>three parts of introducing M&T to new players and not a single screenshot of Europe

>using meme arrows



Sorry about that. Here's Europe after eleven years of gameplay, not that much different from what it was at the start. As you can see there's a lot more nations and a lot more detail. It also looks a lot better without Fast Universalis thanks to great textures.



In this part I'll explain a few more mechanisms because not much happens. But next part is gonna be more interesting. And mildly terrifying.



Here's the Holy Roman Empire.



Excuse me while I vomit in this bag.



It's almost as bad as in Voltaire's Nightmare. And that mod made me spew out my breakfast, lunch and dinner.

131 members. Fuck me. And that's not even all of the historical ones. Funny to think that medieval HRE had more states than the world has today.



Yes I know they technically weren't independent states shut up



While the UI looks different the mechanics are pretty much identical. The effects of reforms have been changed a little but that's about it.



One more thing before we get back to gameplay: trade nodes.



Jesus Christ. Has modding gone too far?

Here they are, the new trade nodes. By new I mean really new, added in the late stages of M&T 2.0 beta. Some nodes are pretty much identical (Bay of Biscay, Iberia, the Channel) to vanilla ones while some are completely different (Hansa, Aegean, Rus' Land). The end nodes are the same. Outside of Europe, there's more differences.



As you can see, Bay of Biscay has five trade nodes flowing into it. Brittany (or Aquitaine if you play as them) should try to take advantage of this, and we certainly will.

One more thing before we get back to gameplay: ideas. They've undergone some big changes in M&T. Or, well, idea groups have while national ideas are mostly the same, with some value tweaks here and there. Breton traditions and ideas are about trade and navy, as are some of our other ideas. This, combined with the province trade modifiers and our trade node, mean that Brittany should definitely copycat nations like Portugal, Venice and Genoa.



GEE I WONDER IF HE'S GONNA BECOME A COLONIZER IN THIS AAR



That chart in the middle shows how some idea groups have special requirements: other unlocked idea groups and/or technology. However, the chart is a bit outdated and won't be updated in a while because the artists are lazy I mean busy with other vital tasks.

Here's ideas we can unlock once we get "Poll Taxes" technology. Neat images, eh? And fuck me there's a lot of religious idea groups. It's almost like religion was very important in preindustrialized societies such as Europe. R E A L I S M.



Because other mana drains are gone in M&T, ideas are much more numerous but also a bit cheaper (300 base mana cost). As a result their effects are pretty weak with a few exceptions.



I don't know the meta but from what I can see bureaucracy, culture and logistic seem pretty strong groups. But because we want to unlock exploration, we'll have to first unlock *shudder* naval ideas.



You can see some differences from the chart here, like the Fortification and Bureaucracy idea groups which aren't included in it. Also, both mercenary and standing army groups are available at the start, despite the chart saying you need 27 mil tech for the latter.

One more thing before we get back to gameplay: buildings. They're completely different in M&T and very, very important. You want to spend as much money as you can on these as they'll make more money and make your nation better by a fuckton. Alright, get ready for a long and pretty in-depth overview.



Art buildings give a small buff to urban gravity and also a buff you can't see in the tooltip: art power. Build these if you want to get those sweet art center modifiers. Education buildings also increase art power, but first and foremost they make it cheaper and easier to educate your snobs I mean upper class. Expanding universities attracts more students but also adds unrest and decreases tax, because students like to get rowdy and are poor as fuck (especially in backwards countries such as the USA).



Charles cannot unfortunately found a university in Nantes because there's not enough bureaucracy for maintaining such a facility. A town hall must be built first.



Docks building line is only available in coastal provinces (in other news, water is wet) and has two branches: one is about trade while the other is about building ships. Trade ones are good in provinces like Nantes with provincial trade bonuses. Some provinces have negative port modifiers which gives a penalty to shipbuilding, so avoid building dockyards in those. Also, delta estuaries put restrictions on docks. Although I'm not sure why they can't just build docks right next to deltas instead of in them if they're so bothersome.



Town development buildings (town halls) should be your first priority when founding a town. They increase base urban gravity as well as some other neat little things. They form the foundations, upon which you put a giant stack of percentage urban gravity modifiers.



