The CROWNS system

[Jurand of Cracow]

Modification of the Crowns in the SSHIP

A Crown is an ancillary acquired by a Faction Leader that rules a large kingdom and fulfills certain conditions. It provides many benefits for the player. There are two major: one is that it increases the range the generals can function without loss of Loyalty due to the distance from the capital, the second is that the unrest in the settlements is more-or-less half of it's value as otherwise. Thus having a crowned ruler is (or will be) indispensable for a player that builds a large empire in the SSHIP.

Descriptions and modding entries below:

How the Crowns impact the game and how to get them

Modification plans and infos

Existing Crowns (click on the link to go to the entry):
1. Scandinavia (12: Denmark, 11: Norway) - available for both factions in Roskilde, and for Norway in Bergen (with Konungr's Kirke - from version in 2023).
2. Russia (14: Novgorod, Kiev) - available in Kiev with Zoloti Vorota; only for the Novgorod - in Novgorod with the Sofijskij Sobor.
3. Lithuania (11) - available in Kernave (with Vilnius Castle).
4. Poland (12) - available in Poznan (with St Adalbertus) or, later, in Krakow (with Marienkirche).
5. Hungary (variants: 13: Carpathian, 13: Italian) - available in Szekesfehervar, cathedral required.
6. England (England 14, Scotland 9) - available for both factions in London (with While Tower), and for Scotland available also in Edinburgh (with The Rock).
7. France (15) - Rheims with Cathedral, also later in game in Naples with Maschio Angioino.
8. Holy Roman Empire (16)
9. Spain (13/15: Castille, 13: Portugal, 15: Aragon, has also own crown: 12) - available for all three factions in Toledo (with cathedral, this means rebuilding the castle into the city), for Aragon in Palermo with Palazzo dei Normanii.
10. Moors (15: Almoravids) - available in Marrakesh with jama, also in Corduba with Cordoba Mosque.
12. Italy (normal/maritime versions: 14/11: Venice, 13/12 Pisa, 13/12: Sicily) - in Pisa with Piazza dei Miracoli, in Venice with St. Mark Basilica, in Palermo with Palazzo dei Normani.
13. Byzantium (16) - available only in Constantinople with Hagia Sophia.
14. Turks (15: Seljuks) - available only in Baghdad with Bajt al-Hikhma.
15. Caliph (12: Abbasids) - available only in Baghdad with Bajt al-Hikhma.
16. Egypt (14: Fatimids) - available in Cairo with Al Azhar Mosque.
17. Syria (12: Zenghid)
18. Serbia (13) - available only in Constantinople with Hagia Sophia.
19. Steppes (10: Cumans)
20. Caucasus (9: Georgia) - available in Tbilisi with Narikala.
21. Anatolia (Rum/Osman versions: 12/13: Rum) - available only in Constantinople.
22. Levant (11: Kingdom of Jerusalem) - available only in Jerusalem.

In version 0.98: any Catholic Faction Leader can get his crown in Jerusalem (if the St. Sepulchre Church is there), any Orthodox in Constantinople (with Hagia Sophia), and any Muslim in Baghdad (with Bajt al-Hikhma).

Please note: in the SS6.4 and SSHIP 0.92 the crowns were included but for many of them the triggers are faulty making it impossible to be gained (see descriptions in this thread of what's needed to be modified - it's always against the backdrop of 0.92). A discussion on the design of the crowns has been ongoing in this thread for 1,5 years and, on this basis, the changes were made in 2020 for SSHIP version 0.97.

Given that version included in the v. 097 contained conditions only with cathedral / jama building requirements. In the v.098 the unique buildings as the requirements are being gradually phased with the view that eventually each faction will have its own requirement. The descriptions in this thread are being updated accordingly.

[Jurand of Cracow]

The effects of the Crowns

1) Having a crowned Faction Leader is the major determinant of the Loyalty of the generals being away from the capital. Having a crown by the ruler is a condition in some triggers concerning loyalty of the generals. As a result, having a crowned ruler is indispensable for building-up a large kingdom: without them, the generals will lose Loyalty quickly as they’re away from the capital. By the same token, they’re also a major requirement to keep big kingdoms together. A great king may conquer and have 20+provinces-kingdom. But when he dies a weak FH may accede to the throne, prompting the generals to lose loyalty quickly. It’ll be therefore essential for the new FL to assert his authority and to get crowned quickly. If the player is prepared for this (he keeps all essential provinces, the FH would have relevant features, be in the vicinity of the capital etc.), then acceding to the throne should take place immediately after the FL death, securing loyalty of the generals.
2) Having a crowned Faction Leader limits the unrest (turmoil) in all settlements, from most of the sources (see the code here).
3) Having a crowned Faction Leader limits the speed of the points of aggressivity accrueing and thus how fast the relations with the other factions deteriorate.
4) Direct benefits are also non-negligible. A generic set of the benefits is [Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1, LineOfSight 2], then perhaps one other crown-specific benefit will be added for each. For a ruler ascending the throne that +2 Authority may be the decisive factor whether the nobles start plotting and potential usurpers appear (Civil war) and also if they’re happy with the king (Civil strife).
5) The crowns are also de facto an intermediate goal of the game. The players will be likely to steer their expansion to get a crown so that they’re able to expand further. Therefore the historical expansion in the SSHIP will be beneficial for the player.
6) They’ll be another “chrome” of the game as they’re now.

