County of Greifwald



The County of Greifwald has long mastered the art of balancing many powers on the griffon continent, as its sits between the powers of Kingdom of Aquileia and the  Griffonian Empire. The current establishment of Greifwald has ruled for long already, but the County is troubled by many problems. Its citizens are poor, its industry greatly obsolete. And while the current regime tries its best to keep everything stable, there exists a small but hardworking anarchistic party there that could pose a great threat to the government. But more worryingly, there are whispers in the dark of Prelate Ebonwing's great ambition and plans.

Lore
As the Griffonian Empire collapsed in 978 the County of Greifwald was one of the many countries that left it.

In the mid 980s the territories of Lissay and Eagletown broke away from Greifwald and formed their own nation, Free Territory of Adelart. One of the few things all factions in Greifwald agree on is that territories held by Adelart must be taken back.

Count Cloudet and his cabinet currently rule Greifwald. However, in their rule poverty has remained a constant issue. This has lead to the rise of the Greifwald Anarchy Party led by Nestor Bernier which intends to overthrow the current regime and liberate their neighbours, or else. To help with the Greifwald's issues some have suggested following Prelate Ludwig Ebonwing plans to help improve the County, but many remain suspicious of his motives.

Currently, Greifwald retains its independence, but it would find itself in major danger if Aquileia were to expand or a resurgent Griffonian Empire rise.

Starting Situation
Greifwald sits in a dangerous position between the Griffonian Empire and Aquileia. Both can get war goals against Greifwald. The main problem for Greifwald will be its lack of griffonpower and industry: It starts with a core population of a meagre 2.08M and only has two military and four civilian factories. Once Adelart is annexed the core population will be 3.31M. Fortunately, all political paths give bonuses to recruitable population and griffonpower. Greifwald starts with a small military of 12.5k deployed griffons in 3 divisions.

Greifwald starts with the "Poverty" national spirit. Until it is removed Greifwald will be suffering crippling penalties. The player should seek to quickly remove it by going down whatever political path they choose.

How Greifwald deals with Aquilea and the Griffonian Empire will depend on what political path it chooses. Going non-aligned will see Greifwald allying with one against the other. However, if it goes Communist or Supremacist, then Greifwald will be rapidly expanding to be able to fight against whichever great power comes. A Supremacist and Communist Greifwald are unable to form the Empire and Aquileia.

Threats and Opportunities

 * The  Griffonian Empire is the main threat to Greifwald. It will usually go after Greifwald once it has united its vassals and defeated its enemies in the north. By then it will have a massive industry and military, allowing it to easily crush an unprepared Greifwald. There are generally two ways to deal with the Empire: Either fortify the borders and wait for it to attack or if Greifwald has built up its army, attack it while it is busy in northern Griffonia.
 *  Kingdom of Aquileia is the second main threat to Greifwald. In all its political paths it will get a war goal against it.
 *  Free Territory of Adelart used to be part of Greifwald and thus it has cores on them. All political paths for Greifwald give a war goal against them and they will usually be the first target.
 *  Pomovarra,  City of Flowena, and  House Avian are other minor nations to the east and further targets for expansion. Depending on the political path Greifwald will get war goals and cores on them.

National Focus
The County of Greifwald has mostly normal military, air, and navy trees. A notable focus in its army tree is the research slot at the end.

The industrial path gives its typical bonuses. A particular path to take note of is the right side: It requires states owned by Adelart and adds more oil to those states. From these focuses, Greifwald can get -5% consumer goods and 81 oil in those states allowing Greifwald to become the oil capital of Griffonia.

Political Paths
Greifwald has 3 political paths to choose from.

The Communist path starts with the Anarchists waging war against the current Greifwaldian government. After Nester declares Greifwald a free territory the anarchists will then focus on making Greifwald into a utopia and liberating their neighbours. This path will give war goals and cores on Pomovarra,  House Avian and  City of Flowena. Notably, it will gain +25% non-core griffonpower and -50% justify war goal time which makes it ideal for expansion and helps compensate for the lower griffonpower.

The Non-Aligned path is more focused on diplomacy. Initially, Greifwald can either pursue a policy of neutrality between Aquileia and the Griffonian Empire or seek cooperation with them. Eventually, Greifwald can ask for guarantees from the two major powers and remove the war goals against them from their focus tree. The left and right paths are not mutually exclusive. So a Greifwald player can seek bonuses from both Aquileia and Griffonia (left + right), or the neutral path (centre).

The Supremacist path starts with accepting the Prelate's plans to improve the military and economy before he takes over. Once the Prelate becomes the ruler he will make more radical changes. The end gives a choice between “Answer the Fatherland’s Call” and ‘Fight for Independence”. The former will have the Griffonian Empire annex Greifwald. While it's shorter than the other political paths, the poverty national spirit and science bases are immediately improved and a research slot is given earlier than in the other paths.

Greifwald has 2 hidden paths in its political tree. In the Non-Aligned path, after taking the focus "Loosen Immigration Laws" the decision "A Change of Pace" will become available if the Changeling Lands have capitulated. Taking the decision will reveal a branch below the Non-Aligned path. This branch will allow changeling refugees to come to Greifwald in exchange for their aid in improving Greifwald's military, industry, and research. In addition, the states of Greifwald will see increases in population from these focuses. In the Supremacy path, after taking the "Destroy Adelart" focus, the focus "Fight for Independence" will change to "Whispers in the Dark...". Its effect will change to a 40% loss in stability. Twenty days after the focus is complete you will get an event that reveals the rest of the Supremacy path. The Prelate has begun receiving visions of Maar and will follow the orders of his dark god. This path will give war goals and cores on Pomovarra, Flowena, and House Avian. The states will see decreases in population in return for strong bonuses. This path is suited for expansion as you will get -50% justify war goal time and 20% non-core griffonpower. Keep in mind after taking "Return of the Old One" the trade law will automatically change to Closed Economy and cannot be changed. The focus will also unlock "Maarite Favour" decisions, which will decrease the population of specific states in exchange for boosts to political power and stability, military, or production.

The national spirit the "Visions of Madness" focus gives the following maluses to attacked nations: