KINGDOM of JERUSALEM

[Jurand of Cracow]

I. General information

This thread is meant to gather all information about the faction and to conduct discussions on the faction related issues.

The entries should be developed by both the SSHIP team and the interested players.

[Jurand of Cracow]

II. Strategy & gameplay


To be developed in due course. If you've played the game with this faction and have insights how to help fellow players, please write a proposal for this section.

[Jurand of Cracow]

III. Provinces

The provinces that have historically been assigned to this faction are listed here - it's usually defined by the "faction_creator" in the "descr_strat.txt" file.

Provincial titles:
General explanations to be found in the relevant thread on the PTs.
Catholic: generic Latin term "Comes ... -ae" everywhere.
Orthodox: generic "Knyaz ... -sky"
Muslim: generic "Emir of".
Coast of arms: from the base SS6.4 unless explicitly described here.
Names of provinces: from the base SSHIP unless explicitely described here.

Jerusalem (Jerusalem, Jerusalem_Province)
PT: not reviewed.
CoA: not reviewed.
Settlement name: .
Province name:
Resources: ...
Fertility: x.

Acre (Acre, Sis_Province)
PT: not reviewed.
CoA: not reviewed.
Settlement name: .
Province name:
Resources: ...
Fertility: x.

An interesting clip about Acre:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Sis (Sis, Sis_Province)
PT: not reviewed.
CoA: not reviewed.
Settlement name: Sis. I think the choice of the city was based on the political and religious significance for the Armenians. Given their historiographical tradition, it found its way into the main history books in the West.
However, throughout Medieval times, other cities were larger and more important for the other nations: Adana, Tarsus, Anarbazda, even Ayas.
Given that there're not Armenia faction in the game, I'd switch to Tarsus / Tarson.
(similar situation with Ani - Dvin in the Greater Armenia)
Province name:
Resources: ...
Fertility: 5. Very feritile, might even be higher.

Sis (Sis, Sis_Province)
PT: not reviewed.
CoA: not reviewed.
Settlement name: Sis. I think the choice of the city was based on the political and religious significance for the Armenians. Given their historiographical tradition, it found its way into the main history books in the West.
However, throughout Medieval times, other cities were larger and more important for the other nations: Adana, Tarsus, Anarbazda, even Ayas.
Given that there're not Armenia faction in the game, I'd switch to Tarsus / Tarson.
(similar situation with Ani - Dvin in the Greater Armenia)
Province name:
Resources: ...
Fertility: 5. Very feritile, might even be higher.

[Jurand of Cracow]

IV. Faction specific features

The Crown of Jerusalem is discussed in this entry.
(once finished and implemented, it might be copied here as well)

The Offices are described in this thread.

The Crusader States are catholic and northern_european culture group, thus they have access to some buildings that may be not available to every faction.
(note: this might be important for getting certain traits).

Crusader Blood: not checked.

Specific traits: not checked, however it have an easier access to many traits related to the city of Jerusalem.

[Jurand of Cracow]

V. Starting position in 1132 (incl. settlements, armies, generals, traits, political situation)

to be developed in due course

[Jurand of Cracow]

VI. Units

to be developed in due course

[Jurand of Cracow]

VIII. Reserve

to be used if needed

[officialdeo]

One of my favourite factions to play with when I'm in the mood for teeth-grinding battles after battles.

There is a glaring problem with Jerusalem: it is terribly overextended. A quick look at the map tells you that the best way to control the Levant is obviously holding Damascus while securing the northern and southern borders, since this region is a gateway to Anatolia, Iran, Egypt, and Arabia. Yet you start as a lone Catholic in a sea of Muslims, with the nearest Christian power not even all that friendly towards Catholics.

First, you need to consolidate your possessions. You cannot have your cake and eat it; you need to choose between Jerusalem or Antioch as a power base. I prefer Antioch since it's close to the Romans and Jerusalem naturally falls to whoever controls Egypt proper, even in the real world. Just look at how close Ascalon is to Jerusalem, a Fatimid stack is ready to attack at any time. Therefore, prepare to evacuate your army to the north while keeping minimum garrison for steady income just long enough until Jerusalem is overrun by the Fatimids. Defend Acre at all cost; if you lose it you're going to play a grinding game of attrition.

Secondly, focus your resource on Antioch as the new capital and secure your backdoor, Cilicia and Melitene. Strike an alliance with the Romans, they should be fighting the Turks at this point. It's the perfect setup for you to raid them, gaining gold and those Papal favours. The Romans do not have immediate ambition over your domain, so it's a safe bet. Expect another crusade to be called anytime now. Your army should be ready at this point.

Third, and the most important part, defeat the Zengids first, don't be overly ambitious by trying to retake Jerusalem. Try to get a crusade for Aleppo called instead, but even if another faction calls for Jerusalem, you can just invade Aleppo first and partake on the siege later. Aleppo is vital since it is a strategic military base to securing the gate towards Iran and any jihadist coming that way. If you can consolidate Aleppo, you will practically secure your hold in the Middle East. Don't bother with holding Jerusalem for the time being, even if you manage to win the siege.

