I was stretched pretty thin moneywise, even with Marienburg, and I didn't have enough army strength to actively get to Chaos stacks without overexposing myself, so I had to hang out in settlements and capitals. Really enjoyed the Chaos invasion this game too as I felt the mechanics of it worked in a narrative way. Then I realized the power of gifting money and that forming and disbanding armies is a pretty viable option at times. I had restarted my Empire campaign a few times because I'd either feel forced into turtling and never get that first full province (and thus have super slow growth) or I'd be stretched thin and the Orcs would crush me or other human factions would declare war in my weakened state after defeating the Orcs. Securing Reikland within the first 10 turns while avoiding wars and beating the Skullsmasherz (manual battle always) that always come by was a hell of a challenge.
Playing the original with Empire on Very Hard and it's been quite a ride.
