The Grimdolfing Family: A Crusader Kings II Story

[Bobby Barrows]

The Grimdolfing Family
A Crusader Kings II Story

Behold the story of the Grimdolfing family, a European group of dubious beginnings that would eventually grow into a great political power and a dynasty that would last well into the 1800's. This German dynasty began from a lowly count of Worms and would eventually become a great European power. Their story begins in the year of 769 A.D.
​

Chapters:

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

Main Players:

Count Otto Grimdolfing of Worms (1/1/745 - )

 

[King Kota]

 

[Bobby Barrows]

Prologue:
The Backstory
​

The history of the Grimdolfing dynasty truly begins on January 1st, 745 AD. On this day, the founder is born. The Count of Worms, Adolphus Grandolfing, had happened to have a dalliance with one of his many courtiers and, well... one thing led to another, and his bastard son Otto was born. Adolphus declared that the child was his, but would never be his true heir. Otto, although a frail and sickly child, was shown to have incredible cognitive function and great potential. Many folks who looked over the child through the years, would call him "Der Versprechende"; "The Promising One".

Otto's childhood helped shape the man he would eventually be. Despite his father keeping him around, Count Adolphus never considered him a true son and thus treated him like a filthy commoner. Otto took this to heart and carried this with him, turning him into a man that had to care for himself and his mother, Mila. By the age of 12, Otto was exceptionally shrewd, considered a genius by many, and was known to be incredibly social to those around him. Even with all that, Otto held a very dark streak about him; rumors spoke of his cynical nature.

When Otto finally came of age in 761 AD, the boy had become a very interesting human being. He was ambitious, no doubt due to his own father saying he'd amount to nothing. He was still a frail man, and mostly unkempt, but it never took away from the principals of his charitable, just, and temperate nature. Behind the facade of a generous public figure, was a man who was an elusive shadow, able to learn everything about everyone at court, and their own secrets. Otto was incredibly deceitful and full of lust as he came to age. Not only was all of this fact, another fact was that he was well-liked by many of his own peers, more-so than Adolphis Grandolfing. Thus came to be the "Worms Conspiracy" in 766, where Otto attempted to usurp his own father as a show of force. The local war between the two was finished on December 25th, 768, when both men decided to finish their rivalry with a duel to decide who would re/gain the title of Count of Worms.

In the end, Otto won the duel, but at a heavy price. Not only had he incidentally killed his father Adolphus (a massive taboo), he was maimed himself in the duel . The harrowing experience caused the new young Count to become craven and stressed perpetually, believing that his life was in danger from those who were loyal to Adolphus. On December 30th, Otto declared himself as "Otto Grimdolfing", the new Count of Worms beginning on the day of his 24th birthday: January 1st, 769.

First Main Character

Otto Grimdolfing
(1/1/745 - )
Count of Worms

Traits:
Education: Elusive Shadow
Dynastic Kinslayer
Left-Handed
Shrewd
Genius
Legitimized Bastard
Frail
Uncouth
Stubborn
Craven
Temperate
Just
Cynical
Ambitious
Gregarious
Lusftul
Deceitful
Paranoid
Maimed
Stressed​

 

[Chris]

Oh this is gonna be fun

 

[Bobby Barrows]

Chapter 1:
Consolidation of Power

With much work to do, Count Otto began the long work to create his support base and ensure his lineage. His first order of business was creating a council of trusted advisors. His group would consist of similarly aged men.

The one man that Otto had to keep an eye on was the 29 year old Thurimbert, a member of the upstart Capet dynasty. Thurimbert held a long-lived claim to the county of Worms. Otto entrusted Thurimbert with the dirty work of drudging up any plots against him in this contentious time. Count Otto knew that Thurimbert wasn't trustworthy, but he felt that the young Capet was the best man for the job.

With his council set, He put them to work immediately. Otto knew that if he was going to expand his own realm, he'd need to conquer other lands. He sent Baron Gaudulf of Stahleck through the countryside, raising levies for the young Count. To raise an army though, Otto needed money as well. One of the first moves Otto made was enact special taxes to raise a small war chest to fund his coming wars; he entrusted his steward Mayor Chlodomer of Hagenau with the job. Thurimbert would stay behind the scenes and look for plots, and Court Chaplain Garivald of Worms would hunt non-believers of the Word of Christ. Otto's first attempted conquest was to be the neighboring county of Aschaffenburg. But to do so, Otto needed a Cassus Belli. He sent Bishop Ermbert of Worms to the neighboring county in order to falsify a legitimate claim on the county.

Count Otto's second order of business was to marry. Luckily, thanks in part to his noted nature, he was well known around Europe, and there was one woman for Otto.

