What is your strategy in the first 20 turns?

[khorne1989]

Today I started a new campaign and was wonderig what other people do in their first 20 turns to build up their economy, military and make diplomatic relations...as the thread name says I wan't you to post you strategy in your first 20 - 40 turns, what do you do, what you think is best to do ect..

So I will make the start :

In the first 3 turns in my early campaign I try to recruit as many merchant as possible and send them to get glas and salt, ( Norway campaign), secondly I want to marry my heir to a lovely princess , usually I try to get the french princess since she allways gives me alot of boys . In the next 4- 10 turns I build up my army and recruit if possible some mercanaries and take over 2-3 rebel settlements, ( I try to capture citys rather than castle due economy boost..) , than in the next 20 turns I build up a larger army( mostly viking raiders) and try to bullrush Danmark and 1-2 rebel settlements, after that I just relax and conquere all of Scandinavia and build up a huge army to prepare for the invasion of britain .

[delra]

1. I besiege as many rebel cities at once as possible and take all of them by turn 5 in a series of brave battles. It's called blitizng rebels and it is the most boring part of the game. That's why I like to keep it short.
2. Build roads and ports in all my cities.
3. Pick my main castle and build up barracks there.
4. Pick three or four allies depending on my position on the map and ally with them before I start fighting against AI. Buy a city from AI for an alliance if possible (works on Brits, French and Germans).
5. Ally with the Pope, call and win a crusade with all my family members involved in it so when I hit first stone walls, I will get Hospitallers (my favourite Christian unit).
6. Look around to see who's going to attack me and attack him first.

Oh, and I do as many missions as possible, except those dumb ones.

[rogergargantua]

1) I first want to develop my cities. So I build roads/communal farms/ports, etc. for good economy.
2) Make 2 Diplomats / a few Priests
I send each diplomat to a far corner of the map, getting trade rights with each faction I come along. Sometimes I want to try "alliance" with some factions which will be a benefit later on. Also I often try to get alliance with Papal States.
I specifically train priests in a few cities so I quickly get a "theologian guild" in it.
3) Take over nearby rebel settlements ASAP. Expand my borders quickly.
4) I always do the Pope missions. I always want to be in big favor with the Papal states. Other factions think twice before attacking a Pope's favorite
5) I dont usually make war in the first 20 turns. I just sit down and look around first what other factions do. But I sure develop my cities for enough money so I can use it for an army when needed.

[crsutton]

These guys are on the money. Train diplomats, make alliances and trade agreements, develop your economy over military, take those rebel settlement. If you have a historical enemy next to you. Byz vs Turks for example. Get a least a trade agreement and gift them a little coin every other turn or so. That usually keeps the peace.

[delra]

Bribing Turks is pointless. They will come at you anyway and they will do it soon enough. You better spend that cash on troops...

[Inhuman One]

hm I gues I am a bit weird at all my games.

I build up the land and try to live in peace, I take rebel settlements but never declare war unless my king is dreaded.

I make sure I got enough soldiers to defend, but not enough to attack, I only start making an offensive army once another country declares war on me.

[Phaze]

I just command and conquer ... or die trying anyway
My main goal in the beginning of a campaign is to expand my borders by obtaining rebel territory, followed by obtaining trade rights with those around me... After all the NEAR rebel states are gone, I start farming the states under my rule until someone decides to declare war, or there's a crusade called, of which then switches my attention to something else...
If neither of those two happen, then I start raising hell around me

[Marcus Fulvius]

depends on what faction im playing really. primarily though i set my cities to building economic boosters (roads, ports, trade fairs, etc etc) while my castles build barracks and other military factories.

the castles start building up el cheapo units right away, try to get a priest in each city to get on the pope's side early... while i send princesses and starting diplomats to form trade agreements and alliances with EVERYONE they meet. if i have a starter spy, use him to reveal the map and make that a bargaining chip during the early alliance negotiations.

by about turn 10-15 im ready to secure my immediate borders. that means as england, wiping out the scots, then the irish. as france, wiping out genoa and the aragonese. as hre, genoa and the danes.

my goal the entire game is to have about a 3-1 city to castle ratio... convert or take over cities/castles as needed in order to maintain that balance... and try to keep those castles spread out so that i dont have to wait forever later in the game for my armies to reach besieged cities.

then its time to rebuild after the early wars, entrench and advance for a few decades, rinse repeat.

heh, my late game is basically just like my early game, only with bigger and more advanced armies involved.