There's two economy building lines. One is about production while the other is about trade, urban gravity bonuses and local wealth. Without the former you can't get any of those tasty modifiers I've mentioned in previous parts (urban trade goods such as metalwork and cloth). There's also banks and trade posts in the right. Banks are expensive and require a lot of stuff but give powerful bonuses. Trade posts are exactly what you think they are and can only be built in certain provinces.



"Rural prosperity and mines" is a bit of a misnomer as it should be just prosperity. Formerly the warehouse buildings (in the right) gave wealth to rural population, but after Chinamen built warehouses and made their masses of peasants ridiculously rich the effect was removed, so now warehouses just give a bonus to urban wealth. Mines increase the amount of value gained from a local mining resource. As far as I know mines can only be built in provinces with a preset mining good such as salt, iron or silver. The deposits run out eventually, but are sometimes replenished by a "mineral deposit found" modifier appearing.



holy fuck why do i write these aars i swear my fingers will break eventually

One more thing before we get back to gameplay: capitols. These expensive special buildings can be built from the province interaction button by pressing the "expand bureaucracy" button or whatever it is called. While they give some neat modifiers, first and foremost they improve communication efficiency.



You can also see how burghers control Paris.

One more thing before we get back to gameplay: rural production buildings. I've talked about these before so here are the buildings. Only nobles and the locals can build them. You can see the amount of rural production from the "Rural Goods Produced" thing in the lower left corner.

Here's a hemp plantation in Bro Dreger. Hemp is rope and drugs combined into a single neat package.

Our region is Ouest France. I forgot to show this when talking about food. In case you don't remember,

excess food is shared within the region.

One more thing before we get back to gameplay: a special modifier you can sometimes see.



The nobles of Nantes have recently been sending their children to study in the university of Angers next door. Students can be sent to any universities within the same culture group and religion. We lose a bit of money but hey, at least some people aren't uneducated swines.

One more thing before we get back to gameplay: nah I'm just fucking with you.



In 1367 Pope Paulus II, a former French cardinal, excommunicated King Edward IV of England. Officially the cause was accusations of unlawfully seizing church lands, but in reality King John of France just wanted to say "fuck you" to England in an exceptionally indirect way.

When someone is excommunicated in M&T you get this neat Dei Gratia event. You have the options of either bowing to the Pope and mooning the target of excommunication or you can just not give a single shit and lose a little bit of papal influence.



Charles took the news of English excommunication seriously and withdrew all envoys, diplomats and other representatives from English soil while also banishing many merchants and officials of England.

Concerning news arrive in Nantes in February 1368: the bishop of Vannes accuses priests in Bro Wened of preaching heretical ideas that do not align with the teachings of the Church. One of them even claimed that three nails were used to crucify Jesus instead of four!



Charles was shocked to the core by this. Heresy in his duchy? Three nails? THREE FUCKING NAILS? This could not be tolerated, so Charles ordered a thorough investigation of the matter. A month later five priests were found guilty by the Inquisition. Three of them refused to abjure their beliefs and were burned alive at the stake in the market square of Vannes. There was much rejoicing when they screamed in pain. Charles witnessed the burnings in person, a smile on his lips.



(also i didn't pull the nails joke out of my butt, check out triclavianism)

After Edward IV inherited the throne of England, the Lord of Aquitaine Edward considered the new ruler illegitimate and wished to renounce his oath of vassalage. When Charles heard of this he sent an envoy to negotiate about a possible alliance against the Lancasters.



I'm pretty sure that the ruler of Aquitaine is supposed to be Edward III of Windsor which is odd because Edward III was the king of England who died recently. Or maybe it's Edward the Black Prince? But he's from Woodstock, not Windsor. Besides, he was a regular general before and had the name "Edward" instead of Edouard. So basically, are there two separate Edward IIIs in the game?



I'm confused.



Anyways, making Aquitaine independent would be good. We can break alliance after they've won their independence and with the help of France take some land from them. I mostly want a neat port province not far from our capital, while France has cores on most of the duchy.

The King of Castile declares war on Aragon! I'm not sure why! Where did that Casus Belli come from!



