Succession Fracture: Common occurrence where land is divided among heirs, leading to fragmentation.
Feudal Gerrymandering: A strategy to avoid succession issues by manipulating succession laws.
Types of Succession
Primogeniture
Innovation allowing all titles to pass to a single heir.
Not commonly available in many games.
Partition Succession
Heirs receive equal inheritances.
Leads to issues when there aren’t enough high-level titles (duchies, counties) to distribute.
Risks of Partition Succession
Loss of counties can weaken the realm’s income and military strength.
Increased likelihood of civil wars after succession.
Strategies to Handle Partition Succession
Disinheritance
Spend prestige and renown to disinherit unwanted heirs.
Quick solution but not optimal, especially with many heirs.
Early Inheritance
Grant early duchies to heirs to prevent them from taking important titles later.
Useful for tribal or clan nations.
Effective when expanding quickly.
Challenging with many children or large title inheritances.
Elective Succession Laws
Use of elective laws to rig elections in favor of a chosen heir.
Requires managing vassals to ensure they cannot out-vote you.
Voting Power: Based on rank (Emperors, Kings, Dukes, Counts) and influence.
Ensure control of duchies to win elections.
Example of Elective Succession
Maintain a small enough number of vassals to control elections.
If you own the entire duchy, there are no other electors.
Even in ties, ruler's preference breaks the tie in favor.
Managing Vassal Titles
Feudal Vassals: Titles inherited by their heirs.
Theocratic or Republic Vassals: Do not pass their titles; this prevents unintended power accumulation.
Creating Theocratic Vassals: Possible through specific gameplay strategies.
Creating Republic Vassals: Easier if you have a city.
Cautions with Different Electives
Be careful with Scandinavian Electives where voting is based on domain development and opinion; this complicates control.
Conclusion
With clever use of feudal elective laws, it’s possible to ensure that the primary heir receives all titles, effectively sidestepping the challenges of partition and multiple heirs.
Proper understanding and management of succession laws can keep realms intact.