Estates, not POPs, should be the central mechanic of EU5

[Ivashanko]

this would be really offputting if pops were also a thing, caue you'd have estates that represent pops that don't exist(so no jews to represent the jewish estate)
but I might have missed something
edit:I don't know how I confused tags with pops

If a country has no Jewish pops, there would be no Jewish estate. If a country has a lot of Jewish pops, there would be more than one Jewish estate.

 

[Shiny Dog]

POPs work as a central mechanic in V3 despite the player not playing as one.

But if you're arguing that the character mechanic as a whole only works because the player is a character, then I mostly agree.

I feel it's also important that characters in CK2/3 are fleshed out by game mechanics and focus. If you just transplanted CK3-esque characters into EU4, it wouldn't add much.
When you right-click on France in CK2, you're taken to the King of France's diplo screen.
When you right-click on France in EU4, you're taken to the diplo screen of France.
You already have "personal events" in EU4, such as when your treasurer bangs your wife. Do you care when that happens? I don't, other than the fact I have to pay some sort of currency.

Estates should be the ones with agendas, not individual characters. You, as the player, are technically an estate (the crown/state) in EU4.

 

[Ivashanko]

I feel it's also important that characters in CK2/3 are fleshed out by game mechanics and focus. If you just transplanted CK3-esque characters into EU4, it wouldn't add much.
When you right-click on France in CK2, you're taken to the King of France's diplo screen.
When you right-click on France in EU4, you're taken to the diplo screen of France.
You already have "personal events" in EU4, such as when your treasurer bangs your wife. Do you care when that happens? I don't, other than the fact I have to pay some sort of currency.

Estates should be the ones with agendas, not individual characters. You, as the player, are technically an estate (the crown/state) in EU4.

I think a basic dynastic system in EU could be wonderful, but I agree with your larger point. Characters work well in CK because they are that series' beating heart, the core that all other mechanics are built around. It wouldn't work nearly as well in EU.