Here is an example how does having the crown limits the Aggressive expansion script (there's such part for each settlement):

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

        log --- Qus AFTER CAPTURE IMPACT ON PLAYER AGGRESSIVITY REPUTATION ----------------      
        if I_EventCounter is_the_player > 0                                ; only player
        and I_EventCounter DifficultyLevel > 3                            ; VH difficulty    
        and I_EventCounter faction_turn_egypt < 1                        ; core Egypt region
      
            if I_EventCounter FL_is_crowned_ruler > 0                    ; crowned FL

                inc_event_counter player_aggressivity 3                    ; +3
                
                if I_FactionLeaderTrait Intelligent < 8                    ; +3  Crowned FL average Intelligence
                    inc_event_counter player_aggressivity 3                ; cumulative!
                    
                    if I_FactionLeaderTrait Intelligent < 5                ; +3  Crowned FL low Intelligence
                        inc_event_counter player_aggressivity 3            ; cumulative!

                    end_if
                end_if
            end_if

            if I_EventCounter FL_is_crowned_ruler < 1                    ; UN-crowned

                inc_event_counter player_aggressivity 6                    ; +6
                
                if I_FactionLeaderTrait Intelligent < 8                    ; +6  UNcrowned FL average Intelligence
                    inc_event_counter player_aggressivity 6                ; cumulative!
                    
                    if I_FactionLeaderTrait Intelligent < 5                ; +6  UNcrowned FL low Intelligence
                        inc_event_counter player_aggressivity 6            ; cumulative!
                    end_if
                end_if
            end_if

Conditions to get a Crown

A) The faction consists of all required provinces (described in the entries below) OR his father left him Strong Legacy (he had a Crown or made 2 points in legacy (see here) from the other sources).
B) The faction leader is eligible for a coronation
..... he must not be a „Regent” or “Usurper”
..... he must not be Diseased, AbsentMinded, Idiot, Senile, Quite Mad or Utterly Insane.
..... he's got attributes/traits: [Piety 6+ and Authority 6+] (we may also come up with other sets of traits – please propose if you’ve got an idea)
..... the kingdom is not bankrupt
C) Coronation
..... The eligible FL must spend a end his turn in the relevant settlement.
..... The necessary building exists in the settlement - for most of the factions it will be a church / mosque / temple of a the level of Large City (Cathedral, Jama); while for the Pagans it will be a temple for a Large Town (I wanted to make it a City, but there temples for Large Towns and then for Large Cities).
..... Money: the ceremony costs a lot of money, perhaps 20k or so (see discussion here).
E) Additional conditions (eg: the Catholic faction must not be excommunicated).



Additional information
* there're "pop-out windows" with the relevant information appearing in the game what makes is quite easy for the player to get his bearings. No need to pore over any manual - just read the windows and have a look at the description of the traits on the Faction Leader - everything is described there.
* the AI doesn't know the crowns exist but it still may get them. The requirements have been lowered in this case thus quite a few crowns may be received when a medium AI faction develops into a bigger faction.
* having a crown will be costly - maybe 5k a turn subtracted

[Jurand of Cracow]

Modification plans and infos


The need for modification
The Crowns (of HRE, England, France, Poland, Balts etc.) introduced in the Stainless Steel were not the subject to modification in the SSHIP. However, such a modification is needed for a few reasons:
· the names of the settlements changed in the SSHIP and now it’s not technically possible to get some crowns (eg. settlement changed its name or stands now for a settlement in another part in the world);
· some crowns are really messed up (eg. the Crown of Italy – many sets of crowns, crown available for the Abbassids etc);
· there’re big variations in the ease of getting them: for some factions they’re available almost from the beginning (eg. HRR), for some are very difficult to get (Spain);
· the crowns remain to be mostly “chrome” – without impacting seriously on the gameplay;
· I consider many issues related to them to be a-historical (while the SSHIP is about history).

What will be modified now:
· Bugs will be fixed so that all the existing crowns will be obtainable.
· The sets of provinces that are conditions to get each crown will be adjusted. The choice will be made both on their “historicity” and on the “gameplay” needs (see entry for each crown). In general, the numbers of provinces required for each crown will be balanced (between 12 and 18, with two outliers: England 10, HRE 21).
· Benefits of the crowns will be modified, and also the relevant triggers in the traits will be introduced.
· The names of the crowns and possibly the descriptions and the pics will be modified to be more historical (but I need the assistance here of the player to get precise information).
· Requirements for the player and the AI will vary: as the AI doesn't know the crowns exist, he'll have a much shorter list - just core factional provinces.

I still have some dilemmas:
* how many benefits should be related to a crown? Maybe it should be Authority 1, LocalPopularity 1, LineOfSight 2 + faction_specific?
(the LoS is non-negligible given the FogOfWar system we're going to implement in the next version of the SSHIP)

What would be modified if somebody would help:
· New crowns would be added.
· Crowning ceremony would be added into the game (a pop-up window).
· Maps for each faction with the provinces highlighted would be put into the information panel of each faction.

A few issues worth mentioning
· In the original Stainless Steel system not all crowns are available for all factions. On the contrary - usually, a crown is available to only 1-3 factions. The first reason is the number of code lines (why to have so many triggers if it's unlikely to happen). The second reason is historicity. I hesitated why not to allow many more factions to have the same crown (eg HRE, Kiev, Hungary would be able to attain the crown of Poland). I decided it’s not worth doing it for the following reasons: 1). unnecessary additional modding work, expanding the code too much would have made the turns longer, and players rarely play for so many regions so that they would get to this point; 2). for the gameplay just one crown is enough for the loyalty effects on the generals; 3). there's a limit of 8 ancillaries and there're a few special ancs for the Faction Leaders - no more space for the additional crowns; 4). it wouldn't be historical in many cases; descriptions of many crowns wouldn't be pertinent; 5). the most obvious examples are actully dealt with: there are a few cases where a few factions compete for one crown (Norway & Denmark, Italian factions, Rus, Spanish) and at least one faction has two alternative crowns (Aragon: Aragon on Spain).
· In exceptional cases - what it’s historically plausible - I've made some factions eligible for two different crowns (Lithuania-Poland and England-France). However, this all the related hassle would mean that is unlikely to happen for other reasons than a player’s whim.
· There’ll be no “lesser crowns” like Ireland, Wales, Burgundy, Aragon or Bohemia. They don't fit the framework.
· The crowns are meant only for the player – the AI doesn’t know they exist and won’t gain them otherwise than accidentally.
· The balance between historicity and gameplay must always be found. From the gameplay perspective, the crown is meant to make it possible to build a kingdom bigger than 15-20 provinces. Therefore the number of provinces required to attain a crown will be between 10 (for factions in the vast territories) and 16, with some exceptions.


