Hello and welcome everybody!
Today we’re going to dive deep into the
characters of one of the best mods for Crusader
Kings 2: After the End (fan fork).
The depth of this mod is almost unmatched,
but the mountain of content that the developers
created in post-apocalyptic America can also
be overwhelming for new players.
With so much entirely original lore, it’s
difficult to get an overview and find the
right character to start a playthrough with.
Today I’m going to show you amazing characters
to explore the world of After the End with.
I went searching for them, so that you wouldn’t
have to.
Mind you, there are many more excellent characters,
but these are the best.
#10
#10 is reserved for a pirate you’ve most
definitely heard of – Captain Jack the Savvy
is sitting on the tiny island of Tortuga and
he’s ready to rumble.
While he starts in a comparatively weak situation
and is surrounded by a rather powerful Caribbean
Empire, the player has limitless opportunities.
It won’t take long in most playthroughs
until the Caribbean Empire completely collapses
thanks to mod mechanics regarding empire disintegration.
What is left behind are island warlords ripe
for plunder.
Jack is an adherent of the Brethren faith,
which is more a pirate creed than it is an
actual religion.
For that reason, there are sadly no Great
Holy Wars, a potential reformation or excommunication,
but the Code of the Brethren allows the player
to rule the seas thanks to raiding, infidel
taxes and the absolute monster that are prepared
invasions.
Being a good pirate of course means being
god-awful, so do your worst!
Any capable player can create a legendary
tale that most wouldn’t believe – until
they see your black flags on the horizon.
We have to move from the sunny Caribbean to
the cold wastelands of Canada to find #9:
Gabriel of House Dumont rules the tribe of
Granville and you have to be about as cold
in your decision-making as the Canadian winds
blowing into your face if you want to survive
even just the first couple of months.
Gabriel is treated as a wannabe-reincarnation
of a mythical Metis leader of the past by
his countrymen and it is up to the player
to let those hopes become reality.
This is arguably the hardest start of all
characters in this list, as the player must
fight off their liege, invading neighbouring
tribes, horse lords and of course all those
that encroach on Metis land.
If the player wins out against all odds, they
can both unite the Metis people as well as
their faith behind them and rain down hellfire
on the rest of America.
A good early move for this character is an
immediate rebellion against their liege lady
as she will most certainly be pincered by
a myriad of enemies – something the player
wants to steer clear off.
The amazing martial capabilities of young
Gabriel and his bloodline make for excellent
companions to overcome much larger armies.
The reward for all this struggle are the freedom
for the Metis people and … of course endless
pillaging, crusades and INCREDIBLY good bloodlines.
Happy buffalo hunting!
Let’s move on to a much easier starting
position: #8 goes to the American sons of
Ragnar, the heirs to a fallen Viking realm
- Reuben’s and Remnar’s father Albert
Soady, mirroring the historical Ragnar, led
the Vikings of the Midwest on countless raids,
inspiring fear wherever they went to pillage.
Those glory days however ended ten years ago
with Albert’s death and the Norsemen have
since been shattered.
Both brothers start in equally strong positions,
allowing the player to engage in raids, conquest
and ultimately the reformation of the Empire
of the Great Lakes.
While it makes little sense on first glance
to have Vikings in America, it quickly becomes
obvious that the survivors of the disaster
that destroyed the world are mistaking American
Football and the NFC North for a legitimate
continuation of the old Viking legends.
NFL games are the battles of the gods, witnessed
only by the most devout of worshippers.
The Vikings is indeed oblivious to how ridiculous
all of this is and so the Norsemen continue
to pray in football stadiums that.
Of course, it is as likely for Odin to help
them as it is for the Minnesota Vikings to
win a Super Bowl.
But let’s be honest – we all appreciate
some classic norsemen that can do prepared
invasions and undergo a reformation.
There’s a lot to do with these confused
barbarians!
One of those people getting terrorised by
the Norse is our #7 – Overseer Coleman the
Liberator of Detroit has arisen from the ruins
of the rust belt.
He is the head of a Merchant Republic attempting
to dominate the Great Lakes area, but so far
Detroit’s Republic had to face too many
challenges to prosper.
The Vikings, the Quebecois, the Catholics
and now even the Orientalists are out to conquer
the region and players will quickly see themselves
confronted with Quebecois and Catholic crusades
as well as permanent raiding.
The Rust Belters have a couple of tricks up
their sleeves however – They worship the
machines of old left behind by the gods and
are one of the few groups in America that
are willing to gather and study that which
remains of the world before the apocalypse.
