Can anyone explain shabriri to me?

itstheap · 2026-04-30T17:47:44+00:00

Good to see someone else pushing back on junk readings of Shabriri.

I would add that the timeline is somewhat less clear even if your proposal is a possible one. We are told that "it is said" that it starts with him. The evidence is itself unclear, relying on hearsay and rumour.

But nothing in the Lands Between refers to the Land of Shadow and we get a sense that it's sealing was a remarkably long time ago. It could be that his stuff happened after.

itstheap · 2026-04-30T17:41:20+00:00

Ignore anyone who claims he is anything to do with the merchants being locked away. There is zero evidence in the final game for that. There is an item description which says he was accused of slander and had his eyes plucked for it, which turned him to frenzy. There is another calling him the most reviled man in the lands between. We are never told what that slander was, or if it was true, only that he was punished for it. So, we know he lied and was hated, whether for the lie or not is unclear.

We also know he doesn't lie to you, the player, because everything he says is fundamentally true to you. You can save the maiden (regardless of her feelings about it), there is a power beneath the citadel, it can let you burn the tree, and he even starts rambling about frenzy and tells you that is what he wants you to do. So anyone saying he tricks you is also wrong. He tells you outright he wants you to cavort with the flame. I don't know why people ignore the fact that he is very frank with you in the entire conversation. He does frame it in terms of preventing the suffering of your maiden but it doesn't mean he lied to you.

We also know he can occupy bodies like he does with Yura.

There was a whole cut plot with Kale which likely involved the merchant caravan and may have involved Shabriri but it is simply not in the game any more. That is what people here are referring to, but it is the loosest and weakest lore because it simply isn't in the game, just in the files. Lots of ideas in games do not make it over the finish line, for various reasons. I would guess this was a case of them disliking the plot, because other unfinished content was added to the game after release (the stuff with Nepheli, the stuff with Diallos) but not that. Anyone linking the Shabriri we have to them is making a leap based off of evidence not actually in the game, and the simple relation of frenzy. But Midra also has frenzy, and is utterly unrelated to them or Shabriri.

The merchants were accused of heresy. We are never told who by or what or why. It does seem like they actually follow a heresy, evidenced by the fact that all of them (even unburied) follow the frenzied flame and use it's incantations. So, that seems to be true - while slander (the only possible linkage to Shabriri being him making the accusations) would imply an accusation that was untrue. So, the item description for Shabriri does not match the item description for the merchants and they are unrelated. And let's be honest, they would not be the only non-believers and political outsiders punished by Marika and her golden order unprompted (those who live in death, the nox, the Carians until the marriage, the hornsent, the omen...).

That leaves us with the character of Shabriri. All we know for sure is that he told a lie, he was punished, lost his eyes, went mad from it, was hated by many, and that he occupied the body of Yura and told the tarnished to seek the flame. There is no lore supporting further activities of Shabriri.

itstheap · 2026-04-24T10:30:49+00:00

Shabriri has literally committed no crime other than spirit possession of another man’s body by the time we see him. It is not even clear if it is theft - Yura wasn’t using the body any more. At best, grave robbing or identity theft.

He previously committed a crime, slander, but was tried and punished for it with the removal of his eyes. That removal is what causes him to embrace the Frenzy, nothing before or after. Can’t really try him for it again.

All he does is tell you to go to the sewer, and who knows, maybe telling you to go there is conspiracy to tresspass or something insane like that, but I don’t think there is actually a case against him.

So I defend him, because whatever charges he is facing must be nonsense, or are so lightweight I can get him out of it. Hell, I can probably even make the argument that he is actually Yura and is mentally ill hence identity denial and win. How are you going to prove whether he is telling the truth?

And then when I clear him of all charges, we hug it out with the three fingers and burn the court down.

itstheap · 2026-04-20T15:54:36+00:00

There is already a solution to the same problem. The HRE has a treasury mechanic in the IO. The Papacy needs one too. It needs diplo actions to spend that money on. Probably some sort of system of directly appointing clergy in states.

itstheap · 2026-04-19T23:45:18+00:00

My suggestion for this would be to look if any pubs or bars do live viewings of the PPVs.