Aikaterine Amalfinos, the daughter of Doge Leon of Amalfi, a vassal of the Eastern Roman Empire. Although considered un-prestigious, Otto knew that she was worth a potential trade deal with Leon. On January 11th, Count Otto of Worms and Aikaterine Amalfinos married, ensuring the potential for the expansion of the Grimdolfing Dynasty.

Otto was not left to his own devices, though. His liege, Duke Thuringus of Franconia (himself a vassal of King Karl (Charlemagne) of West Francia) offered him the position of Franconia's steward. Otto accepted graciously, knowing that ingratiating himself to his liege would create less problems down the line. That same month, on January 22, 769, Duke Thuringus passed the "Title Revocation Law", making Otto's own position precarious.

On 13th of September, 769, Otto's wife Aikaterine officially announced her pregnancy... but doubt besets the young Count, as his paranoia was paramount. Otto hired a man of the shadows to discover the truth of Aikaterine's faithfulness. On 19th of October, the man of shadows declared that no wrongdoing could be found by Otto's wife. Otto, shrewd and, of course, a Genius, conceded and wavered away his suspicions. Otto Grimdolfing will have a child that is truly his.

On 19th of November, Otto came down with a fever, which turned to be the Flu. Otto took care of himself, hoping it would heal quickly. Garivald, aside from not only being the Court Chaplain, was also Otto's personal physician. Garivald gave a treatment for Otto's flu that consisted of a poultice of cow dung & herbs, and smearing it over Otto's chest. Incredibly, it worked well and Otto began to feel better.

769 ended uneventfully for Otto, but much happened to set forth the future of the dynasty. Otto married, and was expecting a child soon, and is currently recovering from a mild flu. A promising year comes for Otto in 770. Who knows what is next for the young Count.​

 

[Chris]

You had to eat cow shit to survive the flu?

 

[King Kota]

So thats how mad cow started

 

[Bobby Barrows]

You had to eat cow shit to survive the flu?

Nope, the doc just smeared it all over Otto's chest lel.

 

[King Kota]

Nope, the doc just smeared it all over Otto's chest lel.

Otto Steamer

 

[Bobby Barrows]

Chapter 2:
The Battle For Saxony

770 began quietly for Count Otto. Recovering from a bout of the flu, and expecting a child from his wife Aikaterine, Otto looked to keep the peace of his domain for now. On the 4th of June, 770, Ursula Grimdolfing was born. While not a male heir, Otto's succession was safe, for now.

On the 28th of June, with Aikaterine having not yet fully recovered from giving birth to baby Ursula, and still in a terrible mood, Otto offered to help her. This would grow to show a kinder, more tender side to what was at the time seen as a very stoic and irascible figure (Otto gained the Nice trait).

On the 8th of October, 770, a group of petty thieves, known as the Band of Brothers, appeared before the court of Otto, their list of crimes longer than their numbers. For this, Otto felt that a simple matter was to be made, they would pay amercement; a fitting punishment if there ever was one. After that, news began to travel all throughout Europe of the Fall of the Avars on the 26th of October, 770.

On February 13th, 771, Count Otto, returning from a small vacation, learned that a new hunting bird and book had arrived. Otto, a man with a classical background, looked to have a hand at poetry. After a few weeks though, Otto learned that poetry wasn't for him; so instead he let his bloodthirsty side take over and take up falconry. On June 10th, 771, Otto declared himself a professional falconer.

War came to the realm, however, on 13th of January, 772, when King Karl declared war on the Godless pagan Saxons. Otto, knowing that in order to gain favor with the zealous king, he should join the war. Otto and the county of Worms were incorporated into the war on January 28th, 772.

During the war, as Otto learned through letters of the fates of his and Karl's troops, his tender side shone through as he gave his only child Ursula attention and love. Throughout the Fall of 772, Otto would teach the young lass all about some of the work he does, including all the dealings regarding court intrigue; it was an excellent learning experience for Ursula.

On the 11th of August 773, in recognition of Otto's efforts, he was named as the new commander of Franconia. He had been doing well as Steward of the duchy for some time, and he was rewarded by his liege Thuringus. On the 13th of August, Aikaterine announced her second pregnancy; and while doubt beset Otto once again, the paranoid man that he is, he would accept it as his.

For the war against Saxony, it appeared that Karl was going to lose it all, when suddenly, from nowhere, the Lombards appeared to back up the Frankish king. King Desiderius of Lombardy joined the war on 9th of November, 774. With such renewed vigor, Otto had seen to it that a new force of warriors would join his king in battle. A stroke of luck also hit upon the war, as the Grand Chief of Saxony, Theodoric, passed away at age 55, leaving the pagan lands in control of his 1-year old surviving son, Meinwerk.