Fourth. At this point usually the Fatimids or the Zengids have control over Damascus, sometimes it's a random Islamic faction due to jihad, other times it's a Christian faction. In any case, it is ripe for the picking; time to invade it by means of a two-pronged attack from Acre and Aleppo. It's going to take some time to consolidate since it's a large city with a very large Muslim population. If you like roleplaying Genghis Khan, you can try to exterminate the city of its populace as well. But it is well worth the hassle consolidating, since Damascus is a city with great economic potential and will allow you to field several stacks. If you are lucky, the Zengids may be down to its last cities. Try to vassalise them and create a buffer state. There is no point for the moment in vanquishing them and overextending yourself yet again.

Fifth, and the moment you have been waiting for all this time. Payback time. You should be rich enough to field several stacks such that you can launch a campaign to conquer Jerusalem all the way to Egypt. If you can call a crusade, call it now to their most garrisoned city. You need to do this in one go so the Fatimids have no time to retreat and recover their losses. Don't underestimate them, Egypt is obscenely rich and can spam stacks after stacks of soldier.

[officialdeo]

By the way, I noticed that all the cities have North European culture. Is it done for game balancing purpose?

[Lifthrasir]

No, it's been coded that way by the past (before the actual team time and possibly already in SS). I'm not sure that it's worth to create a culture just for that faction, admitting that the limit isn't reached yet.

[officialdeo]

No, it's been coded that way by the past (before the actual team time and possibly already in SS). I'm not sure that it's worth to create a culture just for that faction, admitting that the limit isn't reached yet.

Nah, I’m not suggesting a new culture. I just thought the coastal cities would fit better in the Byzantine group, following the same logic as Cilicia that has a large Armenian population. However, I don’t know how accurate or balanced this idea is.

[Lifthrasir]

Nothing related to balance or accuracy actually. I think that the creators of this just considered that CS were mostly from Western Europe. In the English version of the game, they even have a French accent. Hence that choice - I guess. But that's just my opinion

[officialdeo]

Nothing related to balance or accuracy actually. I think that the creators of this just considered that CS were mostly from Western Europe. In the English version of the game, they even have a French accent. Hence that choice - I guess. But that's just my opinion

Yeah, I thought that might be the reason - French (more or less) rulers, hence North European looking settlement. Any idea how I can personally change it?

[Lifthrasir]

I think that you need to change the faction's culture.

[officialdeo]

I think that you need to change the faction's culture.

Sorry, I mean the preexisting coastal cities' model, not the faction's culture. So it's like Tarnograd at the start of the game; a faction of different culture hold it but they can change the culture if they upgrade the settlement.

[Tripledot]

One of my favourite factions to play with when I'm in the mood for teeth-grinding battles after battles.

There is a glaring problem with Jerusalem: it is terribly overextended. A quick look at the map tells you that the best way to control the Levant is obviously holding Damascus while securing the northern and southern borders, since this region is a gateway to Anatolia, Iran, Egypt, and Arabia. Yet you start as a lone Catholic in a sea of Muslims, with the nearest Christian power not even all that friendly towards Catholics.

First, you need to consolidate your possessions. You cannot have your cake and eat it; you need to choose between Jerusalem or Antioch as a power base. I prefer Antioch since it's close to the Romans and Jerusalem naturally falls to whoever controls Egypt proper, even in the real world. Just look at how close Ascalon is to Jerusalem, a Fatimid stack is ready to attack at any time. Therefore, prepare to evacuate your army to the north while keeping minimum garrison for steady income just long enough until Jerusalem is overrun by the Fatimids. Defend Acre at all cost; if you lose it you're going to play a grinding game of attrition.

Secondly, focus your resource on Antioch as the new capital and secure your backdoor, Cilicia and Melitene. Strike an alliance with the Romans, they should be fighting the Turks at this point. It's the perfect setup for you to raid them, gaining gold and those Papal favours. The Romans do not have immediate ambition over your domain, so it's a safe bet. Expect another crusade to be called anytime now. Your army should be ready at this point.

Third, and the most important part, defeat the Zengids first, don't be overly ambitious by trying to retake Jerusalem. Try to get a crusade for Aleppo called instead, but even if another faction calls for Jerusalem, you can just invade Aleppo first and partake on the siege later. Aleppo is vital since it is a strategic military base to securing the gate towards Iran and any jihadist coming that way. If you can consolidate Aleppo, you will practically secure your hold in the Middle East. Don't bother with holding Jerusalem for the time being, even if you manage to win the siege.