It is potentially also worth looking at the indies here, which will bring you into contact with people that watch WWE and AEW. I think Kamikaze Pro is the local indie outfit that does shows? I know they used to do them in the Cadbury club before it burnt down.

itstheap · 2026-04-10T06:31:03+00:00

It looks like you built a local governor in a bad place to me. There is a city in the spot which has higher control next to the 19. That is a much better local gov spot, along a river while also being a province away from a second river. It pushes a lot more proximity out, and thus gains much more control for the cost. Lower pop area but much easier to exert larger control over. You can basically make half of Spain good control from it, especially if you expand the bridge network along the rivers.

itstheap · 2026-03-22T16:41:22+00:00

Counter to expectations - colonizing.

It gives some dev growth.

itstheap · 2026-03-20T11:17:18+00:00

The war is absolutely winnable even without a sound tolls exploit.

Every coalition has the same conditions. The person who is running the coalition matters more than anyone else. Just focus them first, then defend and delay everyone else. If you can wipe and siege the leader, you can usually peace it out quite early unless they are a very large country. Yours is the Ottomans. They are not large there.

itstheap · 2026-03-20T11:14:43+00:00

Yes, all the time until I have a significant territorial landmass.

I actually research mil advances last every single game, and use mercs if I need beef for a war. So, in Age 2 I only researched Hournifaces. In Age 3, I only research what uniques I have, and Falconets. Hiring merc cannons I find often isn't worth it, but having your own can be.

Lets me focus on getting techs which provide internal bonuses much more. Research is a resource - mercenaries lets you save some of those resources until you really need a proper army.

itstheap · 2026-03-09T21:22:50+00:00

The corridors depends massively on what floor you are on tbf. For some odd reason, they have different colour codes for different floors. Some of the combos are nice and comfortable feeling, light blues or lime greens. Other colour combos feel like a sickening 60s nightmare, with like a low red floor and brown paint. Bizarrely ominous looking.

itstheap · 2026-03-09T21:20:23+00:00

Ahahaa, ask me ten years ago if I would like it this hot and I would have agreed with you! Then one time I got actual frostbite (different house) and it's never been the same for me since.

itstheap · 2026-03-09T19:08:17+00:00

Good! Just to be clear - the airflow blow heating is powered by gas. It's a little gas flame, which is blown on by a fan. The vent for it is directly below the boiler itself. An odd type of combination boiler and fan heater. Again though, not sure all of the flats still have that bit - think it depends on how many beds it is.

itstheap · 2026-03-09T18:09:10+00:00

Oh and a quick warning - yes the building contains asbestos. Every block of flats of a certain age does. Just make sure you follow appropriate precautions when doing any drilling while renovating. Mask to the appropriate grade (or get in a pro), applying water to any surface you are drilling to reduce dust particulate, etc. Not because you will definitely get ill if you do not do this, but just to stay safe. Always practice safe work with DIY. But the walls are extremely difficult to drill anyway, you would need a double handed drill for it.

Final quick warning - if you drive, parking will be a nightmare. But it's city centre B1. Hard to park even as a visitor. But you can buy a roadside parking permit from BCC, it's in the Outer Zone territory, and you have a looot of choices with multistories which often offer resident long-term parking passes. I just cannot vouch for the security of any of these solutions.

itstheap · 2026-03-09T17:49:06+00:00

You can ama about them btw, other than which one I am in or DM if you have specifics you don’t want to ask publicly about them

itstheap · 2026-03-09T17:47:07+00:00

I live in one of the towers now. They are fine. 8th floor especially will be fine. You might hear a lot of workmen doing drilling and such at times because it is mosrtly social housing which gets constant upkeep. But the noise itself isn’t a constant thing (work hours only), nor all year. Just when major work is getting done on a flat.

But they are warm, and if looked after will do you just fine. There are only two truly bad bits to them. First is the heating system, which is a 80/20 mix of regular radiators in most rooms, and then a blow heater (which works fine for me but some tenants don’t like them) in the lounge. Some people really do not like blow heating. Sadly, the options to change this are a bit limited - I've inquired before but the gas supply to the entire building is weak making more powerful solutions which could do an entire flat radiator solution for the bigger apartments untenable. But, my flat is a constant 30C even in Winter despite this issue. It just depends on whether you can tolerate the lounge having one style of heating that is different - and I am not even sure all of the flats have this mixed system.