[Pious Agnost]

As my favourite faction Ireland, (Early Period) I put Cork and Galway onto auto-manage - Growth, and build up an army a few turns, then I seize Dublin, and manage my cities myself, farms, roads and ports, I wait for the English to take Caernarvon, wait one turn, then snatch it, then get a cease-fire with them, (I use Banzai's AOR mod) From there I build up my forces, shipping them over from Galway until I have a large Irish-English coalition. Then I aim at what I like to call their 'Heart settlements' Nottingham and London... That may be a little over 20 turns, but shouldn't be too much

[LuiSius_ScutaRuS]

I build roads, clear the land, get alliances and besiege nearby rebel settlements... but is basically the best part of the game... I hate when you get the feeling of 'I'm going to conquer the world and nobody is doing nothing to stop me'

[Volcan]

I build roads, clear the land, get alliances and besiege nearby rebel settlements... but is basically the best part of the game... I hate when you get the feeling of 'I'm going to conquer the world and nobody is doing nothing to stop me'

That feeling is the worst. That's why I always end up starting a new campaign. I have been playing this game forever but I always end up getting about 40-50 settlements and then starting something new. I try to play as HRE most of the time (being German myself), but it's so easy even on VH/VH. I don't think I will ever beat this game

[Skooma Addict]

I take whatever army I start with and form a stack. Then I take as many rebel settlements with that stack as I can being careful not to recruit any more units. Then I disband as many units as possible and relax for about 20-30 turns getting trade deals and building up key structures in key cities. I generally try to gain as much capital as I can before getting serious. My first King will probably die before I begin real conquest. It's just about making money and an economy in the beginning for me.

[pericles_plato]

Well for me it's the style. When i'm in early and i want a king called Christopher or Charles i just cheat with money bribe cities and stuff.

When i'm in real mode like command and conquer i,
1) build all market places, roads, and farms,
2) Get trade and alliances all around me,
3) make an army,
4) Start war.

[Nightbringer]

1. Blitz all the rebels I can, attacking as many at once as possible, then waiting for the garrison to try to break out and slaughter them, using mercs where needed
2. Build ports, roads, markets, everywhere i can, in that order of importance
3. Ally with EVERYONE i talk to, then wait to see who attacks eachother and such, building my true alliances that way.
4. Drop all taxes to low, build up my population and wait peacfully once all the rebel settlements around me are gone untill my economy is built up, then begin to produce a military

[duda]

WITH the byzantine empire, i have VENICE, ANKARA, BELGRADE, INNSBRUCK by turn 8...That's my strategy...Then slow development, that leads to fast domination....

[jsktrogdor]

1: Fortify Economy: Start a build rotation, so I only have to build one building per turn if done correctly. Beleive it or not I build leather tanners first, the money you save on not having to retrain dead troops is worth it.

2: Expand Territory: Take as many key rebel settlements as possible, never siege, I wait for the sally battle to conserve troops.

3: Extend Diplomacy: Princess and one Diplomat, build alliances with every faction I share a border with AND more importantly...everyone who will be going to war with those factions in the near future . IE: ally with england...then scotland...then ireland.

[Badg3r]

agressive expantion, but try and build up econemy as fast as possible, and just one castle upgraded for units

[Matsky]

I build roads, farms, ports and other economic buildings in all my cities, and build up my castles. I make sure all my settlements are garissoned with at least one archer, two spears, and then gather all the remaining troops into one army under the crown prince. I use him to conquer all nearby rebel provinces (as quickly and as sneakily as I can to prevent the enemy expanding). I then re-train and replenish that army with new troops, and pick a target (sometimes I'll divide my army into two, if I can, and hit the chosen enemy with a double-whammy before he knows what's hit him). All this time I'm using my diplomat to get a few, picked allies and then to just get trade rights. My merchants are off heading towards Africa or Italy for trade, and my Princesses (if I have any) are fussing over which general I want to pinch. That's about it.

Then I fuss about the mistakes I made and re-start a campaign, then again and again. Welcome to my Friday night!

[jsktrogdor]

Then I fuss about the mistakes I made and re-start a campaign, then again and again. Welcome to my Friday night!

Thats so familier its just bizzare

"GAH! I expanded too fast! this game is doomed, !@#$"
/Esc
/Esc
/Main Menu>Single Player>Grand Campaign

IN FACT see this sig below me, thats a screen from my french campaign in 1126...thats like 30 turns in. Ive already forgoten it

[Shaio]

I cobble together a makeshift army, and try to blitzkrieg a nearby enemy...

Assuming it doesn't backfire my diplomat will reach papal states, and give a chunk of the money i made form sacking city's as a bribe to secure favor.

If it backfires i end up broke and desperately trying to fight off enemies.