Orleans

Primary culture

Francien (French)

Capital province

Orleanais (184)

Government

Feudal Nobility

State religion

Catholic

Technology group

Western

Orleanaise ideas

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Traditions:

+10% Global trade power

+20% Fort defense

Monsieur d'Orleans

+1 Yearly prestige

The Maid of Orleans

+10% Morale of armies

May recruit female generals

Faith and Devotion

+2 Tolerance of the true faith

Saffron of Boynes

+10% Production efficiency

Chateaux of the Loire Valley

−10% Construction cost

−10% Construction time

Calvin and Molière

−10% Idea cost

French Language in All Courts

+1 Diplomatic relation

Ambition:

+1 Monarch diplomatic skill

In 1444, Orleans is a vassal of the Kingdom of France.

Strategy[edit | edit source]

The below is one of many player suggested strategies for Orleans. Bear in mind, due to the dynamic nature of the game, it may unfold differently for other players.

Being a vassal of France, your first goal is to secure independence. This often involves restarting several times until you can get a few powerful nations to back you. The most likely candidates are Aragon, England, Burgundy, and rarely Castile or Austria. Preferably you'll get the backing of at least two of the aforementioned. Ideally you'll be declaring independence before the Surrender of Maine war triggers if you have England supporting you.

During the war it's a good idea to take enough territory to link to at least one of your separated territories. You'll also want enough war score to demand France release most of its vassals. With France largely crippled, it's not unlikely that Burgundy will take over as the territorial power and it would be a good idea to have a good relationship with them for now.

Once your independence is secured, start spying on the English territories left untouched by the Surrender of Maine war, as well as the vassals you released from France. When your truce is up with France you'll want to take more of their territory again. If you check with Castile's provinces of interest and largely avoid those while you're small you can usually keep them as a powerful ally to help you pick apart what's left of France.

Aggressive Expansion is a constant thorn in your side during this Campaign as you have to conquer all of France's provinces as well as the vassals that France normally starts with. Defensive ideas is a strong starter as there are lots of forts you'll be conquering.

Once you have most of the French territory you'll likely have such high Aggressive Expansion that it might be a good idea to invade and take England's territory. England is pretty terrible at defending itself if you can ally with Scotland or some of Ireland to have a pre invasion army gathering spot.

The most common reason for playing Orleans is the Joan of Arc Redemption Events unique to them. The decision The Fate of Joan of Arc which starts the event chain requires you to control the provinces of Caux, originally controlled by England, the province of Paris, originally controlled by France, and the province of Barrois, originally controlled by Provence. You also need 100 relations with the Papal States and have completely kicked England out of the France region. This all needs to be done before the Age of Reformation. It is incredibly difficult and relies on a little bit of luck. If Burgundy gets strong and conquers Provence, and then Austria gets the Burgundian inheritance it might be a good idea to restart. The limited timeframe as well as the amount you need to grow and expand create an environment that means you need to beeline for these objectives right away or else you risk getting gridlocked into Southern France as Burgundy grows powerful and blocks your expansion.

Country guides

Western technology group