Ideas for further modifications

· Coronation ceremony – the visuals must have been done for the other mods (eg. HIMA); it’s for sure possible to introduce them to the SSHIP.

· Potential new crowns (badly needed):

...... Khagan of the Steppes (Cumans): very few provinces would be needed to allow Cumans functioning in the current Loyalty setting. This is a badly needed solution as the Cumans may have very difficult time due to the vast distances. A stop-gap solution – to make the faction playable – will be to make the Russia crown available to the Cumans with their set of conditions.
...... Crown of the Caucasus (Georgia) – the Georgians are not eligible for any crown and they’ll have a difficult time expanding. A stop-gap solution – to make the faction playable – will be to make the Russia crown available to the Georgians with their set of conditions. Please note: Georgia does have a crown in 097.
...... Tsar of Serbia – Serbia is in the same situation. However, there's no example from history how to make a big Serbian crown of more than 10 provinces in the SSHIP style. I think making the Byzantine crown available to them (with the set of provinces only in the Balkans) would be the right thing. A stop-gap solution – to make the faction playable – will be to make the Byzantium crown available to the Serbians with their set of conditions. Please note: Serbia does have a crown in 097.
...... Sultan of Anatolia (Rum) - same situation as with Serbia and Georgia. There’s the crown for the Turks but it consists of the provinces much more to the east. This crown would also be available for the Zenghids as a different direction of their expansion. Alternatively, they wanted the crown of Byzantium, so maybe it's right just give them access to that crown. A stop-gap solution – to make the faction playable – will be to make the Turkish crown available to the Rum Seljuks with their set of conditions. Please note: Rum does have a crown in 097.
...... Crown of the Levant – available for all Catholic nations, but mainly for the Kingdom of Jerusalem (that currently doesn’t have access to any crown). This crown would also enable to have a country split into several parts (eg. through an additional trigger abolishing the Near/Far Loyalty). A stop-gap solution – to make the faction playable – will be to make the Egypt crown available to the Crusaders with their set of conditions. Taking into account the crusades of 13th century, the Egyptian provinces will be included. Please note: KoJ does have a crown in 097.

· Potential new crowns (we can cope without):

...... Crown of the Mediterraneum – an alternative direction of expansion for Aragon, Piza, Sicily, and Venice. Would include coasts of eastern Spain, southern Italy, central north Africa, maybe Greece. An alternative to this crown would be “Dominium Maris Mediterraneum”. No stop-gap solution needed – they all already have an access.
...... Crown of the Moors – to make the Moors more historical. It would include southern Spain (Al-Andalus), Baleares, Northern Africa up to Tripoli. No stop-gap solution needed – they all already have an access to the crown of Spain.

· Two-tier system: king’s crowns (10-15 provinces, as they're now, but with limited number of provinces) and a few "imperial" crowns (20-30 provinces):
- HRR (HRE/France): Charlemagne type - current Germany, France, and northern Italy.
- ERE (Byzantium, Serbia, Georgia): mid 11 century with Southern Italy, Anatolia, Armenian Highlands, Caucasus.
- Sultan of the East and West (Seljuks, Abbasids, Zenghids, Fatimids): Malik al-Masriq wa al-Magrib - as Tughril Beg claimed the lands of the Fatimids).
- Tsar of All Russias (Kiev/Novgorod): Ivan IV + type, with the steppes and Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltics.
- King of the Empire of the North Sea (England, Scotland, Denmark): Crown of Cnut - British Islands and Skandinavia,
- Commonwealth (Poland, Lithuania, Hungary) - Crown of Jagiellons - somehow as it was (well, not really effectively) at the beginning 16th century with Kiev Ruthenia, Bohemia and Hungary.
- Crown of Habsburgs (Castille, Aragon, Portugal, Sicily?) - Spain, Italy, Burgundy, Netherlands.
A trait “Imperial Loyalty” would be created allowing even bigger conquests. However, I consider this modification to not necessary.

Such a two-tier system features in the TLK mod for Medieval 2, in the Thrones of Britannia TW, or in the Crusader Kings II.


· Other ideas:
...... trait “seen Rome” for an FL who ended a turn in the province of Rome would be a requirement to get the HRR crown. A similar solution for the Sultan of Turks (Baghdad), Egypt (Mekka – made the Hajj). The existing traits "Pilgrimages" will be used to this end.

-------------

EDIT: note for the SSHIP 097 (published October 2020):
- the plan described here has been implemented (with some modifications);
- in particular, the new crowns were created, the lists of provinces were updated, the requirements were modified, the additional costs were added, the coding behind all these mechanisms have been updated;
- the changes consist mainly of limiting the number of provinces (with some sacrifice to historicity): for the benefit of gameplay the number of provinces is kept around 12;
- each faction has now access to a crown and can see it in-game (a map in the faction panel);
- there're information windows poping-out and exhaustive descriptions of the traits - both on conditions to get a crown and also on the effects thereof.

A few arguments why no more than 1 crown:
- for the gameplay just one crown is enough for the loyalty effects on the generals,
- the code would be far more complicated, it's not worth doing it - there're much more pressing needs,
- it wouldn't be historical in many cases; descriptions of many crowns wouldn't be pertinent,
- there's a limit of 8 ancillaries and there're a few special ancs for the Faction Leaders - no more space for the additional crowns
- there are a few cases where a few factions compete for one crown (NO & DK, Italian factions, Rus, Spanish) and at least one faction having alternative crowns (Aragon: Aragon on Spain).

