Managing a giant empire is easy, as is getting people to vote for your preferred heir, since you have more control over that than whether you will get more children or not (unless you stayed married to the same person for the entire game and never sleep around, but why would you ever do something like that?).

 

Than I would really like to know what I did wrong with my last empire where people were voting for one of my vassels even thought they weren ambitous and liked me +100. I agree that for the most part elective is awsome. But I simply prefer safety over the freedom to choose.

 

Without opening up the save myself, I'd guess that the likely culprit has to do with the heir's culture, his physical location in-game, diplomacy score (state diplo if landed), or his traits. Vassals want someone of the same culture as them, so if your heir is German and your vassals are Italian, the vassals likely won't vote for him. In a similar vein, vassals prefer someone within your empire's borders rather than without. The importance of the diplo score should be obvious, same with traits.

Do you land your heirs? Once they leave your court, you have less control over them, and landed heirs usually make trouble for the election due to the decisions they make as counts/dukes. (Never give your children a landed title; it only creates trouble at some point down the line.)

 

No I don't.

Ensuring same culture becomes nearly impossible at some point considering I controlled more than half of europe. I consider myself a good player, yet there a points where elective monary simply slips from my control. In the end, what inhertiance rule one prefers is personal taste and I think ultimogeniture is the best of the "save" options.

 

Eh, that's why I usually only have four or five King-level vassals when I'm at that point (ownership of more than 1/4 of the map), but I see your point once you get that big.

 

Tuiz messaged and he's interested in it so pass along the save file to him, Nemrut.

 

Seratin: I still need to know which DLC (maybe none, like the posts by you and Lindsey suggest) I can choose - or, since I seem to be the last, I can simply pick all of them.

 

I had all the DLC except Monks and Mystics and Ruler Designer active.

 

As it hasn't made the game buggy at all, Ruiz, I'd say you're fine to roll with whatever you feel like.

 

My dynasty nowadays is full of fools and bloated idiots who do not display any ability in governing the realm. Nonetheless, this is also my dynasty and I will not see it in ruin after it being propelled to such heights by our ancestors.
So, my story began long before ascending the throne. Behind the scenes, I engineered a civil war that would see me elected as successor to the corrupt ruling branch - and god is with me. He sent the plague to exterminate them and place the crown onto my head. Let my rule begin!

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Waldensianism has spread. Hersey, infidels and Mongols rule the land. Even Byzantium, the last vestige of Christianity has been subverted by its own rulers. They of all have embraced Islam. I myself am part of it. Have been part of it. No more! God has granted me that chance and I will use it. The infidels will perish and lose all grip on my realm. I will not follow them!

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And it is indeed the final day for all the infidels. From Persia to Europe they perish from the Black Death, a curse the likes only God the Almighty can envision to punish the sinners. I hope he sees that I have repented - even if only in secret.

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It seems that god has decided to punish me - all my sons perished. I myself have been inflicted with the curse and nearly killed by ill treatment. But my faith and my will have prevailed - I live. And worse, the Aztecs, the filthiest of them all, have come! But only for Jerusalem and France since they are the most evident sinners before our lord!

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And times are looking up overall. Extortion and lucky events (quite literally in most cases) have brought money back into my coffers. This means I was finally able to wage war against Tuscany under the guise of fighting for the heretics. This has cost me money and time of course but it was worth it. Moreover, I and a few other were able to convince our Kaiser that elective succession in the empire would be the way of the future. As the advisor to the Kaiser and often Marshal as well as commander my sway in the Empire knows nearly no bounds.

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Now I only have to move a few obstacles out of the way.

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But it all has cost me - Extortion and other methods to bolster my finances! And the wars have filled my dungeons with people to ransom! And I seem to be single...
After a few years, I am ready to become Kaiser - come what may. Everything is peaceful, I have the money, I have an heir (even if female and dull but at least of my dynasty) and I still feel healthy and virile!

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Or not so virile after all. It seems that I have accomplished what god intended for me. I may die and never see Constantinople in order to reclaim it but my heirs will. Our dynasty is on the rise again.
Nothing was lost, everything is to gain. I will be known as cruel but I was necessary.

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Good job Tuiz, the dynasty is strong.

Save goes to Tylendel next.

 

For some reason, the Print screen function did not work...

Nearly as soon as the reign of the first Orange's Queen began, a revolt to instore Gavelkind in the realm started. Calling on the banner and hiring the help of mercenary allowed the Regent to tame the rebellion.

Soon after, the Kaiser requested the County of Dublin from us. The banner and mercenary still raised allowed us to force the Kaiser into a white peace.

Sadly, peace will not last. As soon as the Queen reached adulthood, the Kaiser started to request Dublin and Granada. The War funds depleted, the Queen had no choice but to submit to the will of the Kaiser.

Despairing, she left the Good Christian society to join the secretive Lucifer’s Own, sacrificing prisoner to acquire more power in the hope of casting a deadly curse on the Kaiser and all his family.

On the administrative side, being a little slow, she reorganized her kingdom, giving land in Ireland to a relative and consolidating her holding in her ancestral land.

At the end of her young life, she restored her dominion over Dublin and launched a war against Thomond to reclaim all of Ireland. Sadly, She will not live to see the reunification of Ireland.

 

Well, I used the built in Snip tool from Windows and saved them in a Word Doc in between. From there you can save them as a .png nowadays.
There are reasons why this could be more convenient, believe me <.<

 

Well that's the end of our user list so I suppose I get reincarnated. Fancy passing on the save file, Tylendel?

Also, I want to see if there's interest in starting up one of these succession games using the Game of Thrones Mod. I think it would be pretty cool to see House DLP or whatever we name it try to rise from a lowly house to lofty heights in Westeros.

 

I'm still in for when it gets back to me