Fourth. At this point usually the Fatimids or the Zengids have control over Damascus, sometimes it's a random Islamic faction due to jihad, other times it's a Christian faction. In any case, it is ripe for the picking; time to invade it by means of a two-pronged attack from Acre and Aleppo. It's going to take some time to consolidate since it's a large city with a very large Muslim population. If you like roleplaying Genghis Khan, you can try to exterminate the city of its populace as well. But it is well worth the hassle consolidating, since Damascus is a city with great economic potential and will allow you to field several stacks. If you are lucky, the Zengids may be down to its last cities. Try to vassalise them and create a buffer state. There is no point for the moment in vanquishing them and overextending yourself yet again.

Fifth, and the moment you have been waiting for all this time. Payback time. You should be rich enough to field several stacks such that you can launch a campaign to conquer Jerusalem all the way to Egypt. If you can call a crusade, call it now to their most garrisoned city. You need to do this in one go so the Fatimids have no time to retreat and recover their losses. Don't underestimate them, Egypt is obscenely rich and can spam stacks after stacks of soldier.

I actually think the opposite approach is better for KoJ- defend Jerusalem at all costs, and make early attacks against the Fatimids to secure Ascalon. Jerusalem has a truly tremendous public order bonus in the form of Glory, which will help in keeping non-Catholic lands under control, as well as being located close to Ascalon- once you control the settlement, it's actually quite a boon, as it acts as a roadblock to Fatimid forces and when it does get besieged, it can easily be relieved by forces stationed in Jerusalem or Acre (not to mention that the Fatimids will be no longer able to recruit castle-line units and will pump out stacks of easily-defeated militias instead, which are great for farming Reputation- which is important as you need a decent reputation to recruit Holy Orders).

Abusing the Crusade mechanic allows you to rapidly obtain funds for construction, though the level to which that'd be called an exploit is debatable. Nevertheless, saving several thousands of ducats on maintenance for your religious order knights does free up some money to build up the capital in time to get educated heirs. And as long as you're fighting your enemies, you're going to be on friendly enough terms with the Pope to call Crusades whenever the cooldown runs out.

[Jurand of Cracow]

not to mention that the Fatimids will be no longer able to recruit castle-line units and will pump out stacks of easily-defeated militias instead

Do you think that for the gameplay it'd be good to switch Damietta into the castle-type of settlement (ie fortress)?

[officialdeo]

I actually think the opposite approach is better for KoJ- defend Jerusalem at all costs, and make early attacks against the Fatimids to secure Ascalon. Jerusalem has a truly tremendous public order bonus in the form of Glory, which will help in keeping non-Catholic lands under control, as well as being located close to Ascalon- once you control the settlement, it's actually quite a boon, as it acts as a roadblock to Fatimid forces and when it does get besieged, it can easily be relieved by forces stationed in Jerusalem or Acre (not to mention that the Fatimids will be no longer able to recruit castle-line units and will pump out stacks of easily-defeated militias instead, which are great for farming Reputation- which is important as you need a decent reputation to recruit Holy Orders).

Abusing the Crusade mechanic allows you to rapidly obtain funds for construction, though the level to which that'd be called an exploit is debatable. Nevertheless, saving several thousands of ducats on maintenance for your religious order knights does free up some money to build up the capital in time to get educated heirs. And as long as you're fighting your enemies, you're going to be on friendly enough terms with the Pope to call Crusades whenever the cooldown runs out.

This is assuming the player is good enough to gamble on an all-out attack on Ascalon. I'm not that confident honestly, but I understand other people might pull it off even in VH/VH. I also prioritise compact borders, for what it's worth.

Take it with a grain of salt though, it's just a tip for noobs like me who want to play on H or VH.

Do you think that for the gameplay it'd be good to switch Damietta into the castle-type of settlement (ie fortress)?

This will make the Fatimids more dangerous defensively since they won't have to rely solely on Ascalon as a gateway to Egypt. By the way Jurand, I hope you don't mind me asking but how does one change a settlement's culture at the start of the game?

[j.a.luna]

Do you think that for the gameplay it'd be good to switch Damietta into the castle-type of settlement (ie fortress)?

But if you change its type... It is historically correct? This settlement in many medieval manuscripts was a egyptian port CITY...
But i also share the opinion of Tripledot, in my gameplay if you conquest the unique settlement castle of fatimieds(Ascalon), they only will have militias and dont powerful troops, for me this was the main and most immediate objective with KOJ. So for the gameplay this settlement could be a Fortress for egyptians.

[Tripledot]

I notice there is a trait called "Considered a Poulain" that references the increased Middle Eastern influence on Frankish nobility in Outremer, but there isn't a corresponding unit, I think that Poulain Lancers should be implemented as a light cavalry unit with Arab influence on their arms and armor (stats similar to Tawashi Light Cavalry). It helps to fill a gap where Men at Arms would be in a European roster and gives Jerusalem some much-needed non-Templar flavor (I doubt if the kingdom survived and expanded into the 14th century it would continue to rely so heavily on military orders). Additionally, rather than French Foot Archers, Jerusalem should have Turkopole Archers (which could probably be represented with the Heavy Archers unit to save a unit slot).