Best/Favorite city for a single-city kingdom?

[Commodore_Axephante]

This question started in the "quick question" thread, but as there appears to be no quick answer and the conversation got more interesting, I'm starting up a new thread for it.

Eastpaw layed it out. In addition to location there are:

4 other considerations: (a) city layout, which was probably what you were asking about in the first place, (b) city wealth, (c) number and locations of attached villages, and (d) availability of bandit targets.

So, which city would you choose for a single-city kingdom, and why?

EDIT: If the idea of a single-city kingdom doesn't appeal to you, I suppose these same considerations might be framed by: What's your favorite starting city for your Kingdom?

[Bankoleva]

Only thing to consider.... SIEGE TOWERS.

They take the AI atleast 1 full  day to build, allowing you the  time to recruit, assisinate or other employ other tactics to save your city.

Also give your archers (if their any good) about 100 kill start while the enemy waits for the tower to move into place. These 100 kills tend to be the high tier units and lords that usually walk through your infantry at the ladder/siege insertionpoint like a hot knife through butter.

Siege towers usually make defending a lot easier. for those reasons any siege tower city is at the top of my list.

Personally i go with Dhirim. Surrounded with lots of villages for trade and income. Also central for faster response to problems in my kingdom.

Rivacheg is second. No bandits and well out of the way to have no problems.

[Muglos]

So you're gunning for a city-state kind of thing? Sounds fun. Good relations and diplomacy would be my primary weapon from being destroyed.
In this case, I also would choose Dhirim to defend as it makes a lot of money.


on a side note:


I find Praven incredibly hard to defend! perhaps I'm doing something wrong. I cannot recall the last time I successfully defended it against a large siege force.

[Windyplains]

Personally i go with Dhirim. Surrounded with lots of villages for trade and income. Also central for faster response to problems in my kingdom.

This is actually my recommendation as well.  In my current game (on the workshop though) I'm holding Dhirim & Delcherios castle next door.  It may be central which makes it a little more inviting, but that also means I can easily access it if it is in trouble.  Dhirim also gets a -ton- of trade which means great income on tariffs.  Add to that the native Dhirim castle has a great setup of cross-firing towers right alongside the ladder.  I haven't looked at the Floris Dhirim lately enough to remember how different it is, but this is my take on it.

[Commodore_Axephante]

So you're gunning for a city-state kind of thing? Sounds fun.

That's the idea! I've always been intrigued by lawless stand-aparts, like Tortuga back in the day, or cities with local pride that sort of hold their own without any interest in becoming part of an empire (Sparta resisting Persia is everyone's favorite example). If only there was a way to make your city a safe-haven for outlaws...

Dhirim sounds like a great bet. Too bad it's not coastal - been looking forward to getting into the Floris Mod Pack's seafaring. I'll give it a go - thanks for the tips, everyone.

But if someone has a different favorite, let us know!

[eastpaw]

It sounds like it's going to be a fun little project. What're your winning conditions, by the way? Or are you intending to just hold the city for as long as your interest is maintained?

Also, if you like writing, why not do a Let's Play or at least write a brief account of your experience? Should be a good read.

[Commodore_Axephante]

It sounds like it's going to be a fun little project. What're your winning conditions, by the way? Or are you intending to just hold the city for as long as your interest is maintained?

Also, if you like writing, why not do a Let's Play or at least write a brief account of your experience? Should be a good read.

Well, as far as winning conditions go, I've already "beaten" the native game as a sovereign kingdom, so it's all about short-term entertainment at this point. I'm actually a writer (it's what I do for a living) so I've always been intrigued by AARs and all that, but games take enough of my time without them bleeding into my writing as well, you know? haha. But who knows? This might be my time to try my hand at it, especially with encouragement like that.

