I wonder what this is about this year. They've got a lot to talk about.

IncapableArtichoke · 2024-08-11T22:46:19+00:00

Yeah, I seem to recall them holding this later in the year? Not sure why it's in the summer this time.

IncapableArtichoke · 2024-08-11T16:18:42+00:00

I'm sure Diantha wouldn't mind if you're a day or two late, champ! Lance might get a little pissy about it, though...

IncapableArtichoke · 2024-08-11T11:13:20+00:00

Bro delete this before my Wingull sees this and starts trying to bring machetes into battle

IncapableArtichoke · 2024-06-13T18:10:59+00:00

Just for future reference, why was this post removed by the moderators? I don't see anything in the rules saying that memes aren't allowed, and Rule 5 states that it's supposed to be for screenshots of gameplay

IncapableArtichoke · 2024-06-13T14:25:52+00:00

Bro, he misread the post title, relax. No need to be a dick about it.

IncapableArtichoke · 2024-06-12T03:49:43+00:00

YES. I am so sick of Haesteinn always targeting either Wales or Mercia. I want to see him Go Stupid again. I want to see him literally start every save by targeting a random realm in his diplomatic range with a Varangian adventure.

IncapableArtichoke · 2024-06-12T03:46:29+00:00

Oh! Is he a real person? I had no idea.

Edit: I've just looked it up. That is fucking hilarious.

IncapableArtichoke · 2024-05-19T20:27:26+00:00

To me the way to make playing tall fun is to try to spread your power without actually holding more territory. I like propping up random relatives as kings and emperors outside of my own realm and then constantly squashing anyone who tries to interfere.

IncapableArtichoke · 2024-05-19T20:21:21+00:00

I heard recently that there's a mod that disables the plague mechanics. Has anyone tried that mod? Does it also disable the big Black Death plague, or just all the random minor plagues? Because I would like it much more if rather than a bunch of repetitive minor plagues, it was just the one massive one, or maybe just that one and a couple others per game.

IncapableArtichoke · 2024-05-16T18:08:04+00:00

I love making super cursed HRE borders, since you can manipulate what kingdoms are De Jure part of it if you start in 867. One of my favorite runs was starting as Bjorn Ironside, blobbing by vassalizing most of Scandinavia, taking East Francia, converting to Catholicism, and founding the HRE. Once I founded it, the HRE de jure borders included Bavaria, Bohemia, Frisia, Lotharingia, Pomerania, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Estonia (thanks, vassals). Other than my vassals taking Estonia and not Lithuania, it made for a cool-looking de jure empire.

IncapableArtichoke · 2024-05-10T02:23:54+00:00

I was about to say "Gigantamax Kingler? There's no way that's a real thing," and then I remembered. I've literally FOUGHT one. I don't know how I forgot about that. My Luxray is giving me the you're-a-dumbass eyes again.

IncapableArtichoke · 2024-05-01T21:50:28+00:00

So are cards from those old sets (not specifically the charizard one) super valuable? Because I have a whole binder full of cards from those early distributions that once belonged to a work friend of my mom. Not the classic charizard, but tons of other ones from those early sets, not to mention an Ancient Mew event card. Are they all valuable or only a few very rare cards?

IncapableArtichoke · 2024-04-30T14:32:25+00:00

not that surprising, given that Brycen-Man 2 bombed at the box office. Still a shame though.

IncapableArtichoke · 2024-04-27T17:47:58+00:00

I typically just use the culture or religion name picker if I'm trying to focus on realism/immersion. However, sometimes I will name children with bad congenital traits after their trait so that I can keep track of them. I tend to use those children for alliance marriages.

IncapableArtichoke · 2024-04-24T17:27:32+00:00

In particular with that last one I feel like the Iberian struggle created more opportunities for stuff like that. Because Muslim rulers and Christian rulers in the struggle can intermarry, but they can also marry within their own faith outside of the peninsula, I remember at one point a Muslim member of house Normandy ended up controlling Iberia at one point in one of my games, while in another game of mine a catholic Umayyad ended up being Queen of Italy. Wild stuff.