[Jurand of Cracow]

crown_scandinavia

Current situation
Name: King of Scandinavia
Number provinces: 8
Factions having access: Denmark, Norway.
Concept: historical ambitions of the Danish kings, but without future expansions around the Baltic sea (Finland, Estonia or Mecklenburg).
How easy to get: easy: natural expansion, fought between 2 nations.
Provinces missing: Kalmar.
Is pic correct: ?

Modifications’ ideas
New concept: historical spheres of influence of Norway, Denmark and Sweden (eg. Kalmar union, Baltic territories, perhaps also northern British Islands), ie whole Scandinavia plus Finland. Possible also: Northern Scotland, Meklemburg, Estonia, and even Pomorze. Pro memoria: even in 15c. there were king of the Kalmar union claiming rights for the Northern Island (Hebrides and Orkneys, I suppose).
Gameplay perspective: easy difficulty: standard number of provinces, need to destroy one faction and start wars with 2-3 others, need to make seaborne invasions. Both Norway and Denmark start very small what adds to the difficulty. However, the possibility of fast travel across the sea makes 12 provinces easy. North Scotland gives some spice to the fray, should also be somewhat easy against the AI that is not very skilled at conducting sea-born invasions.
Name of the crown: Norrœn Krone
Title of the ruler: Norrœnkonungr
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Provinces: current 8, Kalmar, Meklemburg, and for Denmark: Finland, Estonia; and for Norway: Northern Scotland.
Number of provinces: Denmark 12, Norway 11.
Place of coronation: Roskilde (SSHIP 097: both DK and NO; in 098 also Bergen for Norway (Bergen: The city's cathedral was the site of the first royal coronation in Norway in the 1150s, and continued to host royal coronations throughout the 13th century.)
Building required for coronation: cathedral.
Factions able to get it: Denmark, Norway.
Pic to be used:
Ideas for distant future: none.
Description: to be developed by the players.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly? Substantially.


Denmark: 12 provinces


Norway: 11 provinces.


Status: implemented as shown on the pics and described above.

[Jurand of Cracow]

crown_russia

Current situation:
Name: Tsar of Russia
Effects: Authority 3, Command 1, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1.
Number provinces: 15
Factions having access: Kiev, Novgorod, Cumans.
Concept: perhaps from 17-19c. as it includes Kernave, Bolghar, Sarkel, and Azaq. Obviously, it not a concept fit for the Cumans.
How easy to get: very difficult because of many provinces, large distances between them and many enemies around. There’re also many factions fighting for those provinces (Kiev, Novgorod, Lithuania, Cumans, Poland). Easier for Kiev (central, many provinces, natural expansion directions), very difficult for Novgorod (natural expansion is slightly different: also west, few provinces at the beginning), very difficult for the Cumans (northern provinces)
Provinces missing / redundant: many redundant and many missing.
Is pic correct: ?

Modifications’ ideas
New concept: historical Rus from 11-15 c. (heritage of Volodymyr and ambitions of the various rulers in 11-13^th centuries).
Gameplay perspective: difficult because of the distances and the need to destroy one faction and wage wars with 2-3 others. For Kiev it can be simple though, while for Novgorod more difficult.
Name of the crown: Shapka Monomakha (Monomakh's Cap)
Title of the ruler: Veliky Knyaz
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Provinces: Pskov, Polock, Novgorod, Turov, Goroden, Volodymyr, Halych, Kiev, Tschernigov, Pereyaslav, Smolensk, Suzdal, Rostov, Ryazan. One may also consider Turku (area of Novogrodian expansion) and Tmutarakan (literary historical place of a Rus settlement 10-14c.), but I don’t think it’s indispensable. Given the size of the Rus lands I’d be inclined to lower the number as much as possible.
Number of provinces: 14.
Place of coronation: Kiev (Zoloti Vorota, city lvl3 - for both Kievan Rus and Novgorod); Novgorod (cathedral, city lvl4, only for Novgorod faction).
Building required for coronation: Orthodox Cathedral / Zoloti Vorota.
Factions able to get it: Kiev, Novgorod.
Pic to be used: to be checked and/or proposed by the players.
Ideas for distant future: make a condition for the first appearance of the crown to have a marriage with a Byzantine princess. Or just an alternative condition: be married to Byzantine princess and has good relations with the Byzantines (or be ally of) – without any province requirements. Or maybe having "Byzantine relations" would lower the requirements for getting the crown.
Maritime ambitions (not related to the crowns, to be used in future, only 2 provinces): Novgorod, Chersonesos.
Description: to be developed by the players.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly?: Partially.



Status: implemented as shown on the pics and described above (14 provinces).

[Jurand of Cracow]

crown_lithuania

Current situation:
Name: King of Balts
Effects: Authority 3, Command 1, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1.
Number provinces: 16
Factions having access: Lithuania.
Concept: it’s pure fantasy. It has little do to with “The Balts”. Murom and Ryazan and Azaq are so far away and actually never became ambitions of the Lithuanians. Not to mention that the Lithuanian folk would turn Ruthenian before conquering all that so it’d be difficult to name it “King of Balts”.
How easy to get: very difficult due to vast lands to be conquered and numerous enemies.
Provinces missing / redundant: too many to mention. Need to redo from scratch.
Is pic correct: ?

Modifications’ ideas
New concept: could be turned it into the Crown of Lithuania with Ruthenian lands as the great Lithuanian leaders of 14-15c. acquired (see here) plus the Baltic lands with population somehow close ethnically, and a traditional destination of the raids in 13-14c. – Masovia (also for the gameplay - to prompt a conflict with Poland). One may also consider Kolyvan, Turku and Pskov - but historically it was not the case.
Gameplay perspective: difficult: standard number of provinces but the need to fight wars with 3 factions and there’re vast territories to conquer. Lithuania starts also very small. Taking lands around Kiev (Kiev, Tschernigov, Pereyaslav) can also be difficult and should be left for the late game. A more reasonable direction of expansion is to the north, to the lands that are just next-door. Therefore Kolyvan and Pskov are included.
Name of the crown: Crown of Lithuania (or translated, if anybody provides the text)
Title of the ruler: Lietuvos karalystė
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Provinces: Mazovia, Kernave, Twangste, Riga, Goroden, Turov, Volodymyr, Smolensk, Polock, Kolyvan, Pskov.
Number of provinces: 11.
Place of coronation: Kernave
Building required for coronation: Dievas, Perkunas or Giltine Sanctuary (ie. large town level) - from mid-2022: Vilnius Pilis building (unique for Kernave)
Factions able to get it: Lithuania.
Pic to be used: to be checked and/or proposed by the players.
Ideas for distant future: none.
Description: to be developed by the players.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly?: Substantially.