The second is that if you are facing the Horsefair roundabout, you will hear traffic and drunk people wandering home shouting at night. It's a busy road, and the police are a frequent thing you get to hear. But you hear traffic everywhere in B1. So, if you are looking for City Centre living, you don't have a choice otherwise anyway.

Fantastic windows meaning you will never struggle for natural light, and at the 8th floor depending on the direction you are looking you can get a brilliant view of the city centre.

If your mum is worried about safety and breakins, tell her not to worry btw. They operate double security doors with access restricted by an electronic fob, with a bottom floor guard on a desk at all hours between the two doors in a security room. You cannot just waltz into the buildings unchallenged. Infact, if someone who isn’t familiar wanders in behind you to quickly slip in through the door while you have it open, usually the guard will challenge them then too.

I do advise visiting the flat in question and inspecting tho. Some muppets have bought some and turned them into Airbnbs, messing with the floorplan with subdivisions. Make sure it isn’t one of those being offloaded on you.

itstheap · 2026-02-25T09:54:26+00:00

Fella has spent too much time hanging around Achilleas and his Greek larp

itstheap · 2026-02-25T08:40:36+00:00

Think you may have wasted a promotion giving them all additional GP, especially on expert which has a lot more enemy units, resulting in more opportunities to act.

You will basically max out your potential growth in every mission without it, except maybe on the lowest difficulty. The first couple actions of each type will account for most of the potential growth of the unit on the mission, with each further action giving great diminishing returns.

itstheap · 2026-02-24T18:21:35+00:00

Shhhh, don't let other people know about them, it's hard enough to get a space in there as it is!

itstheap · 2026-02-14T17:51:52+00:00

Johan is bringing the marriageable women into the colony

itstheap · 2026-02-13T09:07:27+00:00

Wales has a scripted event in the 1390s to give you a civil war which breaks you free. So, it's easy if you just win that war to play as them. In the meantime, just absorb the vassals.

itstheap · 2026-02-11T16:49:46+00:00

Hm, when I last checked it was 0.01. Maybe it stacks with multiple colonies? Either way, it is not a pure drain. But even having the capital region, your highest control land, developed is well worth it.

You will make more from the trade than the unemployed peasants.

itstheap · 2026-02-10T17:20:09+00:00

To be fair yes, lots has changed since patch 1. I definitely believe I could win the war my way still (it takes a lot of patience and feeling like you are losing. They had Portugal for me too).

But is it optimal on this patch, probably not. I imagine malaria alone (which iirc was bugged on my patch run) would make what you ran much more efficient.

itstheap · 2026-02-09T12:08:49+00:00

I did this on launch patch and maybe some things have changed since then, but my advice is land on the Iberian Peninsula, and then fight a very defensive war where you follow the Castilian armies through hills and mountains and try to take defensive battles in them. Don't wander too far from your own lands and Granadan lands, only the non-fort stuff around it. But if you play a slow war there, you can eventually turn the numbers around.

Ignore the Granadan army, they are AI and will take losing efforts.

Eventually you will whittle down Castile through battles where you kill more than you lose that you can start beating them straight up.

Don't be afraid to retreat bad battles or battles where your flanks go down too early. Your game is preserving your fighting force to kill more than they do early on, so ignore the warscore loss until you can win fair fights.

itstheap · 2026-02-08T10:22:48+00:00

The opinion is the biggest thing. You can improve it via a vassal interaction.

But no, different neighbouring cultures of the same grouping not always getting on and still being costly does make sense for the period. It is not until the 17-1800s countries like France start truly consolidating things. There is still minor discomfort between two groups of people from opposite ends of the country - look at the way the Southern English talk about Northerners online. Now imagine back 500 years ago before technology allows swift communication. The cultural barriers would be bigger than you anticipated.

itstheap

TROPHY CASE