On March 13th, 775, the true heir of Count Otto, Arnold Grimdolfing, was born. A son to the count, Otto was a proud father. He took it upon himself to personally care for his own son and to be his guardian in future affairs.

On the 14th of February, 776, King Karl's own brother, King Karloman of East Francia, suspiciously died, and thus his own realm passed into the hands of the now extremely powerful Karl. With more lands on hand, Karl began to consolidate his own power and bring forth more troops to the battle against Saxony. Count Otto of Worms was mostly unaffected by such events.

Aikaterine announced yet another pregnancy on June 24th, 776. This time, Otto knew something was wrong, as he thought he was away overseeing the war effort in Saxony at the time. What was certain was that Karl's forces were now winning the war. Despite all the spies he hired, Otto could not discover anything related to adultery regarding his wife. Still, he was wracked with paranoia. Otto's second daughter Konstanze was born on the 13th of February, 777.

On the 22nd of April, Duke Thuringus of Franconia approached Otto during one of his many falconry sessions. After having the wits scared about him by Otto's grand falcon, Thuringus came to Otto and offered something akin to a bribe. In exchange for some monetary benefits, Thuringus expected Otto to side with him some upcoming council business. Otto took the gold, being a man who would not turn down such... gracious gifts from his own liege. 95 gold is 95 gold, after all.

Aikaterine would be pregnant yet again on the 13th of October, 778. In other news, Grand Chief Meinwerk died of mysterious causes on the 23rd of October, 778, and an unrelated High Chief, Hesso, took his place. Immediately afterwards, on the 24th of November, 778, he was captured in battle against none other than Count Otto of Worms. Finally, on Christmas Eve, December 24th, 778, King Karl of Francia was victorious. The war was over, and for the Christian world, it had asserted its dominance over the Germanic pagans of Saxony once and for all.

With that, 778 ended in great tidings for the entire realm of Francia. But Otto's next step was to finally, and hopefully, conquer one of the counties next to his home of Worms. Who knows what will happen in the future, but Otto made certain that his place in Karl's Kingdom was safe, for now.​

 

[Chris]

I'm such a sucker for history, you may have locked in my vote for BTBOTM with this one on concept alone tbh Grim.

Also makes me really wanna check out this game since I never have but knew it'd be something I'd enjoy

 

[Bobby Barrows]

Chapter 3:
Journey to the Dark

January of 779, Count Otto of Worms, now an experienced 34-Year Old war veteran, comes home to have drink with acquaintances. It is on the 9th, that he comes into contact with Bishop Raimonde-Berenguié of Chancelade. With a lovely conversation, the topics slowly diverge into the subject of God himself. A cynical man himself, Otto agrees with several views of the bishop... such as questioning the will of God. Whether or not it was fueled by the alcohol was a different matter...

A few days later, Otto and the Bishop walked by the palisades of Otto's castle. The Bishop continued their conversation of the earlier with concepts that left the count agreeing with them - most notably the futility of prayer. The Bishop proceeded to hand a leather pouch to Otto, asking him to hold onto it for a time. Otto agreed to keep it hidden and safe for the Bishop.

A day afterwards, the Bishop returned; this time with a proposition. The Bishop tells Otto that everything he's been taught as a child is a lie, revealing a pentagram etched into his arm... The Bishop played to Otto's cynical and paranoid nature, exclaiming that he could help bring down the Count's hidden enemies; if Otto so desired. How could the Count pass up such supernatural alliances?

Left to his own devices, Otto began to research for himself into what he and the bishop talked about, and Otto found the answers he was seeking; that God in fact had lied to Adam about death upon eating the forbidden fruit! On the 9th of March, 779, Otto discovered crude and cryptic scrawlings on his chamber door. The Count understood what must be done, and after that night, for some time, he was found with a bandage on his arm. He outright refused to answer what had happened to it; save for some pithy excuse of a smithing accident.

By May's time, the messenger had arrived. It was a beautiful Bedouin woman, named Sholah. The conversation, though lovely, slowly turned more predatory as the night went on. Sholah mentioned the pursuit of knowledge, as well as... earthly pleasures. Otto very quickly put 2 and 2 together to understand what she meant.

Upon entering his bedchamber, Otto found his bedside lit with candles as cloaked men chanted; the ritual had begun, and Otto, never truly chaste (and of course overtaken by his paranoia to eliminate all enemies) partook in the ritual. It was a good night for Otto, indeed. With that, Otto had joined Lucifer's Own: a secret society of satanists.