Place bets on who will win

The arts flourish in Paris after the peace treaty with England was signed and King John returned. Court life is active and students from all over come to study in the prestigious University of Paris. Famous painters sought and found employment in the royal capital and produced brilliant works of Gothic art. Gorgeous illuminated manuscripts spread from there to all over Europe. This style would later be called International Gothic.



France has been upgraded to a continental center of art. This is the strongest art modifier you can get and means the province is generating some serious art power.



The fortifications of Nantes have finished construction. A ditch, many towers, extra thicc walls, several gates as well as several small forts and observation towers further away from the city. And, of course, a rebuilt castle of the Duke.



These totally won't become obsolete within a century thanks to some new innovation, I assure you.



Castles in M&T are neat because they protect vulnerable urban pop and also give 10% urban gravity modifier, both of which are very nice when you build a large city. Also, they actually drain your manpower, like fortifications did in real life. In vanilla you get garrisons for free everywhere. R E A L I S M

In October 1369 Charles and Edward secretly signed a treaty in which the former would assist the latter should they declare independence from England.

Speaking of England, Edward IV has been murdered and Charles Tudor, his supporter, has seized the throne. The war against the Yorkists continues.



Charles (Blois, not Tudor) is somewhat happy about that. As long as the Englishmen are busy squabbling with each other, the Hundred Years' War won't continue.

Bishop Pierre has died and has been succeeded by Radulfus de Tréal. He has always been a supporter of Charles and will more than happily help him if need be. His loyalty also means the Pope likes Charles even more.

James Bacon, a commander fighting for house York, attacks London but is counter-attacked by none other than John Chandos himself. The battle ends in John's victory as James is turned into human bacon. The battle is one of the last ones in the War of the Roses. Looks like Charles Tudor will get to keep the throne for himself.



Lord Edward of Aquitaine is even less happy about having Charles (Tudor, not Blois) as his king instead Edward IV and regrets sending money to Yorkists.

Nothing else is happening so might as well show special map modes. The menu for them is opened via the decisions menu. Here you have a fuckload of options about what data you want to see on the trade mapmode or in the province menu. This is one of the reasons why the trade mapmode is the second most important mapmode in M&T.

Here, for example, you can see rural maturity. I didn't even know this mechanic existed before I fiddled around with special map modes.

Here you can see how much of available excess food is consumed in a region. We really have a lot of potential for large cities in Brittany, don't we?

If you bet on Castile, you lose.

For Europeans warships technology unlocks the crayer, a small trade ship used for transporting cargo. Meanwhile non-Europeans get cool historical warships like dhows, junks and turtle ships.



What's the opposite of eurocentrism called again?



hey look the pope is dead and we got a new pope. maybe if you elected younger popes you wouldn't need to replace them all the time.



France has lost control of the Papacy, meaning they can no longer send indirect insults to England via excommunication.

Mathilde isn't just a party girl. She's a very talented governor as well. Responsibility of the administration of the new castle in Nantes is entirely hers instead of Charles'. Having been the only child of her French parents she was taught to read and write as well as to add and subtract, skills many nobles in Brittany still lack. Occasionally she even gives advice to Charles on how to run the duchy and he is grateful for it.



I got this event half a year after unlocking a new admin tech. Dangit.

Before Pope Paulus died, he had deposed the Prince-Bishop of Liege by the request of King John of France and replaced him with John's cousin. However, unrest increased in the bishopric due to the incompetence of the new Prince-Bishop and his corruption. He was finally murdered earlier in 1373.



When John heard the grim news, he prepared for war. He would restore order in the Prince-Bishopric in the name of God and punish those responsible for the killing of his cous-- erm, the rightful ruler of Liege.



If France doesn't horribly lose the War of Breton Succession, they sometimes like to conquer Liege and occasionally annex even more HRE princes and blob like crazy. But in my previous game they lost horribly, were beaten again and again and went bankrupt repeatedly while also losing half of their vassals. If you don't play in western Europe and directly influence things, France will either blob or collapse.

The Emperor of the HRE and the King of Bohemia Karl was sworn to protect Liege from outside invaders. However, he was already busy fighting a war with the Poles on his eastern border.

If your manpower pool is almost full you get this neat modifier. But manpower recovers much slower in M&T so if you fight a lot of wars don't expect to see this.

