The aim of this post is to suggest ways to make HRE systems more historical, but also more dynamic, while being as feature-lite as possible and integrating with systems already announced for the upcoming expansion. I've put them into categories to help with the reading, apologies upfront for the length.
TL;DR
Establishing and Revoking Electors
There should be a better way to select Electors. Currently, the smallest princes are picked so that the Emperor has an easier time controlling them, but this is very ahistorical. We only have a couple of instances in history to draw on. The first Elector added after the golden bull was Bavaria in 1623, which gained the Electoral Dignity that was stripped from the Palatinate. This was really a bribe to get Bavaria, leader of the Catholic league, to join the Thirty Years War. It also helped solidify the Catholics in Germany. There was a dynastic pretext in that the two branches of the Wittelsbach family had fought over the Electoral Dignity and in The Treaty of Pavia (1329) had said that the it should alternate between them. The other Elector was Brunswick-Luneburg (Hanover). They were added after the Palatinate was inherited by the Catholic branch bringing the number of protestants down to 2, thus a new Protestant Elector was demanded. It was only confirmed during the war of the Spanish Succession.
I think the Incident System could be a good way to mirror this
New Incident - 'The Downfall of an Elector'
Similar to the 'Great peasants war', there will be a gap between when the event triggers and when the Emperor makes his decision. A couple nations in the HRE would get an event to push their claim for the Electoral Dignity and there will be a period of ~5/10 years where each country that did gets an "Enforce Electoral Claim" CB on the others. This would also be a reason why some smaller countries might avoid pressing their claim. During this period they can also take actions to improve their standing in the eyes of the emperor such as.
Lastly, the Revoke Electorate diplomatic action is actually pretty solid right now, the problem is that Common Sense disabled the similar Revoke Electorate CB. The revoke electorate CB should be available before the league wars fire.
Electoral Bribes
One of the biggest benefits of being an Elector was simply that they’d receive bribes to maintain or sway their vote. This most commonly happened when imperial authority was lowest. Examples include in the famous election of 1519, when the French tried to bribe all of the Electors, similarly after the Thirty Years War, and during the War of the Spanish Succession, when the emperor allowed Prussia to have the title “King in Prussia” to secure their assistance.
How would Bribes work? When Imperial Authority is low (<25?) allow each elector to select a bribe which would show up next to their flag in the HRE interface. Which they select will be based on the situation in the country, but if any country fulfills that mission they will get a boost to their vote evaluation (+50>) by that elector until the next election. If Imperial Authority goes back up, bribes will be disabled
Electoral Privilege
Electors had a number of other privileges, but they were mostly symbolic. They had control over dynastic affairs, but in EU4 every country has primogeniture. There was the Privilegium de non appellando, which prevented electoral subjects from appealing to the imperial court, giving them supremacy over internal legal issues. They also had the ability establish alliances before Westphalia, in game there is no restriction on this.
Instead of reworking any mechanics, I think a few modifiers could do a good job of mirroring these advantages. Ideas for some:
Imperial Incidents and Electors
As has already been explained in the dev diaries, the HRE will be getting Imperial Incidents. While I like the concept, I’d love if there was a back and forth between the Emperor and Electors. This could be as small as having a secondary event for each elector, or on occasion it could be a much larger random event that fires for one in particular.
For Example:
The Great Peasants War
According to the DD, The emperor may chose to Crush the Peasants or Concede to the Peasantry, depending on how the peasant rebellions have gone.
Electors get a supplementary event and can choose:
Spawns once the Protestant Reformation begins and Martin Luther is put on trial at the Diet of Worms. The Emperor gets a choice to put him under the imperial ban or to let the church deal with him. An Imperial Ban will strengthen the resistance to the reformation.
If placed under the imperial ban, Protestant Electors get a supplementary event “The Highway to Wittenburg” and can choose:
Opposition to Reforms
This one is really simple. Once the Emperor heads down the centralization path (according to Dev Diaries), the opposition to the reforms should become more intense. The Electors should gauge their combined development compared to the Emperors when assessing their vote for a reform, along with any other modifiers. Obviously a reform can be passed without the backing of the Electors; However, If an Elector opposes an imperial reform that has been passed anyway, that Emperor should get a malus towards their vote chance in the next election.
