We are Live and just reached the funding target within 35 minutes of launching,
We're still adding details to the campaign, on the expansion side! So keep tuned!
We Are Live and Just Funded!
We
are Live and just reached the funding target within 35 minutes of
launching, So many thanks to all who already backed the project, thanks a
lot for your support, being there, helping us, and believing in the
project.
We're still adding details to the campaign, on the expansion side! So keep tuned! Defying Destiny Dev Diary #6: Bohemia, Saxony, and Bavaria + New Add-on
Special Player Trays Add-on
If you remember, back in Development Diary #4,
we had a Google form in which we were asking for your opinion on
possible new Add-ons for the campaign. Today we wanted to confirm one
more Add-on that will be available, together with the Cardholder shown in DD#4 and Extra Player Set from DD#5, and that is the Special Player Trays.
Keep
in mind that this is just a mockup, and not the final design of this
item. We will add more iconography where relevant, but whether it will
engraved, embossed or screen-printed still hasn't been decided.
We believe that these Player Trays will be very useful for many reasons:
- First of all, it’s worth mentioning that these trays will come with a lid that leaves room to keep any meeples, disks, cubes, or coins underneath. This will allow you to keep all the player components that normally go on the player mat already set up and ready to go when you want to start a new game of EU:tPoP. Since, in most scenarios, players start with 3 Monarch Power of each type and 15 Ducats, those can already be in place in the Monarch Power Pools and Treasury.
- Furthermore, if you need to interrupt a session and pause a game, these trays will help you saving the state of your game session so that you continue the next day (with Treasury, Monarch Power, Available and Exhausted Manpower Pools, and Town tracks kept intact), so the only thing that you’d need to focus on is placing the required pieces on the actual board.
- They have 2 separate layers for the Small Towns, meaning that once you have placed the first 20 Small Towns on the map, you simply left the top layer track off to uncover the second set of Small Towns, handily tracking Income from 21–40 and Manpower from 11–20 (so you won’t need the +20 Tax/+10 Manpower tile anymore).
- They will also have a small recess at the bottom to place the Advisors and Ruler without a need to lift the tray (as was needed with the regular player mats). Again, just another small quality of life improvement.
There
will be gaps between the Vassal slots, so that you can easily grab the
bottom tokens as well. The slots will be deep enough to prevent the top
Vassal tokens from sliding around.
New Featured Realms
The next Realms to join the Europa Universalis: The Price of Power family are here, and they are all members of the Holy Roman Empire: Bohemia, Saxony, and Bavaria:
Bohemia
Nestled in the hills of Central Europe, Bohemia anno 1444 finds itself caught in a wind of change.Bohemia had been ruled since the fourteenth century by the powerful Luxembourg dynasty. Upon the death of the heirless Sigismund in 1437, the Bohemian estates elected Duke Albert of Austria as their new king. Unfortunately, Albert would also die soon after, in 1439. This left the throne of Bohemia vacant, as Albert’s son was only born after he died, known for this reason as Ladislaus the Posthumous.
A
Regency Council led Bohemia on Ladislaus’ behalf, controlled in its
majority by the Utraquists, the moderate group of the followers of Hus,
also known as the Hussites. The death of Ladislaus in 1457 in Prague,
under suspicious circumstances, would pave the way for George (Jirí) of
Poděbrady, a member of the Ultraquists group, to become king of Bohemia.
George was not recognized as king by the Pope or any other European
monarch, and this will be reflected in the choice the active player will
have to take in the Event King of Two Peoples, where you can follow in the footsteps of George, or end Bohemia's affiliation with the Hussites as requested by the Pope.
Placeholders illustrations, nice new art is coming!
With the Excommunication of George, War ensued in Bohemia, which was invaded by Hungary and Austria. George died in 1471, and the Bohemian estates chose Ladislaus Jagiellon, a Polish prince, as their new king. Ladislaus continued the war against Hungary and, after the death of Mathias Corvinus of Hungary, claimed the Hungarian crown for himself. Jagiellonian Dynasties will either drag Bohemia into the succession affairs of Hungary, or solidify their family ties with Poland.
As with many other Realms in this expansion, Bohemia was never again a truly independent Realm during the period of history covered in the game, so we looked at important events and figures that affected Bohemia. Ferdinand I was elected King of Bohemia after the death of Louis II (Ladislaus Jagiellon’s son) at the battle of the Mohacs. He would be the first of the many Habsburg monarchs ruling Bohemia. The Estates Revolt reflects the Bohemian position in the ongoing hostilities between Catholics and Protestants in the Holy Roman Empire, where the predominantly Hussite people sympathized with the Protestants, but the Habsburg monarch was firmly on the Catholic side.
Eventually,
this brooding conflict between the local Bohemian elite and the
Habsburg monarchy would lead to the event known as the Defenestration of
Prague (already explored in the Base Game), which would serve as an
excuse for an escalation of hostilities that evolved into the
devastating 30 Years' War.