Balls resist moisture and are "crushed" before "firing". Got it.



We've unlocked our first cannon unit!

As you can see, it's useless in battle, but it still gives a siege bonus so it's not entirely worthless. We can't really afford an artillery regiment so we won't buy one.

This makes the Duke sound like the most boring guy ever.



Charles and Mathilde have begun to cooperate more and more in managing the country. While before Charles worked alone in a dark, quiet office, he now has his wife alongside him. Lively discussions about what laws are necessary and what officials should be appointed last for hours but afterwards neither is tired, quite the opposite. What a cute pair of nerds.



CharlesxMathilde OTP

Joan of Arc, now a mature woman, leads her army east to face the Emperor's army. They find it in Swidnica, busy besieging a castle, and attack it. Caught unprepared, the Imperial army wavers and shatters.



Terrain affects battle width, sometimes quite substantially. Was that turned off in vanilla? I don't remember.



You can see greater noble levy cavalry of France here attacking Bohemian cavalry. Also note the 15% cavalry combay ability bonus.

After the battle the Imperial army wisely avoids Joan but doing so allows her army to besiege and occupy Bohemia and Silesia.

Letters sent to Charles by the newest generation of nobles actually have legible handwriting. They either hired talented scribes or wrote the letters themselves. If the latter is true, Charles is impressed. Supporting church schools and hiring scholars from Italy seems to have paid off.

Not long ago a close relative of John Monfort has risen through the ranks of the church. Erwan de Montfort is now the bishop of Quimper. And he's not exactly fond of Charles, let's just say.



yes i know it says monfort i don't care this is better for the narrative

Working with Mathilde, Charles is reforming the administration, using King John's government as an example. This has, in part, been allowed by the increased literacy of the upper class, but also by cooperation with the Church. More records are kept and more officials are hired, meaning there's more work opportunities in Nantes and sufficient bureaucracy for maintaining a small university.



Remember? A town hall is needed for a university. Here are its effects. Not very notable except for base urban gravity. This will help Nantes grow faster.

building times are very long in M&T. well, not for the estates, just for you. don't ask why.

Liege has been fully occupied by French allies and the Emperor's army is nowhere to be seen.

France is the new liege of Liege and the King has formally annexed the Prince-Bishopric. The newly appointed Prince-Bishop will answer to him instead of the Emperor.

if you think the border gore of liege's provinces was bad you know nothing



QUIVER IN TERROR, MORTAL

Charles' and Mathilde's reforms don't just extend to Nantes and its surrounding area, but to the whole duchy. For example, provosts now work under bailiffs like in France and they are no longer responsible for collecting domainal revenue, for the duty now belongs to "receivers". Revenue farming, inefficiency, corruption and abuse of power have been reduced and more money flows into the ducal coffer.

Because Paris is a center of art it's getting banking fairly fast.

Bishop Radulfus kicked a bucket, stumbled, fell over, hit his head and died soon afterwards. The new bishop of Rennes is... fuck. Erwan of Montfort. He's gonna send all kinds of nasty letters to the Pope that tell what an asshole Charles is.

Welp, might as well spend that influence to get some prestige and legitimacy before we lose it.



There's a variety of papal interactions added by Dei Gratia, but most of them are kinda meh.

King Henry II of Castile now also supports the independence of the Lord of Aquitaine. This isn't necessarily a good thing for if we win the independence war Castile might ally with Aquitaine, which would put a wrench in my plans.

After the war with France, Emperor Karl has reformed the Empire and limited the legal power of princes. This also means he now has a casus belli on King John to take back Liege.

Meanwhile in Brittany Charles' reforms have not went as smoothly as he had hoped. The nobility are concerned, for they think Charles is trying to increase his own power, and thus loudly resist the reforms during the meeting of the Estates. Charles holds a lengthy and somewhat successful speech about the necessity and altruistic aims of the reforms which calms down many of the nobles. Not all of them, however, leading to his legitimacy being questioned.

ＯＨ ＦＵＣＫ



LOOK WHO'S BACK BITCHES! IT'S THE BLACK DEATH!



What a perfect place for a cliffhanger.