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Hey guys, me again.

I'm now having a question about intrigues.

I recently found a plot started by my heir to kill my regent (me). It has a plot strength of 530% but no backers.

Now I know I can and maybe should sent the ungrateful something to jail but woudn't face a penalty but the guy is betrothed to a princess of France so I'm not sure about what to do here.

Also what the frak does Plot Strength mean? I starting to think I'm missing a thick manual here...

Plot strength opens up different options, mainly to kill someone or attempt to enact the plot. There's three 'levels' of the plot that open three successively better options to enact it. At 50% they receive the first option, which is pretty weak, low success high discover. 75% and 100% open up subsequent options(all have the same goal) that are stronger, the 100% one being a 90% success rate with 10% discover rate.

So essentially your heir can make an attempt on your life right now, but probably wont because of the chance for success. Adding members to the plot will raise the strength and thus success chance. You can ask the ploter(s) to knock it off in their diplomacy options, this is usually successful in my experience, especially given the heir I assume is underage as you're the reagent.

As a king, what are the advantages of creating a duchy? Similarly, what is the advantage/disadvantage of granting duchies you hold to other characters? It just doesn't seem to have much effect.

Advantages:prestige, you'll get more prestige from having duke vassals than counts. This is heavily in the favor of dukes, something like 4 dukes will outweigh the prestige of 14 counts.
Management, keeping 4 people happy is much easier(and cheaper) than 14 obviously.
Relations, holding to many duchies(more than 2 in my experience) will lower relations with your counts, also said counts will want the ducal titles. Your essentially shooting yourself in the foot by holding the duchies in this regard.
Voting, tied into 2 and 3, you need vassal approval to raise crown authority or other such laws. Don't expect to get anything passed if you're hoarding duchies.
Du Jure claims. As a king you don't get those claims(unless the ducal title is held by you). This is a easy way to expand your realm w/o having to fabricate claims. It will also improve your relations when you help your dukes out like that(as well as give you more vassal troops)

Disadvantages:Makes those characters more powerful/prestigious.
Can cascade that power into one person, I've had vassals consolidate half my kingdom under themselves from my own poor management via marriage or war.
Larger chucks can be inherited. Depending on crown authority you can lose those duchies via inheritence if you're not paying attention. Losing a duchy is obviously more damaging then losing a county.
Dukes will want the rest of their dukedoms. Be careful when you're handing out those dukedoms if you want to keep the counties it consists of. Best example is Ireland. Most of the Irish de jure dukes are 2-3 counties, but Ulster is 4, I built my powerbase in Ulsters 4 counties and unwisly handed the ducal title to my hier, he wanted the remaining 3 counties of Ulster and sabotaged our own relations and began plotting for the throne early. If I had given him the Duchy if Meath instead he would have taken a -25 relation hit for my holding Dublin instead of the -75 for Holding Ulster, Tyrone, and Oriel of the Ulster duchy.

Theres probably other things I'm missing, but those are some of the highlights.
 
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Hey guys, me again.

I'm now having a question about intrigues.

I recently found a plot started by my heir to kill my regent (me). It has a plot strength of 530% but no backers.

Now I know I can and maybe should sent the ungrateful something to jail but woudn't face a penalty but the guy is betrothed to a princess of France so I'm not sure about what to do here.

Also what the frak does Plot Strength mean? I starting to think I'm missing a thick manual here...

You can safely imprison him. A Betrothal does not equal a marriage or an alliance until both parties are of age and consent to the marriage, it's likely the king of France will not consent to allow his daughter to marry an imprisoned man.
 
As a king, what are the advantages of creating a duchy? Similarly, what is the advantage/disadvantage of granting duchies you hold to other characters? It just doesn't seem to have much effect.

As far as I see giving a duchy away just makes for a more powerful rebellion on your hands. Its guarantied that eventually the duke will have the ambitious trait and rebel. The point of creating a duchy is that you get claims on any part of it not under your control.
 
1. When do the Mongols come?

2. I took Jerusalem but the Muslims declared a jihad against me to take it back. That was 15 years ago. When are they coming? How long does a jihad last.

3. How do I weaken Byzantium? Ive gotten 43% of kingdom of Italy and while I was busy crusading Byzantium took most of Sicily out from under me. I dont like being sandwiched between 2 empire and i would like to weaken them. Preferably without going to war.
 
1. When do the Mongols come?

Early thirteenth century.

3. How do I weaken Byzantium? Ive gotten 43% of kingdom of Italy and while I was busy crusading Byzantium took most of Sicily out from under me. I dont like being sandwiched between 2 empire and i would like to weaken them. Preferably without going to war.

Use your chancellor to "sow dissent" in Byzantium.
 
1. When do the Mongols come?

2. I took Jerusalem but the Muslims declared a jihad against me to take it back. That was 15 years ago. When are they coming? How long does a jihad last.

3. How do I weaken Byzantium? Ive gotten 43% of kingdom of Italy and while I was busy crusading Byzantium took most of Sicily out from under me. I dont like being sandwiched between 2 empire and i would like to weaken them. Preferably without going to war.

1.13th(1200 onwards) century iirc. They're roughly along the lines of the historical invasion.

2.Don't know.

3.Use your chancellor to sow discontent in the Empire. This sabotages vassal relations and thus makes the empire weaker due to rebellions.
 
3.Use your chancellor to sow discontent in the Empire. This sabotages vassal relations and thus makes the empire weaker due to rebellions.

Do I sow decent in the capital of the Emperor or with individual vassals in the Empire? Ive never actually used that feature before. I mostly had my guy forging claims.
 
Is there a way to devastate foreign lands (reduce population, destroy infrastructure etc.) ?

Do i gain any benefits for occupied foreign territories?

I really would like a feature that would make it possible to plunder my enemies country; how do you handle that?

I forgot:

I disembarked my men from my ships on foreign lands; is there an way to get them back on my ships? I can not enter an foreign harbour (i am at war withthe country).
 
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I am playing the duchy of Munster and my heir is a woman. If I arrange a marriage will I only get an heir from her if it's a matrilineal marriage? Because I can only seem to get courtiers to agree to that, which reduces my prestige.
 
I am playing the duchy of Munster and my heir is a woman. If I arrange a marriage will I only get an heir from her if it's a matrilineal marriage? Because I can only seem to get courtiers to agree to that, which reduces my prestige.

Yes.