On the 13th of May, 779, Thomas Grimdolfing was born; it was Otto's second-born son and his fourth child with Aikaterine. Otto declared Thomas to be a special child meant to raise his family's prestige to great heights alongside Arnold. Even more than Arnold, it appeared that Otto took a liking to Thomas and loved him very much.

War would once again return to the Kingdom of Francia, as the Godless Saxons, unhappy with the rule of the great Christian king Karl, rose up in rebellion and became an army led by a man named Widukind. Thus was how 780 came to a close. Otto had abandoned God himself for Satan's help and the dark knowledge that came with it; all in an effort for the ambitious, cynical, and paranoid Count to achieve greatness for his newfound family. What will happen with Otto and his new found allies? One can only imagine...​

 

[Chris]

I fid not expect the Satanist plot twist

 

[Bobby Barrows]

Chapter 4:
Expansion At Last

780 would become a tumultuous year indeed for the young Count. On the 14th of January, Otto's chancellor Ermbert had finally recovered enough resources to create a claim on the county of Aschaffenburg. It was finally Otto's chance at expanding his influence. On the 1st of February, 780, Otto officially declared war against Count Meginhard of Aschaffenburg. Otto came prepared for war; whilst Otto's levy of 445 troops would win him battles, they were simply not enough to conquer the county. So he hired the Bulgarian Band; a mercenary group 1,500 men strong... more than enough for Otto's goals. Now with an army of almost 2000 men facing off against Meginhard's pitiful levy of 200, Otto quickly swept into Aschaffenburg.

With the war in full swing, it was time for Otto to give support to his new allies in Satan's Own. Otto and his associate, Count Choros of Nordgau, began to work on an incantation to summon dark beings and gain powers. During the ritual, Otto and Choros managed to summon the unholy representation of greed, Mammon. Impressed by their willing sacrifice, Mammon granted Otto the power of increased wealth. Otto and Choros would not forget the knowledge they were shown any time soon (Otto gained +3 Stewardship).

Following this ritual, a mission would be granted to Otto, one that would prove to be rather difficult. Otto must sacrifice a virgin to Satan in order to appease him. Searching all throughout his own court, Otto discovered a lowborn courtier that one would think blended into the background. A young 27-year old woman named Kunigunde. She would make the perfect sacrifice for Satan's will.

One failed ambush on the 22nd of May, left Kunigunde suspect of the involvement of Otto, a damning situation that could ruin the Count. However, a second attempt worked brilliantly on the 25th of June, 780. Taken to a private jail hidden from the rest of his realm, Otto would prepare his sacrifice to Satan in earnest.

On the 5th of July, after months of battle (in addition to needing to beat the clock as Otto's liege, Duke Thuringus of Franconia, declared a peace to take place within the realm in three months time), Otto came victorious over his valiant foe Meginhard. Meginhard would surrender unconditionally to the Count of Worms and cede power of his own county to Otto; with this victory, Otto now had a solid power base for several years.

However, the question of succession began to arise shortly thereafter. Should Otto pass away, each of his sons would be granted a county apiece, which would leave the Grimdolfing family locked into a rivalry it does not need so early. Otto needed to continue to expand, post-haste, and some day, he would need to overthrow Duke Thuringus himself to claim the Duchy of Franconia. An arduous road lay ahead for Otto, and failure simply was not an option.

On the 13th of July, 780, Otto's third daughter, Beatrix, was born. Otto, a busy man as always, grew to enjoy the process of expanding his family name. But it was also time to create several alliances within the realm. An opportunity presented itself with the young King Tassilo IV of Bavaria, was unmarried and a mere 8 years old. Otto and Tassilo's regent made an agreement to marry off the king and Otto's eldest daughter Ursula to each other. It was a brilliant move made by Otto, as a pact was made between Worms and Bavaria.

Disaster struck for Satan's Own as Otto's own friend, Count Choros of Nordgau, was caught and burned at the stake as a heretic. Otto heard the news and knew that now was no longer the time to sacrifice his precious virgin capture Kunigunde. Her death would have to wait. Otto took the time to lay low stay out of trouble.

For the realm of Francia, however, war was just beginning to cause trouble, as the heretical Umayyad Sultanate of Hispania declared a holy war for Gascogne. King Karl, still preoccupied by the Saxon Rebellion, had no ability to prepare for the surprise attack by the damned Muslim invaders. It appeared that Otto would have to take up arms in honor of his King... Thus was how the exciting year of 780 came to a close.​

 

[Chris]

I hope Kunigunde gets free you fuckin' monster