Reichskrieg
The Emperor was able to call on the entirety of the empire to fight off a mortal threat if the Imperial Diet voted for ‘Reichskrieg’. This happened exclusively against the French though it arguably also happened against the Ottomans, as the ‘Türkenhilfe’ was a continuous tax and levy against the ottomans. The main problem with this concept is that it would be hard to make fair. One way I can think of is this
The Emperor can ‘convert’ a war into a Reichskrieg by appealing to the Imperial Diet in a special Diplomatic Action. Both a majority of the electors must approve the call to aid as well as the rest of the imperial princes based on certain modifers (AE, Imperial Decentralization, Relationship, Imperial Authority, etc.). If it succeeds all Electors (who aren't fighting the Emperor) will join the war. As a counterbalance, any taking of territory is disabled as a peace option for the Emperor. This makes it a defensive mechanic, and also one that's hard to trigger. Another bonus would be that players can try to circumvent this by making strategic alliances with the Electors themselves.
The Turkish Bells (Turkenglocken)
Whenever the Emperor is at war with the Ottomans, every couple years an event should fire for imperial members called "The Turkish Bells" for a neutral imperial prince. If they chose the “For God and for Country” option, paying a set amount of gold and manpower, then the Emperor and his allies will get a boost to manpower and war exhaustion.
Bishoprics
One of the key factors in the HRE remaining decentralized was the ecclesiastical lands. Prince-Bishops were elected by clerics from their see, and then confirmed by the Pope. The Protestants were able to annex these lands because they didn’t care about the Pope. The Catholic southern states on the other hand had to worry about maintaining their good standing with the church. Bavaria for instance, because they were a leader of the counter reformation, had their heirs installed as bishops in Cologne, Munster, Liege, Hildesheim and Friesing. In some cases, like Cologne, they basically became pseudo-vassal states, but they were never outright incorporated.
It could be simple to represent this in game. First off anyone who annexes a bishopric should get a large relations malus with the Pope (on the order of -80 to -100). Protestant princes won’t really mind this.
Second, Catholic nations who embrace the counter reformation and have high papal influence should have a chance of their dynasty becoming bishops. This could work similar to the "Support Heir" feature used for Poland's Elective Monarchy with a monthly tick based on a number of modifiers including your total papal influence (or perhaps being able to directly invest it?). A Prerequisite could be designating one of your current heirs to the church, by forcing them to take the holy vows. This feature would provide another outlet for papal influence versus spending it on buffs and the curia controller and make Catholicism a bit more dynamic. The bishops would remain separate from the dynasties they came from, but if they can keep getting elected long enough then the Bishopric itself should get an option to secularize under that dynasty. Some other bonuses for being a bishop could also be considered.
Dynamic Religious Conversion
One thing that a lot of people ask for is more dynamic conversion mechanics. I think that would also go a long way to making HRE gameplay more interesting as it adds an asymmetrical aspect. Currently Centers of Reformation pick the provinces they convert haphazardly. I suggest adding a new covert action to the game, “Advocate Reform”, against any neighboring country of a different religion. This action would increase the chances that the next province converted by a CoR is in a neighboring province in that country. It would cost a monthly upkeep similar to a missionary as well as increasing unrest in their heretic provinces. If rebels do spawn they will get a "Support Reformers" CB. If the covert action is discovered it is disabled for 10 years. Encourages keeping track of what provinces are being converted and using counterespionage.
The Counter Reformation
Missionaries should be able to ‘Defend’ Provinces, i.e. you should able to place a missionary in a catholic province with upkeep. The missionary would be able to resist the reformation in that province as well as giving a small ticking papal influence.
TL;DR
- Losing an Elector should be an 'Imperial Incident' which allows a couple different countries to fight for the right to be the next one
- When Imperial Authority is low, Electors can post a mini-mission to the HRE screen like a sum of money or territory. If anyone fulfills that mission they get a boost to their vote evaluation
- Electors get small passive bonuses
- Some Imperial Incidents should give electors supplementary events
- Electors who don't approve of a reform that is passed are less likely to support that country for Emperor
- Annexing Bishoprics causes a large relationships penalty with the papal states
- Bishoprics can gain royal dynasties from nations with high papal influence perhaps through a feature like "support heir" and eventually have the choice to secularize
- An Imperial war can be declared if enough members approve, calls in members but disables the taking of territory (purely defensive)
- Flavor event for the "Turkish Bells"
- Diplomatic Action that allows neighbors to invest in 'pulling' the center of reformations conversion towards adjacent provinces.
