal. Also, the coastal provinces are governed by Castles of the Military Order of the Templar Knights. Antioch must fight against the Turks , the Egyptians and should also become the dominant Crusader State of the north,if it doesn't want to be disappeared in a few years.

County of Tripoli

The County of Tripoli is a medium-size Crusader state, whose lands is protected by the Hospitallers, who face the danger of the Egyptian Sultanate. If the Count feels powerful enough, he must take control of all the castles of the area. That's the best way to survive.

The County of Edessa


The County of Edessa is the oldest and northern-most Crusader State in the Holy Lands. Will it survive the attacks of the Seljuks and the threat of the fellow Crusaders?




Members of the team at the moment:

Romanos IV (General researcher and Mod Leader)
Cimbye (Hungarian researcher)
AirborneFish (Researcher)
xelas2547 (Researcher)
Legio Ceasar (2d worker-symbols maker)
danova (symbols maker)
Mithrtil (Coding)
gigantus (Contributor)


Post your opinions, your recommendations and your advices please.

Info are updated frequently.

Lord_Calidor has agreed to let me use the Templar units from his brilliant mini mod. Thank you!

The mini mod.

Burrek has given permission to use his excellent textures. Many thanks!

The textures.

Anthonius II has given permission to use the "Complete Byzantine Unit Roster" Comnenian Roster.

The Roster.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Preview of December 31st, 2008:

Romanos IV and the "Crusaders' Ambitions" mod team are happy to present you:






Here are some loading screns:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Meet the Crusaders' Ambitions factions: (Presented 18 out of 30)

The Royal Domains of Jerusalem

The First Crusader State, founded in the same time Antioch was besieged by the Crusaders of the First Crusade, was the County of Edessa. Its first Count was Baldwin of Boulogne. When his brother, who reigned in Jerusalem, died, he was crowned the first King of Jerusalem. He defeated the Muslims many times but had a very small army. However, he expanded his kingdom. Now, the Queen, Melisendre, who is the oldest daughter of the previous King, and her husband, Fulk, sit in the throne of Jerusalem. They must protect their domains from internal rivals and brother Crusader States, secure the position of the Kingdom in the North, and ally with at least one Muslim power, to secure his borders in the East. Hard times, hard tasks...

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

German Crusader Knights



Dismounted German Crusader Knights



German Crusader Sergeants




English Crusader Knights

The Principality of Antioch

Antioch was captured by the foces of the first Crusade in 1098. It came under danger after some horrible defeats by the Muslims, the most important being the "Field of Blood". After that, Antioch had to rely on its master in the hierarchy of feudalism, the King of Jerusalem. Now, Antioch is vulnerable to the north, where the Seljuk Turks lands lie, but is not alone in its fight for survival. Edessa, the vassal of Antioch, can co-operate and Armenians provide troops and money to the Prince in Antioch. Last but not least, the Byzantines could be your best friend or your worst enemy, depending on your course of actions...

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

French Crusader Knights





Dismounted French Crusader Knights





Norman Crusader Sergeants




Norman Crusader Knights

The County of Tripoli
The County of Tripoli was founded in 1104 and is vassal of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It owns a coastline between Beirut and Saone, while its mainland is protected by the castles of the Hospitaller Knights, the most important being the Krak des Chevaliers. It is surrounding from friends, but no one said that these friends will always be such, and no one said that these friend can't be beaten by the Muslims. The Count of Tripoli will soon have many challenges and he should be careful should he take risks...

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Knights of Tripoli




Sergeants of Tripoli




Dismounted Knights of Tripoli



Crossbowmen of Tripoli




Venetian Crusader Knights

The County of Edessa

The County of Edessa was the fist Crusader State to be founded in the Holy Lands. It is the most valuable too, however, and it won't come as a surprise if it is the first to all. That's because it's the largest, the less populated and it has the less troops thatn the other main states of the Crusaders. The Count must build an army with as many troops as possible and after many victories after the Muslims of the area, only then he must take the offensive. Else the future of the Christians of Edessa is predicted black...

