14 DAY TRIAL // The Hindus are the more warfare oriented of the Indian rulers that are part of the most recent expansion for Crusader Kings II and, after sampling life as a Jain and Buddhist, I decided to become aggressive and see how much of the subcontinent I could conquer during the lifetime of a monarch.
Unfortunately, the ruler I am playing as starts of 50 years old already, which means that he might soon succumb, especially given the stress of leading into battle, so I quickly identify the Jain as a suitable target and launch an attack.
I am confident that my close to 4,000 troops can handle the enemy, which is committed to non-violence, but my smart Indian members decide to hire a bunch of mercenaries to do their dirty work and I lose three battles in a row before I can hire my own foreign troops to create a tactical equilibrium.
I then manage to take two measly provinces from the Jain kingdom just as my decision to try and centralize my own kingdom backfires and two vassals rise up against me.
My mercs are a serious drain on my gold reserves and I only managed to stay in the black by ransoming some of the most valuable prisoners in my dungeons and I finally defeat the rebels and get a unified country behind me as I try to find another target that’s more suited to my expansion needs.
I decide to leave my Indian brethren alone for the moment and look to the West, where a Sunni kingdom has some territory I deem to be part of my own kingdom.
I press my claims and manage to get a solid start to the war before again mercenaries turn the tide of battle and defeat my main army.
I don’t yet have the money to hire my own troops and I decide to retreat and simply let my enemies waste their superior numbers on my castles, while hoping that they also run low on funds.
This is the moment when my monarch finally dies and I spend the next few years trying to win the war with the Sunni using his son as a leader, which results in a few glorious battles.
I might be individually capable in the fight, but I lack the manpower to actually win in the long term, which shows that even for the more aggressive Indian ruler, it makes sense to bide his time in Crusader Kings II and carefully choose his battles.