Saxony
Recognized
in the Golden Bull of 1356 as Electors of the Holy Roman Empire, the
Dukes of Saxony were among the most powerful rulers within the Holy
Roman Empire. In 1444, the Duchy was ruled by the Wettin
dynasty, who gained the Duchy in 1422. Frederick’s II death in 1464 saw
the territory of Saxony partitioned between his sons. Initially the
brothers agreed to jointly rule their father’s lands, and then, but in
1485, they ratified a partitioning at the Treaty of Leipzig,
establishing what came to be known as the Ernestine and the Albertine
lines. This divide, which came to obstruct the development of a Central
German hegemonic power is something players will have to wrestle with in
the Saxon Events.The University of Wittenberg was founded in
1502 by Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony and son of Ernest, to
propagate the principles of Renaissance humanism. Shortly thereafter,
Wittenberg would stand at the center of the Protestant Reformation, as
Martin Luther, a professor at the university, wrote his Ninety-five
Theses in 1517, and the university would remain to be so under the
influence of Philipp Melanchthon.
The new illustration for Scandal at the Curia
Two of the new generic Events deal with the issues that motivated Luther's desire to reform the Church are Scandal at the Curia and Jakob the Rich, which has to do with the sale of indulgences.
You can already see at the top the new illustration for Scandal at the Curia
Frederick the Wise would come under criticism from Albert of Brandenburg, Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg, for creating a breeding ground for heretical ideas. Incidentally, Albert was a central figure in allowing Jakob Fugger to sell indulgences.
Ironically, it was the misfortune of the Ernestine Electors, following their support for Luther and his ideas that eventually, after their defeat during the Schmalkaldic War, in 1547, led to most of the Saxon lands becoming united once again. Parts of the Ernestine lands, together with the title of Elector, were passed to the Albertine line who would retain it from that moment onwards. So, as you can see, the choice between Protestantism and Catholicism isn't necessarily as straightforward as it may seem at first.
With the Thirty Year’s War stirring, as Saxony, a player will have to balance whether to side with the Emperor, trying to stay neutral, or supporting the Protestant side, depending on which of the surrounding powers are most likely to offer them reliable protection. Historically, although Saxony gained a large territory, the devastation caused by the almost 10 years of war led to a huge loss of population, which had long-lasting effects on Saxony’s economy.
Saxony’s fascinating role at the center of continental politics will continue to be reflected in Events revolving around Augustus II, the Strong, who got elected as the King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and then got Saxony embroiled in the Great Northern War, and his son, Frederick Augustus III, who defeated Stanisław Leszczyński, to become King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth like his father.
Bavaria
Similar to Saxony’s situation, the Duchy of Bavaria was split between the four branches of its ruling dynasty, the Wittelsbachs.
It was only in 1506 when the 4 Duchies were united under William IV, although he allowed his brother Louis X to administer part of his lands until his death in 1545. Players will have a choice between opposing the Habsburgs, like the earlier Dukes, or aligning with the Habsburgs in their conflict against the Schmalkaldic League, like William did historically.
Bavaria was firmly on the Catholic side through all the religious conflicts of the Holy Roman Empire, and Events will give players a chance of following the decrees of the Council of Trent, promoting the Counter-Reformation, and leading the Catholic League.
Supporting the Emperor during the Thirty Years’ War, will give players the opportunity of gaining the Upper Palatinate, and its Electoral position, like Maximilian I did, as a reward. This is how the Duchy of Bavaria thus turned into the Electorate of Bavaria, historically. However, just like Saxony, Bavaria was also ravaged by the war and the conflict with both France and Sweden.
With their new position as Electors, the ambition of the Bavarian Dukes increased as they got eager to become even more influential within the Holy Roman Empire. The Bavarian Duke, Maximilian Emanuel II, sided with France in the War of Spanish Succession, but the Duchy was overrun by Austria and the Palatinate, and he only received it back at the Treaty of Baden in 1714.
It would be his son, Charles Albert, who would see Bavaria’s ambition fulfilled. Disputing the validity of the Pragmatic Sanction (which Charles VI of Austria had used to ensure that his daughter, Maria Theresa, would be accepted as his heir), Charles allied with France to fight Austria in the War of Austrian Succession. During this war, Charles managed to invade Upper Austria and, together with his French allies, managed to enter in Prague in November 1741. In December of that same year, he was crowned King of Bohemia, and in January of 1742 he was unanimously elected King of Germany, and then crowned Holy Roman Emperor in February of 1742.However, the war didn’t go in his favor, with Austria both conquering Bavaria and recapturing Bohemia by the end of 1742, forcing Charles to rule from Frankfurt, which would lead to being mocked with the saying et caesar et nihil, meaning "both emperor and nothing". Charles died in 1745, and his son, Maximilian III Joseph, signed a peace with Austria, accepting the Pragmatic Sanction.
Maybe you can Defy Destiny
and be more successful in retaining the Emperorship for Bavaria in one
of your upcoming EU:tPoP games, using the new Expansion!