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Knights of Edessa



Dismounted Knights of Edessa



Crossbowmen of Edessa

The Hospitaller Knights

In the year 600, a hospital was built in Jerusalem. In 800, Charlemagne added a library to it. In 1005, the hospital was destroyed after the orders of the Caliph Al Hakim. In 1023, Italian merchants rebuilt it. A Papal Bull confirmed the foundation of the Order of the Hospitaller Knights, although it was truely founded after the first Crusade. Its first Grand Master acquired lands and castles for the order throughout the Kingdom of Jerusalem and beyond. The Hospitallers must fight to keep their lands, use diplomacy to overcome the conflicts within the Crusader states, and their war skills to fight successfully the Muslims.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Hospitaller Halbers




Dismounted Knights of St. Lazarus




Hospitaller Sergeants



Hospitaller Voulge

The Templar Knights

The Order of the Temple was founded in 1119 by two veterans of the first Crusade. It was officially endorsed by the Catholic Church in 1129. Its headquartes are in Jerusalem, and more specifically above the ruins of what is believed to exist the remains of the Temple of Solomon. They are given castles in the whole Kingdom of Jerusalem and it will be a real challenge to keep them from both internal and external enemies...

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Templar Voulge



Templar Sergeants




Templar Crossbowmen




Templar Cavalry




Temple Guards





Templar Bodyguards

The Seigneurity of Oultrejordain

The Seigneurity of Oultrejordain was established after an expedition of the first King of Jerusalem, but due to the relative size and inaccessibility of the area, the lords of Oultrejordain tended to claim some independence from the kingdom. With its mostly undefined borders, it was one of the largest seigneuries. This Seigneurity has the potential to become a completely independant state, but it must overcome the pressure by the Muslims.

The Seigneurity of Saone

The Seigneurity of Saone was founded in about 1119 and is vassal to the Principality of Antioch. It is very vulnerable to any attack and must protect its borders so it will be able to go to offensive. That's the only way to survive and don't also forget the powerful Sultanate of Aleppo in the East.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Knights of Saone




Sergeants of Saone

The Seigneurity of Nazareth

Nazareth was created as a seigneury in Galilee in 1115. It was the original site of the Latin Patriarch, established by Tancred. It is mostly secure for the time being, but be aware that the Emir of Damascus is not so far from your lands...

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Knights of Nazareth




Crossbowmen of Nazareth

The Seigneurity of Nablus

Nablus was first captured by Baldwin I, the first King of Jerusalem, and later it was created as a separate lordship out of part of the Seignreurity of Oultrejordain. This seigneurity seems that it will last long, except if it takes offensive initiatives too soon.

The Signeurity of Ramla

Upon its capitulation in 1099, Ramla was left under the supervision of Robert of the diocese of Rouen, whom the crusaders installed as Bishop of Ramla.Thus, Ramla was initially an ecclesiastical lordship. This would change, however, sometime between 1115 and 1120, when a certain Baldwin is noted as having a "lordlike position"n Ramla, suggesting the city had passed into secular control. The Lord must protect its position in the middle of the other Crusader states.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Knights of Ramla

The Principality of Galillee

The Principality of Gallilee is one of the most important states of the Crusaders and one of the most powerful vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, having its own vassals in the area. The town of Tiberius is its capital and is in the border of the Latins and the Muslims. That alone, makes a challenge worth to take.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Crossbowmen of Galillee

The Seigneurity of Ibelin

The relatively small town of Ibelin is located in the south of Palestine and can be considered as one of the most difficult Seigneurities to defend. It was created out of kands of the Seigneurity of Jaffa and it is wealthy enough to recruit enough troops to defend it in the first place.

The County of Jaffa

The County of Jaffa is one of the most important states of the area. It has its own vassals and its challenges will be to conquer the nearby city of Ascalon, still held by the Muslims and to defend itself from the King of Jerusalem who seems to have ambitions tp seize Jaffa. A revolt has started by the Count against the King, but he must immediately find allies, if he wants to keep his County independant and safe.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Dismounted Knights of Jaffa

The Byzantine Empire

Nova Roma. Constantinople. The city of Constantine. No matter how you call it, the fact is that the capital city of the Eastern Roman/Byzantine Empire is the wealthiest, least vulnerable and most populated of all in the Western world. However, it has passed its hard times. After the terrible defeat of the Byzantines by the Seljuks in Manzikert, 1071, many generals of the Empire acquired, or at least they tried, to take the throne for themselves. In the meantime, the Seljuks acquired all of Minor Asia and this made the Emperor Alexios to call the West for help. This "help" came with the form of the Crusades. The Crusaders never truely accepted the Byzantine supermacy over them and as the time passes, the Crusaders become more and more rival to the Byzantines. There are also the Seljuks, that must be defeated once and for all, if you don't want to see one day all of Minor Asia in their hands. Perhaps a co operation with the Crusaders would solve your problems, for the time being...

