Harlaus is a Bad King

[Yellowjacket]

first 1.27 game started off going swimmingly, playing as Swadia and we had conquered Narra, Halmar, Jelkala, Veluca, and Sargoth pretty darn quickly. Harlaus is a greedy bastard though and hogging a lot of the newly conquered cities for himself. Next all of a suddenly he starts banishing people left and right (likely they were pissed cuz he's a greedy swine) and we're really starting to get hurt by loss of troops. What is causing this behavior? Is this some new 1.27 feature that encourages me to rebel? Cuz I actually wanted to stay loyal this time.

 

[unmerged(169164)]

I did not start a 1.27 game so it might be a return to norm of game at release.

Attribution of prizes of war is built on a falsely consensual process.

The King looks at this vassals and tries to satify the most of them (not sure that one man is one vote though, terms of influence might kick in)

Lords have a different perception and expection of what outcomes a war should bring. The more heteroclite the faction, the hardest the equilibrium point is to be found (reversely, this also offers more strategical options as part of the faction will always enjoy what's just happened)

If the King faces a controversial outcome, He solves it by attributing land to himself, frustrating lords at the same time. A ticking bomb.
In the end, some of them grow rival status and are banned. A down spiralling process in weaking the faction.

Managing the dissent is the motivation of the political side of the game.
Adopting a vision of life, trying to gather around it to subvert the benefits of group life to your own benefits.

The way to go is to patch up the faction. You can either work at kicking out troublesome lords in order to clear a majority; bringing in enemy lords with the correct profile in order to strengthen a large minority in the faction; settling quarrels (indicated by wife/husband, probably according to her/his own expectation, perception)

I did not start a 1.27 game so I dont know if your current situation can be patched as at release, a situation could worsen beyond repair.

As Harlaus has attributed much land to himself, weakening the faction by cutting lords from their revenues, I would go for bringing new blood, select lords whose profile will help to clear out a majority. This might lead the king to distribute some of his lands to the new vassals, improving the efficiency of the factions.

 

[ComradeOm]

The way to go is to patch up the faction. You can either work at kicking out troublesome lords in order to clear a majority; bringing in enemy lords with the correct profile in order to strengthen a large minority in the faction; settling quarrels (indicated by wife/husband, probably according to her/his own expectation, perception)

Is there any easy way of keeping track of this faction political info? I only just realised the other day that there was this whole political element to the game that is not readily visible

 

[unmerged(169164)]

Sending companions gives a general insight plus a quantification in unrest and resentment (I think) Hard to tell what the two words exactly recover.

As to known who is frustrated when your character is not married, probably only direct interaction (either portrays or dialogues) with lords delivers information . Usually Kings give feats to end a campaign and I take the opportunity to ask around the other lords's wishes. When the outcome of the King's decision is unexpected, when no name is consensual after polling the lords, it spells trouble in my book.
When a name gathers momentum, it pictures the current network of relationship and helps to delineate circles.

The worst signal is the one reported in OP: when a King starts to attribute land to himself exclusively.

The final point is that I got used to bypass the fog concerning possible feuds between lords and the King by playing from the start the political game.

Before joining a faction, I developp my relationship with a specific set of lords whose mindset corresponds with my character's mindset. I dont befriend lords whose mindset is not compatible with mine (up to now, I never turned them into enemies though) I also befriend enemy lords whose mindset is appropriate.
This way, when becoming a vassal, I already have a side to support and what to do is obvious to me. This is the easy path, clear and obvious.

Patching up through quarrels settlements is a long way to go and must be done at soon as possible. A positive relationship matters a lot in my experience.
Lords 's negative relationship moving to slightly positive relationship to their King might not be enough to get them a piece of land, including after a conquest spree. For this to succeed, lords'portrays must be routinely scrutinized and actions must be taken sooner than later. A -40 relationship with a liege is barely mendable in my experience.

Best approach imo is to focuse on three or four lords as priviledged relations before joining a faction and to build/destroy around them when you have joined the faction.

 

[Yellowjacket]

Wow, very good Chien. Thats a lot to take in.

How do I know which lords are compatible with my views/playstyle? The ones who like my choices and demonstrate so by +1ing a lot for crap I would have done anyway?

Do the same lords have the same mentality every game, or is it random?

I always try to kiss everybody's ass, even the enemy, (catch and release, unless I"m strapped for cash) in hopes of luring them to my side. Maybe not so smart? How will I know which enemy lords are compatible with me?

It also sounds like you might be saying then when/if I choose to rebel, I should take care to surround myself with likeminded lords only, and not hire the ones who have a different outlook. Is that true, in your opinion?

 

[unmerged(169164)]

Each lord (or companion) has a personality. Easiest way to discover is to go to the portray screen and see if it is displayed (depends on version as it is cheatmode information)
Probably a guide somewhere listing all the personalities (from memory, good-natured, pitiless, martial, calculating, debauched ...) I would say that personalities are not randomly determined at start of a game. To be checked though.

Lords react to events (like capturing lords after a battle, helping villagers to get cattle etc...) according to their personality. A way to investigate it.

Another way is to ask them their expectation to power when they trust you enough to speak their heart on private matters. They answer according to their personality.

Another way might be some of the tasks they trust you with. This is to be checked but I am under the impression that initiating a war through waylaying only come from pitiless lords and the likes.

You can figure out compatibility between personalities by infering from the personality's name or the little speech they give on what they expect on power as irreductible differences emerge; through the different feuds lords developp among themselves. A good hint is a lord's reaction when another lord has a battle. Lords that dislike each other do not help one out of a battle (which weakens the faction) Later, lords usually tell they are pleased/displeased if you help one of their rivals out of a mess.

As companions displays similar personalities, their incompatibility seem to tell who can bear who. Ymira is good-natured and can not stand Lezalit who fits the pitiless stereotype. Ymira fits well with Ayalen who cant stand Nizar who appreciates Martheld. Once you figure out what personality one companion is, it gives hints on how different personalities might interact.

Probably somebody somewhere puts out a guide on that. As I find figuring out is part of the pleasure of playing a game, I dont tell too much (I hope)

As a sidenote, it also partly determines controversy level on your side. Some lords appreciate when releasing lords, others dislike. So controversy will increase every time a lord is released/captured depending on the faction composition.