Status: implemented as shown on the pics and described above (11 provinces).

[Jurand of Cracow]

crown_poland

Current situation:
Name: King of Slavs
Effects: Authority 3, Command 1, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1.
Number provinces: 16
Factions having access: Poland.
Concept: the title “King of Slavs” is very strange. I think nobody in the Middle Ages and a few centuries later would have thought in such a way. The concept of “Crown of Poland” developed sometime in 13-14^th century (along with a similar concept in Hungary), and such a title would be legitimate.
How easy to get: very difficult.
Provinces missing / redundant: currently those 16 provinces are pure fantasy. However, Poznan, at the heart of Poland, is missing.
Is pic correct: no, but I’ve already changed it in the PTF submod.

Modifications’ ideas
New concept: lands in the possession of the Polish kings in late Middle Ages, with the large fief of 15c: Moldavia. The issues:
-- I still hesitate if to include Kiev - this is good for the gameplay, but is barely historical (until 16c., in the contemporary literature it was considered indeed as the land of "the others").
-- what to do with the Baltics? I've included Hrodna, but didn't go north. One option is to include Lithuania, Livonia and Turov, what' would make a challenge for Poland (15 provinces).
-- there's been a significant Commonwealth involvement in the Bohemian politics in the 1st part of 15c. (the Hussiten affairs). The inclusion of Bohemia and Moravia wouldn't be deemed un-historical then. However, these lands were not considered as part of the "Corona Regni Poloniae" at any point of time besides early 11c.
Gameplay perspective: average difficulty: standard number of provinces, but the need to wage wars with 2-4 factions, and vast territories are needed to be conquered, also one capital is to be taken. Poland starts big but underdeveloped and the risks of wars on all fronts are a real threat. This choice of the provinces prevents from un-historical expansion to the north.
Name of the crown: Corona Regni Poloniae
Title of the ruler: Rex Poloniae
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Place of coronation: Kraków or Poznan.
Building required for coronation: Marienkirche (lvl2, city) in Krakow or St. Adalbertus (lvl3, city) in Poznan.
Provinces: Stetin, Poznan, Wroclaw, Krakow, Plock, Gdansk, Twangste, Goroden, Volodymyr, Halych, Iasi, Kiev.
Provinces: 12.
Factions able to get it: Poland.
Pic to be used: already included in the mod PTF.
Ideas for distant future: none.
Maritime ambitions (not related to the crowns, to be used in future, only 2 provinces): Gdansk, Iassi.
Description: to be developed by the players. In in Latin then might be: Dei gratia rex Poloniae (The King of Poland)
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly? Substantially.



Status: implemented as shown on the pics and described above (12 provinces).

[Jurand of Cracow]

crown_hungary

Current situation:
Name: King of Hungary
Effects: Authority 3, Command 1, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1.
Number provinces: 10
Factions having access: Hungary.
Concept: more-or-less the Kingdom of Hungary 14-15 c., but some provinces are missing.
How easy to get: moderate: geographically concentrated, space of two factions (Hungary, Serbia), but wars with a few neighbors are needed.
Provinces missing / redundant: Zara (Dalmatia), Ragusa (dependent from 1358 onwards), Vrhbosna, Halych (historical target in 14 c. to be lost to Poland at the end).
Is pic correct: ?

Modifications’ ideas
New concept: Kingdom of Hungary of 14-15 c. plus some additional ambitions that appeared in history: even Austria in mid 13c. ( but to keep it simple, let's leave it to HRE), Wallachia and Moldavia (the influences were significant, they should be included). Adding ambitions of Matthias Corvinus would perhaps be too much in terms of the gameplay (Brandenburg is too far away).
Alternatively, one may take into account the events from 14th century and the ambitions of the Anjou dynasty - the South of Italy.
Gameplay perspective: normal difficulty: provinces are densly packed together and everything in the natural direction of expansion. A need to fight strong neighbors like HRR and Byzantium (and peace with Poland is a must!). The alternative map is challenging: expansion to Italy would be difficult.
Name of the crown: Szent Korona
Title of the ruler: Rex Hungariae
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Provinces: Esztergom, Szekesfehervar, Varad, Gyulafehervar, Zagreb, Zara, Ragusa, Vrhbosna, Halych, Iassi, Tergoviste, Ras, Nis.
Number provinces: 13.
Place of coronation: Szekesfehervar.
Building required for coronation: Cathedral.
Factions having access: Hungary.
Pic to be used:
Ideas for distant future: none.
Maritime ambitions (not related to the crowns, to be used in future, only 2 provinces): Ragusa, Iassi.
Description:to be developed by the players.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly?: Substantially.




Status: implemented as shown on the both pics and described above (13 provinces).

[Jurand of Cracow]

crown_england

Current situation:
Name: King of Britain
Effects: Authority 3, Command 1, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1.
Number cities: 8
Factions having access:
Concept: British islands. Achieved in the modern times, but convincing. The French territories belonging to the English faction should indeed not be included.
How easy to get: very easy: after conquering one other faction it’s available for Scotland and England. And the territories are in the usual, inevitable direction of expansion.
Provinces missing: Caen is now Norwich (missing), Nottingham is now Lincoln (redundant-missing), Aberdeen is now Coimbra (redundant) – which means you cannot get the crown.
Is pic correct: ?