The Principality of Cilician Armenia

After the defeat of the Byzantine foces by the Seljuks in 1071, many armenians fled to Cilicia. They had been since then under constant pressure by the Seljuks. However, when the fellow Christians, the Crusaders, appeared they saw a potential ally against them. So, they have friendly relations wit them and could co operate with them against the Seljuks, but be ware that the Byzantines think that Cilicia is rightfully theirs and will fight to prove this...

The Seljuk Sultanate of Rum

The Seljuks are a tribe that came as a seperate part of the Turk tribes of Central Asia. They captured Baghdad in the mid-11th century and converted to Islam. They defeated the Byzantines in the battle of Manzikert in 1071, but they weren't as sucessful against the forces of the First Crusade and they lost every city they had western of the Doryleon-Laodiceia line. However, Danismends are a worthy ally and, when the right moment comes, they should defeat the Byzantines and drive them once and for all out of Minor Asia.

Egypt

The Fatimid Caliphate has been rival to the Seljuks and that's what permitted the Crusaders to capture so many lands in Syria and Palestine. However, the Fatimids are now recovering from their wounds and must soon stop the Latin attacks if they want to survive. One should not also forget the other Muslim factions and their importance, either as friends, or as rivals.

Other factions include:

The Seigneurity of Beirut
The Seigneurity of Banyas
The Seigneurity of Bethelem
The Emirate of Damascus
The Sultanate of Baghdad
The Sultanate of Aleppo

Now, a FAQ:

Q: How many factions will be included?
A: 31, including the "rebels".

Q: How does the map looks like?
A: It will be stretching from Adrianople in the west to Baghdad in the East and from Sinope to the north up to Luxor in the South.

Q: So, are these all the units?
A: No, of course not. Every Crusader faction will have 4 unique units: Knights, Dismounted Knights, Sergeants and Crossbowmen. The rst will be common for all. I just didn't show you all of them, though 5 more are already done.

Q: Any unique features?
A: Yes, there will be some. For example, when any of the Crusader states has captures some certain major cities, he can be crowned King of Jerualem and his country, Kingdom of Jerusalem. Notice that Jerusalem is not named "Kingdom" in the beginning of the campaign. Another feature is that if war starts between Crusader States, there will be some scripting features that will make it really interesting! Other features include Crusades etc.

Q: So, you are concetrating just in the Latin factions? What about the rest?
A: I'm trying not to fall in this trap. That's why some Latin factions have been removed and new, Muslim ones, have been added. Basically, all the Muslim factions of the area are in.

Q: Yes, but why there is a generic "Egypt" faction?
A: Because if I was to have "dynastic" factions that would take 3 slots (Fatimids, Ayyubids, Mameluks). We will try to represent the differences of each faction as successfully as possible.

Q: Start/End dates?
A: The starting date is 1135 and the end comes in 1291.

Q: What should we expect next?
A: The next preview, but it will come in 3-4 months. I can't tell what will be in.

Q: Have you anything else to add?
A: Yes! Happy playing to all players, happy modding to all modders and
Happy New Year!

Last but not least, let me introduce the team and the Contributors:

Team
Romanos IV (Mod leader, skinner)
absinthia (map contributor)
cimbye (Researcher)
danova (Factions Symbols)
Keepr of the Keys (Researcher)
Legio Ceasar (Factions Symbols)
Nakharar (Contributor)
xelas2547 (Researcher)


Special Thanks To:
Anthonius II, who allowed me to use the Byzantine units from the "CBURP".
burrek, who allowed me to use his tectures from the Unique Europeans Mod.
lord_calidor, who allowed me to use his textures from his Templars mini mod.
Teutomatos, who allowed me to use his textures from the Crusader States mod.

[saglam2000]

there are too many lordships. i doubt there would be enough diversity in the unit rosters for such a small region. 10-15 factions are the best idea for an area the size of the crusades campaign. maybe even less.

[Son of Mao]

It would be brilliant to have a mod with the Crusader States in the Holy Lands. I mean all of them.

