Courtier claims

[Mountainduke]

I am still kind of new to this addicting Paradox game.

Someone in your court holding a claim but is not your dynasty.
You can press that claim, fight a war over it and that person gets the land and becomes independent.
In such case it is no use to press that claim if I am not mistaking.

Get someone from your dynasty marry to the claim holder first so their kids (own dynasty) inherit that claim, should that be the only way?
I also read somewhere giving some land to that courtier holding that claim first.

What is the best way to handle such claims?

 

[Kimberly]

An important rule to learn is that you don't need to press claims. You will over time collect a lot of claimants that are not worth your attention--if you are king of Ireland, you probably can press a courtier's claim on some obscure independent Russian duchy, but should you?

If you want to gain land, then yes, either you land the claimant so they become your vassals before you marry one of your dynasty members to them and press their child's claim.

I suggest you deal with claimants on your own terms. If you want a particular piece of land, find a claimant for it that is willing to accept an invitation to your court. Then land them or marry them to someone of your dynasty. Don't feel an obligation to press every claim of every schmuck who happened to wander into your court.

 

[Ols]

I sometimes use these claimants to destabalise realms they have claims in. Once when I was playing as Wales I had a claimant to Northumbria (ruled by Saxons), Lancaster (ruled by Swedes) and York (ruled by Norwegians). I pressed each of these claims while England was in a civil war and ended up with the north being completely independent of the south and totally uninterested in their affairs. By combining this with a de jure war for Cornwall I managed to secure my position ready for my successor to press a weak claim on England during its next civil war, destroy the title and watch all the lords go independent ready for me to conquer every duchy and independent count and install Celtic vassals in their place. While I ended up taking Northumbria, York and Lancaster for myself after reforming England, forcing them out of England's de facto territory was a more effective strategy then going in directly to conquer them.

 

[Thrumdi]

Fighting infidels or pagans, and confiscating their lands, is a great way to land masses of claimants. It can be a real boost to expansion.