Interestingly the Moors have just taken Sicily and Venice has turned into a powerhouse, as have the Byzantines. Still, I sail a fleet of pilgrims, spearmen and basic archers toward the Holy Land but I'll probably need to pick up some decent Mercenaries when I get there so long as they're not too costly.

The area looks pretty intimidating though with one Fatimid and one Turkish stack camping in it's back yard. There is currently a Crusade on for Jerusalem as the Crusader States lost it to a Jihad. The French have expelled me from their shores after two nail biting defenses of the wooden Castle at Caen. I've only just started a campaign as England, striking up into Scotland first of course, but I'm forced to give them a respite or face excommunication. I haven't actually downloaded the new 1.4 patch as I don't like the sound of some of the changes.

It's about time we had another Stainless Steel discussion methinks, probably the best and most popular Medieval 2 mod.