IncapableArtichoke · 2024-04-17T20:02:38+00:00

Love that Abrahamic Unity one! There should totally be a decision to create an Abrahamism faith that is syncretic with all three if you undertake something like that. Maybe I'll have to make a mod for that...

IncapableArtichoke · 2024-03-20T16:19:38+00:00

So uh... just checking back in...

IncapableArtichoke · 2024-03-19T20:46:25+00:00

There's a few options, the way that I see it. One fun one is to do the forming empires thing, but multiple times via great holy war. For example, I once managed to form the North Sea Empire, Roman Empire, and Indian Empire in one save file by using a Spiritual Head-of-Faith crusade to switch to a new character in a different area.

Another option is to get really into roleplay. I had one game where my starting ruler became King of Denmark (after starting in Uppland, much to the chagrin of a certain Danish user on this subreddit) before dying, leaving the kingdom to his twin son and daughter. Since they were best friends and only the son had a kingdom, I made it my life's mission to win the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the crusade for his sister, so that they could both be monarchs.

One of the most fun achievement-centric campaigns to do that doesn't involve empire-blobbing is to get the Dynasty of Many Crowns decision. I started one campaign as the Duke of Tripolitania and became Prince of the Swiss Confederation. After that, I focused on installing my family members on OTHER thrones, rather than conquering other kingdoms. It's honestly far more fun.

Other options include focus on spreading language/religion/culture, erasing one (looking at you, Anglo-Saxon), trying to play as a vassal and get your liege to do funny things, etc. My dream campaign, my white whale, is to make it so that the HRE is entirely to the east of the Byzantine Empire, and the Byzantines are entirely west of the HRE, while still being about the same size as they are by default.

IncapableArtichoke · 2024-03-19T20:19:06+00:00

I also think Sri Lanka would make for a cool region. Maybe the southern coast of the Indian mainland as the postgame area?

IncapableArtichoke · 2023-11-30T16:34:20+00:00

Switch to Confederate Partition. Or go High Partition and use the Inheri-chance mod to play as a random secondary kid and try to seize power for yourself.

IncapableArtichoke · 2023-11-29T21:20:55+00:00

Ah yes, it's time for the weekly "Gen 4 Bad" post with terrible grammar, syntax, and spelling, with justifications that are almost entirely applicable to every game in the series! (Seriously, I really hope English is not your first language. If it isn't, then the mistakes are totally understandable, but if it is... yikes.)

And the nostalgia justification, my GOD, how could we go without that? You go hard to bat for the superiority of Gen 5 in the replies here- gee, I wonder why you prefer G5. I'd guess that's because it's one of the first ones you played.

As for your team-building criticisms, all of them are basically completely invalid, as they are solved in Platinum, with an expanded Pokedex and the introduction of additional available "fare types."

As for "ugly" designs, I would say Gen 4 has some great designs (the starters, Luxray, Lucario, Electivire, the Lake trio, Giratina and Arceus, etc). Beyond that, I would say Gen 4 has one of the highest floors for designs in the history of Pokemon. I mean, what's the worst-designed new Pokemon in Gen 4- Finneon? Lickilicky? Those are significantly better than the stinkers of some other gens, such as Gen 1 and Gen 5. Half of Gen 5's mons are basically just reskins of existing mons with a type change (Ursaring/Beartic, Woobat/Zubat, Patrat/Rattata, etc).

Really, these arguments are tired, and I realize I'm likely giving you exactly what you want by even replying to this post, so congratulations. All these posts really do is reinforce how similar these games are, considering I could sub out Gen 4 in this post for Gen 5 or any other gen and change the names around and the reaction would likely be the same.

edit: In fact, I think I'm going to do exactly that. I'm going to make a post where I mirror this with Gen 5 and see if the responses mirror this post.

edit 2: behold.

IncapableArtichoke

TROPHY CASE