These tech salvaging expeditions can lead
to powerful artifacts finding their way into
the hands of the player that can be used to
survive in the crumbling streets of Detroit.
Ultimately, the struggle for control of the
Northern waters and trade routes can lead
to a more centralised form of the rust cult,
which gives the High Fabricator the right
to call for Industrial Action – something
all of the enemies of the Rust Union should
fear.
The religion also comes with quite the strong
warrior lodge, which makes it an easy entry
point for players that are new to the mod.
Moving into the South of North America we
can find the last descendant of a once legendary
family – Orpheus of Grand Strand belongs
to the Royall family and is our #6.
This family channelled the Karling energy
and founded the Holy Columbian Confederacy
almost 300 years ago.
The Confederacy lays claim to the heritage
of old America and receives its legitimacy
from the Evangelical Church, but both have
recently fallen on hard times.
A Civil War is brewing between the freshly
displaced Venable dynasty and the new family
holding the Emperorship – the Littlepages.
While the feud between the two families is
eroding the very foundation of the Holy Columbian
Confederacy, the Evangelical Church is failing
to maintain order as more and more of the
faithful stray from the Church’s doctrines.
All the while, Americanists and Voodoo priests
are looking for any weakness to exploit so
that they may carve their own empires out
of the soon-to-be corpse of the Confederacy.
The only hope for the South and Evangelism
is a strong ruler that can restore order – Orpheus
finds a steadfast ally in his mother to the
North West of him, but may take a long time
until all of the Confederacy recognises the
Royall’s right to rule once more.
Should he fail, scholars of the future may
be forced to declare that the Confederacy
was neither Holy, nor Columbian, nor even
a Confederacy.
Next up in place number 5 is Colonel Ellis
of Connecticut who is a part of House Clinton.
This family traces its origins to the America
of old and because of it has become an integral
part of Americanism – a religion that worships
the Founding Fathers and seeks to strengthen
the Presidency.
Colonel Ellis may not yet be old enough to
run for President, but only he can be the
bulwark to the North that Americanists need
in these trying times.
Only thirty years ago the President at the
time was sacrificed by the renowned Viking
raider Albert Soady and Americanism hasn’t
recovered to this day.
Different Americanist doctrines are gaining
traction and external enemies have exerted
more and more pressure.
It were the ancestors of House Clinton that
destroyed the Barbarian Occultists in the
North East when they threatened America and
now it falls on Ellis to crush them once more
as the house of Vince Mahonic and their allies
regain their strength.
Americanism possesses a number of in-depth
features for itself and its heresies, offers
plenty of long-term engagement such as the
true rebirth of America under the banner of
the President, a carefully scripted system
for the Presidential elections and Ellis’
position on the map also puts him in range
of the invasion by the mythical “Redcoats”.
Whether Americanism can stand tall in the
future is entirely up to Colonel Ellis.
Number 4 on this list goes to Imam Zakariyya
II.
The Abbas dynasty has ruled the lands of Southern
California for almost 600 years.
First as independent prophets of the Imamite
faith, then as loyal and respected servants
of the Californian Empire.
While their faith is rooted in Shia Islam
and only tangentially related to the Californian
Cetic faith that mostly incorporates new age
hippie nonsense, it received tolerance and
respect from the rulers of the Palace in Sacramento
and Zakariyya’s dynasty served the Emperor
for the longest time.
Not too long ago however the last of the Abbas
rulers of SoCal died under suspicious circumstances
and the former kings were now restricted to
ruling a small region along the Pacific Coast.
Zakariyya is the character with the most in-depth
story events in the entire mod and surprisingly,
the writing as well as the choices given within
are excellent.
The events range from discovering the truth
about the fall of the Abbas dynasty over finding
a suitable wife (PICK JAZMIN OR BUST) to deciding
what the future of the relationship between
the Imam and the Californian Empire will look
like.
The quality of the writing is oftentimes an
issue in mods, because it is quite hard to
hit the right tone, but the events are well
written and the storyline gives players enough
freedom to pick their own path based on the
information given to them.
No worries however, the story events quickly
release the player into the free-play of CK2
that the game is known for.
Without spoiling too much: Particularly ambitious
Imamite rulers can even attempt to go on a
pilgrimage to … Mecca …
Whether you remain true to the Empire or abandon
the loyalty pledge your ancestors made – Both
the establishment of a new Imamite Empire
and the internal power struggle between loyalists
of the Emperor and the unruly bureaucrats
offer a unique and heavily mechanics-driven
game experience.