Modifications’ ideas
New concept: Crown of the Normans - in style of Henry II: the British Islands and western France.
Gameplay perspective: moderately difficult, you need to fight the other British faction and France.
Name of the crown: in French or Latin? How it should be?
Title of the ruler: ?
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Provinces: add Rouen, Norwich and Lincoln, remove Nottingham and Aberdeen (that are not somewhere else on the map, not in Britain). Add also other provinces in France: Bordeaux, Poitiers, Angers, Roazhon. Clermont is excluded to keep the crown simpler, with 14 provinces. However, Scotland won't have those French provinces as requirement.
Number provinces: England: 14, Scotland: 9.
Place of coronation: London (England), Edinburgh (Scotland)
Building required for coronation: English: Cathedral (from mid-2022: The White Tower) / Scotts: Edinburgh Castle.
Factions able to get it: Scotland, England.
Pic to be used: tbc.
Ideas for distant future: none
Description: to be developed by the players.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly? Substantially.

England: 14 provinces. (April 7th 2022: 15 (with Clermont), but in the next version it will be reduced to 13: also without Rennes)



Scotland: 9 provinces.



Status: implemented as shown on the pics and described above.

[Jurand of Cracow]

crown_france

Current situation:
Name: King of France
Effects: Authority 3, Command 1, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1.
Number cities: 12
Factions having access: France.
Concept: a conventional concept of France extended somehow with Brabant and Lower Lorraine.
How easy to get:
Provinces missing / redundant: Norwich is redundant perhaps Trier should go as well, many are missing, actually it’s better to make the whole list from scratch.
Is pic correct: ?

Modifications’ ideas
New concept: perhaps West Frankish kingdom as it was in 10-11 c. plus Burgundian lands, or even more ambitious (16-17c), but without either Brabant or Trier. The issue of Nizza is slightly different: it was not French, but the lords of Provence tried to subjugate it, so it's somehow as "ambition". However, it's skipped to keep the number of provinces low.
Gameplay perspective: easy to get: provinces are geographically packed, no enemy capital to be taken, wars with a limited number of enemies nations.
Name of the crown: ?
Title of the ruler: ?
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Provinces: Gand, Reims, Paris, Rouen, Rennes (Roazhon), Angers, Poitiers, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Clermont, Orleans, Troyes, Dijon, Lyon, Arles.
Number provinces: 15.
Place of coronation: Rheims (with cathedral), Naples (with Maschio Angioino), Jerusalem (with St Sepulchre).
Building required for coronation: as above.
Pic to be used: to be checked and/or proposed by the players.
Ideas for distant future: none
Description: to be developed by the players.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly?: Partially.



Status: implemented as shown on the pics and described above (15 provinces).

[Jurand of Cracow]

crown_hre

Current situation:
Name: Holy Roman Emperor
Effects: Authority 3, Command 1, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1.
Number cities: 11
Factions having access: HRR.
Concept: lands of Germany plus Bohemia. Some lands currently held by HRR are not included, some lands historically belonging to HRR either.
How easy to get: for the moment – very easy: only neutral Praha and Polish Stetin are not initially in the HRR possession, the rest is already there.
Provinces missing / redundant: perhaps some German provinces. No Italian province is included which would make for a historical “empire”.
Is pic correct: looks fine: the right one.

Modifications’ ideas
Modding desiderations: difficult to choose. On one hand, the historical HRR is much larger and more provinces should be included also to create at least a minimal challenge for the gameplay. However, then the number of provinces should be not comparable to the other crown thus bad for the gameplay.
New concept: "Regnum Theutonicorum": the core of the HRR, speaking a sort of German language.
Future concept: the provinces of the Holy Roman Empire where the emperor had some real power in the early Middle Ages (or rather influence – this was power without a state, as Gerd Althoff put it), even with Burgundy, Northern Italy, and also Bohemia and (?) Prussia. If ever implemented: the crowning ceremony would be near Rome (?).
Gameplay perspective: available almost from the start of the game.
Name of the crown: Reichskrone
Title of the ruler: Keiser
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Provinces: as on the pic.
Number provinces: 16.
Place of coronation: Coelln (instead of Aachen) - one may also consider other requirements, like existence of the Cathedral of Speyer or such.
Building required for coronation: Cathedral.
Factions able to get it: HRR.
Pic to be used: looks fine: the right one.
Ideas for distant future: if the two-tier system would be implemented, then the second-tier would encompass the big, historical HRR: all its provinces in 13^th century (basically: more Slavic), while the first-tier would have been smaller (minus the current French and Italian)
Description: to be developed by the players.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly?: Partially.



Implemented with 16 provinces. (no Italian, French and Bohemian provinces)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Jurand of Cracow]

crown_spain

Current situation:
Name: King of Spain
Effects: Authority 3, Command 1, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1.
Number cities: 12
Factions having access: Aragon, Castille, Portugal, Almoravids.
Concept: only historical Spanish provinces (15c plus today’s style: Aragon, Castille, Al-Andalus), no French, no Portugues. Portugal can gain the crown, which didn’t happen in history, but is convincing.
How easy to get: on geography: a natural direction of expansion, “packed” in one region, close to each other; however it’s fought among 4 factions what makes it difficult to achieve.
Provinces missing: Sevilla, Valladolid, perhaps Silves, Coimbra, Lisboa and also Palma.
Is pic correct: ?

