Question: 1223 Start - Sicily and Apulia/Calabria

[QuoWarrior]

Greetings, one and all.

As a personal admirer of Ageod and the Field of Glory series, I couldn't help but buy the two DLCs currently available. I've been so far very impressed by everything the game has to offer and how visually stunning everything looks.

However, I couldn't quite get a certain question out of my head: why is it that Apulia and Calabria are independent in the Late Campaign (1223) start? I was under the impression that was supposed to be the start of Frederick II's reign. The decentralization process was well underway in the HRE proper (Germany), but he managed to strengthen his rule over the dynastic Hohenstaufen lands. The Kingdom of Sicily, especially, served as his personal stronghold, so it seemed a bit odd to see it fragmented by an independent Apulia and Calabria.

I look forward to shedding some light over this question.

Cheers!

[Pocus]

Hello and thanks for the praises

You are absolutely right historically: Apulia and Calabria were part of Frederick II’s Kingdom of Sicily, which was already distinct from the HRE and served as his main power base.

In-game, their separate status is a deliberate abstraction. We wanted to better represent the fact that the Kingdom of Sicily followed its own trajectory, especially after Frederick’s death in 1250, when it rapidly destabilized and fragmented.

Given the game’s mechanics, tying the region too closely to the HRE or to a single consolidated power at start would have made that divergence very unlikely to occur. This setup helps the historical outcome emerge more naturally, while also avoiding an overly dominant southern bloc early on.