CK II-The Republic

[Bison]

Well Steam doesn't want you to have it yet anyway.

[TheCommandTent]

Well Steam doesn't want you to have it yet anyway.

I didn't see the DLC yet but some CKII update downloaded when I logged on to STEAM tonight.

[Gusington]

^Yeah for me too. This is going to finally be the DLC that gets me started in actually playing :) Should I have a 'tutorial' campaign' first before trying one of the merchant houses you think?

[TheCommandTent]

^Yeah for me too. This is going to finally be the DLC that gets me started in actually playing :) Should I have a 'tutorial' campaign' first before trying one of the merchant houses you think?

Probably unless you are just playing with the intent of being merchant house.  From what I hear they are going to play very differently.

[Kushan]

Still not out on Steam......

[Toonces]

Where is this place you guys are talking about.  I'm not familiar with it.  The Hanseatic League I'm talking about.

[Nefaro]

Where is this place you guys are talking about.  I'm not familiar with it.  The Hanseatic League I'm talking about.

Some northern european cities around the Baltic.  They became "merchant" republics in the early renaissance/late medieval period and busted out of the old feudal system, growing their prosperity via trade.  One big flip was having an electoral system, of sorts, for appointing their leader(s).

[MetalDog]

Where is this place you guys are talking about.  I'm not familiar with it.  The Hanseatic League I'm talking about.

Some northern european cities around the Baltic.  They became "merchant" republics in the early renaissance/late medieval period and busted out of the old feudal system, growing their prosperity via trade.  One big flip was having an electoral system, of sorts, for appointing their leader(s).

Was it more than just some cities in northern Germany?

[tgb]

The Hanse is not a playable house unless you choose 1377 as a starting date.

[Gusington]

The Hanse was centered in those northern German cities and spread around the Baltic to the neighboring areas, like Scandinavia and "the Russias."

[TheCommandTent]

I have no real desire to play any of the merchant houses but I know I'll still end up buying this DLC.

[Yskonyn]

^Yeah for me too. This is going to finally be the DLC that gets me started in actually playing :) Should I have a 'tutorial' campaign' first before trying one of the merchant houses you think?

I found these tutorial videos very helpful, Gus.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL158344868202D6B3

[PanzersEast]

Going to pick this one up..... have not gone through the other two as my current game is lasting forever, but this looks interesting.  I skipped Sunset Invasion because, well it just looked stupid.


PE

[son_of_montfort]

Where is this place you guys are talking about.  I'm not familiar with it.  The Hanseatic League I'm talking about.

Some northern european cities around the Baltic.  They became "merchant" republics in the early renaissance/late medieval period and busted out of the old feudal system, growing their prosperity via trade.  One big flip was having an electoral system, of sorts, for appointing their leader(s).

Was it more than just some cities in northern Germany?

The Hanseatic League started in Lubeck, with the foundation of their merchant guild. Merchant guilds were organizations that served dual purposes - in order to be a retailer in town you had to be a member and most cities required anyone wanting to hold civic office to be a member of the guild. So they were political and economic organization. The guild in Lubeck, in the 12th and 13th centuries, managed to get the support from local nobility to enhance their privileges (like tariff free trading and building trade posts in other nearby cities). Several other towns nearby made a loose association with Lubeck's guild - mostly for the purposes of promoting safer trade through common traditions and legal practices (i.e. measure against piracy). The word Hansa means "trade guild," so the affiliation became a league of guilds in numerous cities in the Baltic and North seas. Over time, they purchased rights to trade posts in places like London and Novograd, making a fortune selling wool, textiles, and furs.

The reason you cannot play them until the 1300s is that they did not become an official governing body, free from feudal lords and with their own military forces, until then. For about a century the league governed and had legal force in its client cities. Eventually, however, consolidating monarchs would disapprove of having Hansa cities in their kingdoms and broke the Hansa's power.

[Martok]

Have I mentioned lately how much I love having a medieval historian as one of our members?  ;D