Venice AAR - 02/20/2014
Summary:
The very first thing I did was revoke my guarantee on Rhodes, because it's a useless island no one cares about. Right after that, I acquired claims on Morea and Donji Kraji. With the claim on Morea, I declared war on the Byzantines and took Achaea, Morea and Athens, while at the same time preventing the Ottomans from taking Constantinople thanks to warscore shenanigans (for only a few years, Byzantium fell half a decade later). To my good fortune, not only did rebels turn Corfu over to the Byzantines (freeing up a much needed diplomatic relation), but Bosnia annexed Ragusa shortly before I vassalized Bosnia, allowing me to gain a chunk of the Balkans and the most lucrative province in the Ragusa trade node in one fell swoop.
Towards the end of the session, I pulled back my troops in order to let my manpower recover and focused on infrastructure. My primary goal over the next few sessions is the dismantlement of the benighted heathen empire of the Ottomans. To that end, I allied the Mamluks (mgoblue) and Poland-Lithuania. I took Naval Ideas as my first Idea, not because it's particularly good for Venice (it isn't), but because I can't afford to let the Ottomans have a 50% Naval Force Limit over me. I have seen what they are capable of with such numbers and I will not lie idly by while they take control of the Mediterranean. I also built Armories in all my non-Grecen provinces so I can sustain a prolonged war with the Ottomans.
Once I annex Naxos and Bosnia, Serbia and Hungary are next on the list.
Army: 18/21, 14/4/0
Navy: 34/30, 0/14/10/10
Manpower: 7000/20000
Vassals Gained: Bosnia
Vassals Lost: Corfu
Provinces Gained: Donji Kraji, Bosnia, Hum, Travunia, Ragusa, Achaea, Morea, Athens
Provinces Lost: Corfu
Allies Gained: The Mamluks, Poland-Lithuania