Timeframe: 1135-1305
Area: same as Kingdoms/Crusades Campaign, maybe Hungary included too.

Factions:

1. The Kingdom of Jerusalem
2. The Principality of Antioch
3. The County of Edessa
4. The County of Tripoli
5. The Templar Knights
6. The Hospitaller Knights
7. The County of Jaffa and Ascalon
8. The Principality of Galilee
9. The Lordship of Sidon
10. The Lordship of Oultrejordain
11. The Lordship of Ramla
12. The Lordship of Ibelin
13. The Lordship of Beirut
14. The Lordship of Banias
15. The Lordship of Toron
16. The Lordship of Nazareth
17. The Lordship of Haifa
18. The Lordship of Bethsan
19. The Lordship of Caesarea
20. The Lordship of Hebron
21. The Lordship of Montgisard
22. The Lordship of Nablus
23. The Lordship of Saone
24. The Byzantine Empire
25. Egypt
26. The Seljuk Sultanate
27. Cilician Armenia
28. Hungary(?)
29. Latin Empire(EMERGENT-appearance outside Constantinople 1204, and elsewhere 1205
30. The Holy Roman Empire(EMERGENT-many invasions against Hungary)
31. Independent States

Of course, apart from the 4 major Crusader State, the rest will be vassals of Jerusalem or Antioch(actually, only one is Antioch's vassal).
It's very simple, I need only
a mapper,
probably a skinner for a few (4-5) crusader units,
a 2d "worker" for faction symbols, banners and sigs.

Post your opinions, your recommendations and your advices please.

More info to be published very soon.

Lol the crusader states are going to have no choice but to attack each other.

[Romanos IV]

Lol the crusader states are going to have no choice but to attack each other.

In the beginning, many will be vassals of either Jerusalem, Edessa or Antioch. But, as you said, sooner or later, they'll have war between each other.

That'll be the challenge! To become the Superior Crusader State.

Also, when being Jerusalem for example, the player will want to make his kingdom, at least as big as this in the Crusades Campaign. Lot of Gameplay!

[Keyser Soze]

In the beginning, many will be vassals of either Jerusalem, Edessa or Antioch. But, as you said, sooner or later, they'll have war between each other.

That'll be the challenge! To become the Superior Crusader State.

Also, when being Jerusalem for example, the player will want to make his kingdom, at least as big as this in the Crusades Campaign. Lot of Gameplay!

if there so many factions on relative small area and you can use vassal system it will be much hard work with scripting AI, i think.
so good luck with your job.

[Comrade the Colonel]

yea,

[Comrade the Colonel]

Well thats not a bad idea

[Romanos IV]

New maps added.

Anyone?

[Comrade the Colonel]

nice, now i get a bit more of an explanation with it

[Romanos IV]

Please somebody help.

[Comrade the Colonel]

this seems like it will be mostly skinning

[Romanos IV]

No, I think that almost no units will be needed, as I think I'll take them from other mods, like BC and/or the L'Outremer mod.

[Comrade the Colonel]

you will need permision for that, and L'outremer has no models that i am aware of. They just have new skins

[Random Emperor]

why The Knights Hospitaller so small??
to many vassals

[Stephan]

thats the faction list i'd suggest you

The Principality of Antioch
The County of Edessa
The County of Tripoli
The Templar Knights
The Hospitaller Knights

emirat of damaskus
emirat of aleppo
cairo sultanate
The Byzantine Empire
sultanate of rum
Latin Empire(EMERGENT-appearance outside Constantinople 1204, and elsewhere 1205
Cilician Armenia
mosul
abbasid caliphate

maybe a few more crusader states

[Comrade the Colonel]

yes, smaller faction list would be better

[Romanos IV]

I have requested permission and I'm waiting for a response for the units.

As for the factions list, lots of gameplay with these vassals! see the features!

Also, what do you guys think about the Jerusalem division?

[danova]

good idea!
I favour it

It would be brilliant to have a mod with the Crusader States in the Holy Lands. I mean all of them.

Timeframe: 1135-1305
Area: same as Kingdoms/Crusades Campaign, a little more Balkans maybe.

[Romanos IV]

Balkans map added.

[Romanos IV]

Lord_Calidor has agreed to let me use the Templar units from his excellent mod. Thanks!