Zakariyya II is without a doubt one of the
most refined characters to ever be in CK2.
Number 3 goes to Dergavel of Moncton, a lowly
count all the way in the Maritimes.
While he can also trace his dynasty far back
into the past – in his case all the way
into the 19th century – his family struggled
to establish themselves in power after the
apocalyptic event occurred.
They were able to create a Druidic realm that
controlled New Brunswick and later all the
Maritimes for a short period of time.
This resurgence of animistic polytheism drew
the ire of the Anglican Church and so it happened
that the Irving dynasty was completely removed
from any meaningful position of power.
The irvings of today are considered a tamed
beast by the ruling class and the Church and
the Druidic faith has been banished across
the Sea to the cold and fruitless northern
shores not worth fighting over.
The decadent Anglican establishment has failed
to spot the tremors within the ancient house
however.
Dergavel’s brother, Cargyll, is a wicked
pagan that longs for nothing more than returning
to the days of old and taking revenge on all
those that dared lay hand on New Brunswick
– which he believes to be Irving property.
There are many, many avenues of playing this
character and his family, which make no two
playthroughs the same.
Supporting the Anglican Church, becoming a
turncoat and loyal servant of the redcoats
or returning to the Druidic roots of house
Irving – the floor is yours!
Numbers 2 goes to Za’eem Ammon-Jaffar of
the Suncoast, although in practice it is more
a placement for his son, Prince Ali, Fabulous
He, seeing as Ammon-Jaffar dies a movie villain’s
death very early into the playthrough.
The Orientalists of Western Florida, similarly
to the Imamites in California, attempted to
keep Muslim teachings and traditions alive.
With their proximity to Disney World and their
very basic grasp on Muslim theology however,
they practically got everything wrong.
Grand Sultans on flying rugs, Aladdin, Ali
Baba and evil genies are all core parts of
their mixed-up belief system.
Orientalism and Prince Ali are excellent examples
on lore with depth that does not take itself
too seriously – although Orientalists definitely
do.
Building an empire starting in Florida is
quite challenging.
The Grand Sultan calls a Jihad most of the
time against the Americanist Tribe of the
Mouse – who are equally as confused as the
Orientalists – but winning it can prove
difficult.
Even the subjugation of most of Florida’s
swamps does not guarantee victory however
as moral authority is low and the two neighbouring
Empires – the Carribbean Empire and the
Holy Columbian Confederacy – do not enjoy
having another power in the region.
Conquering land however is rewarding, as most
of the region has special localisations for
the Orientalists and beyond that the Misrist
heresy is one of the best heresies in the
game from a lore perspective.
Misrists believe that all the locations of
the Koran can be found in America.
The Mississippi becomes the Nile and ancient
Egyptian traditions – as seen in the Prince
of Egypt – become the new religious doctrines.
Happy pyramid building!
And finally, here is number 1.
It is a character that has been on the map
for a long time now, and originates from a
submod created by 9Kbits who would later become
the lead modder behind After the End.
Levi the Liberator of Teykhvald is my choice
for the most well-rounded character in all
of After the End.
He is the leader of a peasant army that destroyed
Americanist hegemony over the province and
established the first independent Jewish realm
on the map.
He is now in a position in which he must act
quickly or risk being overwhelmed by the hostile
Americanists, Anabaptists and Occultists of
the region.
The love put into the region can be felt at
any given moment with references such as for
example Count Tevye which you may know from
Fiddler on the Roof.
Levi is the classic underdog, but he has just
enough positive traits to make the struggle
for survival feel like an adventure instead
of the typical grind of weak rulers in CK2.
The rise of Levi comes with several well-known
mechanics for Judaism from the vanilla game.
It is possible to build a new temple – although
instead of Jerusalem it will be done in Brooklyn
– to establish a new priesthood and to participate
in Great Holy Wars.
Levi’s location is also one of the best
in the game, because they guarantee pressure
and action throughout the entire playthrough.
Even later on the proximity to the landing
spot of the mythical Redcoats, to the crusade
targets for Christians and Muslims and to
the core area of the Americanists will push
the player to struggle for their right to
to be a ruler instead of mindlessly blobbing
all over the place.
Levi’s story is one worth of being written
by the player.
I hope you found the characters in this video
to be interesting.
Let me know in the comments below!
 
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