Modifications’ ideas
New concept: Spanish ambitions that were achieved at the end of 16^th century: whole Iberic peninsula (with Portugal and Baleares).
Gameplay perspective: average difficulty: many provinces, fought with many nations, but geographically packed making it a natural expansion for the 4 nations.
Name of the crown: Corona Ibérica
Title of the ruler: Imperator totius Hispaniae
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Provinces: Santiago, Leon, Burgos, Pamplona, Zaragoza, Barcelona, Valencia, Murcia, Toledo, Badajoz, Cordoba, Granada plus Sevilla, Valladolid, Coimbra, Lisboa, Silves, Palma.
Number provinces: 18.
Place of coronation: Castille: Toledo; Portugal: Lisboa, Aragon: Zaragoza, Granada, Toledo or Palermo.
Building required for coronation: for Castille: Alkazar in Toledo / for Portugal: Alkazar in Lisbon / for Aragon: Alkazar in Toledo, Granada, Zaragoza and also Palazzo dei Normanii in Palermo.
Pic to be used: tbc.
Ideas for distant future: none.
Maritime ambitions (not related to the crowns, to be used in future, only 2 provinces): Barcelona, Lisboa.
Description: to be developed by the players.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly?: Partially.
----
I didn't have time yet to elaborate here , but in the patch there'll be crowns with maps as I've decided to go for smaller number of provinces and diferentiation between factions.

Aragon will have a separate crown, but also access to the Corona Ibérica.
Leon will have two sets of provinces for gaining the crown.

Portugal - 13 provinces



Leon - 15 provinces or 13 provinces as in the map for Portugal



Aragon - 12 provinces for own crown or 15 provinces for the Corona Ibérica



Status: implemented in 0.97, places of coronation updated in 0.98.

[Jurand of Cracow]

crown_italy

Current situation:
Name: King of Italy
Effects: Authority 3, Command 1, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1.
Number cities: 13.
Factions having access: Sicily, Venice, Abbasids (since they replace Milan) – there’s some mess with one set of triggers.
Concept: Italian peninsula, notably without Rome.
How easy to get: easy.
Provinces missing / redundant: Roma, hmm.
Is pic correct: ?

Modifications’ ideas
New concept: any concept based on the political divisions wouldn’t make much sense. The concept here is a geographical one: whole Apennine Peninsula plus the islands minus Rome (as the seat of the Pope). Additional conditions for coronation may be added (“seen Rome” etc.). One may also think if not to add: Zara, Ragusa.
Gameplay perspective: the most difficult part is to cope with the pope and the HRE. The rest is easier.
One of the problems associated with this crown is that there's an ancillary "Iron Crown" in the game. It's a relic. I'm leaving it in for the moment.
Name of the crown: ?
Title of the ruler: ?
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Provinces: as on the pic.
Number provinces: 14.
Place of coronation: Lombardy (historically: Pavia).
Building required for coronation: Campo dei Miracoli lvl5: Church with Baptistry and Tower for Pisa (ie: City level but after some investment), San Marco for Venice, Palazzo dei Normanni for Sicily.
Factions able to get it: Venice, Pisa, Sicily.
Pic to be used: tbd.
Ideas for distant future: tbd.
Description: to be developed by the players.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly?: Partially.

I didn't have time yet to elaborate here , but in the patch there'll be crowns with 5 maps as I've decided to go for smaller number of provinces and diferentiation between factions:

Sicily: 13 provinces for the Land version, 12 for the Maritime version



In-game this one is slightly different: no Jerusalem, Corinth, Arta, but Thessalonica, Tarabulus.
The reason is both the gameplay (Jerusalem is too far and conquering it would have meant getting into war probably with many local factions), and historicity: think of AD 1185 and conqest of Thesallonica (and the war one century earlier also of 1084). Tarabulus (and many cities in Tunesia) were in Sicilian possesion in mid-12th century, before the advent of the Almohads.


Pisa: 13 provinces for the Land version, 12 for the Maritime version






Venice: 14 provinces for the Land version, 11 for the Maritime version





Implemented in 097.

[Jurand of Cracow]

crown_byzantium

Current situation:
Name: Exarch of Byzantium
Effects: Authority 3, Command 1, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1.
Number cities: 13
Factions having access: Byzantium.
Concept: I’m unsure about the name. Besides, it seems rather limited as far as the size of the empire in 10-11 c. is concerned.
How easy to get:
Provinces missing / redundant: historically Sicily and south Italy. Also, all Armenian lands (Ani) should be included. But that’s a lot of provinces and they’re far away.
Is pic correct: no

Modifications’ ideas
New concept: the vision of the Byzantine lands of the 12-13c. with some substractions. It's much less than the Macedonians’ empire of the 11c. and for the sake of the gameplay it includes even fewer provinces. I hesitated much if to include Antioch and Cilicia. I’ve decided not to: the ambitions were there, but effective control rarely and the most important thing: there’s still a very high number of provinces required for this crown.
Gameplay perspective: low difficulty in 1132 (the provinces are already there), but may be difficult with 1236 start: few provinces, enemies on both sides, the need to take out one faction. However, it’s geographically concentrated and linked by the sea - what makes troops' movements much easier.
Name of the crown: Kamēlaúkion
Title of the ruler: Basileus kai autokratōr Rhōmaíōn
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Factions having access: Byzantium.
Provinces: as shown on the map.
Number provinces: 16.
Place of coronation: Constantinople.
Building required for coronation: Hagia Sophia.
Factions able to get it: Byzantium (Georgia and Serbia will have their own crowns).
Pic to be used:
Ideas for distant future: if the concept of a two-tier system would be followed then a “better” Byzantine crown would be created including more lands both in the East (Anatolia and Armenian Highlands), and in the West (South Italy), but this crown would include less.
Description: En Christō tō Theō pistós basileus kai autokratōr Rhōmaíōn: he is has been chosen by God to be the emperor of the Romans.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly?: Partially.



Status: implemented with 16 provinces.
(mind that Byzantium starts already with 14 provinces: only Trapezous and Sinope are lacking in 1132)

[Jurand of Cracow]

crown_turks

Current situation:
Name: Sultan of Turks
Number cities: 20.
Factions having access: Seljuqs, Abbasids.
Concept: dominions of the Great Seljuqs at the end of 11^th century. It was the (brief) hight of their rule and they didn’t control in full all these territories at the same moment. Too broad concept for the SSHIP gameplay.
How easy to get: difficult, many factions to war with.
Provinces missing / redundant: many, it’s better just to start from scratch.
Is pic correct: ?