[Muglos]

You know, the more I think about it, this seems like it could be very intriguing and quite fun to play. If I say so myself. You're putting yourself in a position of vulnerability by being so small in terms of military power compared to the much larger factions. But I think it could work if you play smart. You can pick your allies and enemies wisely. Geography could play a huge part to your success, or failure - especially very early into your monarchs reign when relations could not be at their peak.

The time you decide to create your faction will be pretty important, too. If you do it too early it could be disastrous. But let's say you're on good terms with the Rhodoks and they are kicking some Swadian behind.. well now.. I could see some opportunites coming into view to make your mark on the world.

Good luck on this project. I may try it myself. 

[Commodore_Axephante]

Hey, go for it Muglos! I'm waiting on a new computer that won't be here for a few weeks, so maybe you can go make all my early mistakes for me, then warn me off of them . No, but really, the idea isn't "mine", so run with it!

I was thinking, mostly for RP purposes, of starting the game as a Freelancer in a relevant neighboring monarch's army - not sure how that system works (never done Floris before), but it might give a rep boost that will matter in the long run. Also I understand Dhirim trades hands a lot, so by the time I'm ready to take it, there's no telling who I'll be pissing off.

IIRC, Diplomacy gave one the ability to sue for peace, offering the relevant faction some territory to sweeten the deal. Maybe, since we don't want the territory anyway, if an enemy just won't leave us alone, we'll be able to take one of their castles just long enough to sell it back to them for a ceasefire.

[Bankoleva]

This is an interesting idea.

If you take Dhirim, you could make 5 companion lords, each with their own village. This would essentially give your kingdom a 6 lord army. With with only village income, they would be extremely poor and weak for a long time. Recovering from defeats would also be really harsh, since their income would so low. You'll also be entirely dependant on Dhirim alone. Although with no other castle or towns all prisoners would be left in your cells for sale.

I think i'll try this out. My winning would be getting the city and villages to 90+ prosperity (very rich). I'm thinking at that point, my 6 lord army would be high skilled and effective that we're always winning

[Leifdin]

Dhirrim sounds fine. It is inviting, but i think that lords would attack it more often, but in smaller forces. So you would get cheat XP and loot.

[Commodore_Axephante]

This is an interesting idea.

If you take Dhirim, you could make 5 companion lords, each with their own village. This would essentially give your kingdom a 6 lord army. With with only village income, they would be extremely poor and weak for a long time. Recovering from defeats would also be really harsh, since their income would so low. You'll also be entirely dependant on Dhirim alone. Although with no other castle or towns all prisoners would be left in your cells for sale.

I think i'll try this out. My winning would be getting the city and villages to 90+ prosperity (very rich). I'm thinking at that point, my 6 lord army would be high skilled and effective that we're always winning

I like where you're going with that. Frankly though, i was considering having *no* vassals, since it might be a hassle to have to rescue them when they get imprisoned. But then again, that's what the game is about, right? Heroism and intrigue.

[Bankoleva]

If your avoiding lords then taking a town with less villages might be better for you. Diplomacy mod makes it so every time a village is raided, your treasury loses money. Running around by yourself trying to secure 5 villages and town might get a little crazy if you get into multiple wars.

[J Awesome]

Personally, I HATE Dhirim, and only take it when the surrounding areas are controlled by me.  It suffers from being at the very central section of Calradia, which means you could be bordering 5 or 6 factions in a worst case scenario.  The trade pay is great, but I think it's a political deathtrap.

Rivacheg is my personal favorite:  It's nice and tucked away in the corner of the world, and the income from sea trade is more than enough to support a decent army.  The big drawback is that it has less villages than Dhirim, and two of them are out in the boonies, making them hard to protect.  Also, if you hate Vaegir soldiers (why would you?), that's pretty much all you'll be getting out there.

Praven is another favorite of mine:  It's a sea trade route, and even though this is a single city goal, if you ever wanted to expand Suno is right there for the taking.  I get such a power rush having that Praven/Suno/Uxhal power base!

[-AoG- X3N0PH083]

City state? Wercheg.

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