Modifications’ ideas
New concept: potential Seljuk ambitions in the mid-12^th century. Of course, you don't have much lands in the east that Sanjar ruled over (however thinly), but it's still a great landmass. This is mainly because of the gameplay: it’s already a vast territory, especially as compared to Europe. Also, a compromise between Seljuqs and Abbasid ambitions should be found. One of the questions is if to include al Basra and al Wasit. It's there, but maybe not?
Gameplay perspective: still difficult due to the vast spaces and number of the enemies. And the Mongols will come soon.
Name of the crown: ?
Title of the ruler: Sultan of the Turks
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Provinces: as on the pic.
Number provinces: 15.
Place of coronation: Baghdad (or Isfahan?)
Building required for coronation: Jama.
Factions able to get it: Seljuqs, Abbasids.
Pic to be used: tbc.
Ideas for distant future: second-tier crown would be needed.
Description: to be developed by the players.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly?: Partially.

--------------
The concept has been implemented into the SSHIP as two separate crowns, with requirements as below:

Crown of the Turks:



Status: implemented with 15 provinces.


A crown of the Caliph:



Status: implemented with 12 provinces.

[Jurand of Cracow]

crown_egypt

Current situation:
Name: Sultan of Egypt
Number cities: 17
Factions having access: Fatimids.
Concept: historical ambitions of the Fatimids and other dynasties, never achieved and very grandiose. From the point of view of the gameplay definitely too broad, as they include whole Mesopotamia.
How easy to get: difficult, many factions to war with.
Provinces missing / redundant: too many to change, it’s better just to start from scratch.
Is pic correct: ?

Modifications’ ideas
New concept: Ayyubids at the high of their power at the end of 12^th century – ie on the death of Saladin. The number of provinces is still very high, and challenges abound (there’s a need to kill off two factions), but geographically it’s more packed and makes more sense. The Fatymid ambitions were much wider (with their homeland of Ifrikyia and even Sicily).
Gameplay perspective: difficult due to the distance and the need to fight many enemies (in practice, there'll be more provinces as the Holy Land will be taken just by way of getting north and east). The traditional lands in Ifrikyia should be defined as a end-goal of the campaign.
Name of the crown: Crown of al-Misr
Title of the ruler: Sultan of al-Misr
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Place of coronation: Al Quahira.
Building required for coronation: Al-Azhar Mosque (the upper level of the university building).
Provinces: as on the pic.
Number provinces: 15.
Factions having access: Fatimids, in the future: Zenghids.
Pic to be used: tbc.
Description: to be developed by the players.
Ideas for distant future: none
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly?: Partially.




Status: implemented with 14 provinces.

[Jurand of Cracow]

crown_steppes

Current situation: doesn’t exist.

Modifications’ ideas
New concept: very few steppe provinces to allow Cumans functioning in the current Loyalty setting.
Gameplay perspective: badly needed solution as the Cumans may have very difficult time due to the vast distances.
Name of the crown: xxx
Title of the ruler: Khagan of the Steppes
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Provinces: xxx.
Number of provinces: x.
Place of coronation: xx.
Building required for coronation: x.
Factions able to get it: Cumans.
Pic to be used: to be created.
Ideas for distant future: none.
Description: to be developed by the players.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly?: No.



Status: implemented with 10 provinces.

[Jurand of Cracow]

crown_caucasus

Current situation: doesn’t exist.

Modifications’ ideas
New concept: xxx.
Gameplay perspective: the Georgians are not eligible for any crown and they’ll have a difficult time expanding.
Name of the crown: Crown of the Bagratids
Title of the ruler: King of Caucasus
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Provinces: as in the map.
Number of provinces: 9.
Place of coronation: Tbilisi.
Building required for coronation: Narikala lvl 3 (city level).
Factions able to get it: Georgia.
Pic to be used: created.
Ideas for distant future: none.
Description: to be developed by the players.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly?: No.



Status: implemented with 9 provinces.

[Jurand of Cracow]

crown_serbia

Current situation: doesn’t exist.

Modifications’ ideas
New concept: the Stephan Dushan kingdom of mid-14c plus potential lands around, including Greece and Bulgaria up to Constantinople. So let's make it "the Balkans" what would add up to 13 provinces. The Serbian ambitions in 14th century included indeed subdueing the whole Byzantium. As a result, coronation will happen in Constantinople.
Gameplay perspective: the Serbians are not eligible for any crown and they’ll have a difficult time expanding, so creation of their crown is badly needed.
Name of the crown: xxx
Title of the ruler: Tsar of Serbia
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Provinces: as on the map. Maybe Wallachia should be added?
Number of provinces: 13.
Place of coronation: Constantinople, Ras.
Building required for coronation: Orthodox Cathedral / Petrova Crkva in Ras.
Factions able to get it: Serbia.
Pic to be used: newly created but not historical, I suppose.
Ideas for distant future: none.
Description: to be developed by the players.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly?: Partially.



Status: implemented with 13 provinces.

[Jurand of Cracow]

crown_anatolia

Current situation: doesn’t exist.

Modifications’ ideas
New concept: xx.
Gameplay perspective: There’s the crown for the Turks but it consists of the provinces much more to the east. This crown would also be available for the Zenghids as a different direction of their expansion. Also, the Seljuqs fleeing from the Mongols would be able to get it.
Name of the crown: xxx
Title of the ruler: Sultan of Anatolia
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Provinces: xxx.
Number of provinces: x.
Place of coronation: xx.
Building required for coronation: x.
Factions able to get it: Rum, Zenghids, Seljuks.
Pic to be used: to be created.
Ideas for distant future: none.
Maritime ambitions (not related to the crowns, to be used in future, only 2 provinces signifying ambitions of the faction): Sinope, Attalya.
Description: to be developed by the players.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly?: No.

Rum version with 12 provinces.


Osman version with 13 provinces.



Status: implemented.