- Can put missionaries in catholic provinces to resist the reformation in that province and gain papal influence
Establishing and Revoking Electors
There should be a better way to select Electors. Currently, the smallest princes are picked so that the Emperor has an easier time controlling them, but this is very ahistorical. We only have a couple of instances in history to draw on. The first Elector added after the golden bull was Bavaria in 1623, which gained the Electoral Dignity that was stripped from the Palatinate. This was really a bribe to get Bavaria, leader of the Catholic league, to join the Thirty Years War. It also helped solidify the Catholics in Germany. There was a dynastic pretext in that the two branches of the Wittelsbach family had fought over the Electoral Dignity and in The Treaty of Pavia (1329) had said that the it should alternate between them. The other Elector was Brunswick-Luneburg (Hanover). They were added after the Palatinate was inherited by the Catholic branch bringing the number of protestants down to 2, thus a new Protestant Elector was demanded. It was only confirmed during the war of the Spanish Succession.
I think the Incident System could be a good way to mirror this
New Incident - 'The Downfall of an Elector'
Similar to the 'Great peasants war', there will be a gap between when the event triggers and when the Emperor makes his decision. A couple nations in the HRE would get an event to push their claim for the Electoral Dignity and there will be a period of ~5/10 years where each country that did gets an "Enforce Electoral Claim" CB on the others. This would also be a reason why some smaller countries might avoid pressing their claim. During this period they can also take actions to improve their standing in the eyes of the emperor such as.
- Large Protestant or Catholic Nation in the HRE (who is not the emperor)
- In an Alliance with the Emperor with bonus for Trust
- Fighting alongside the Emperor with a bonus for war participation
- Shares a dynasty with the last Elector, with additional bonuses based on legitimacy
- Nation is in good standing with the free cities and hasn't annexed any recently
- Bastion of the Faith - Shares religion with the Emperor with bonuses based on papal influence
- Protestant Right - If the last elector was Protestant, then get's a bonus to keeping the seat Protestant based on religious unity
- Catholic Right - If the last elector was Catholic, then get's a bonus to keeping the seat Catholic based on religious unity
- Random events that require money/monarch points to further the claim
- Defender of the Empire - Annexes lands back into the Empire, or adds provinces to it.
Lastly, the Revoke Electorate diplomatic action is actually pretty solid right now, the problem is that Common Sense disabled the similar Revoke Electorate CB. The revoke electorate CB should be available before the league wars fire.
Electoral Bribes
One of the biggest benefits of being an Elector was simply that they’d receive bribes to maintain or sway their vote. This most commonly happened when imperial authority was lowest. Examples include in the famous election of 1519, when the French tried to bribe all of the Electors, similarly after the Thirty Years War, and during the War of the Spanish Succession, when the emperor allowed Prussia to have the title “King in Prussia” to secure their assistance.
How would Bribes work? When Imperial Authority is low (<25?) allow each elector to select a bribe which would show up next to their flag in the HRE interface. Which they select will be based on the situation in the country, but if any country fulfills that mission they will get a boost to their vote evaluation (+50>) by that elector until the next election. If Imperial Authority goes back up, bribes will be disabled
- Ideas for different bribes would be a sum of money, restoring a core, selling a territorial claim, rebel suppression, revoking free city status, etc.
Electoral Privilege
Electors had a number of other privileges, but they were mostly symbolic. They had control over dynastic affairs, but in EU4 every country has primogeniture. There was the Privilegium de non appellando, which prevented electoral subjects from appealing to the imperial court, giving them supremacy over internal legal issues. They also had the ability establish alliances before Westphalia, in game there is no restriction on this.
Instead of reworking any mechanics, I think a few modifiers could do a good job of mirroring these advantages. Ideas for some:
- Diplomatic reputation, Legitimacy, Prestige, Vassal Income Contribution, Vassal Forcelimits Bonus, Tax Income Modifier, Lower Global Autonomy.
Imperial Incidents and Electors
As has already been explained in the dev diaries, the HRE will be getting Imperial Incidents. While I like the concept, I’d love if there was a back and forth between the Emperor and Electors. This could be as small as having a secondary event for each elector, or on occasion it could be a much larger random event that fires for one in particular.
For Example:
The Great Peasants War
According to the DD, The emperor may chose to Crush the Peasants or Concede to the Peasantry, depending on how the peasant rebellions have gone.
Electors get a supplementary event and can choose:
- The Divine Right (only available if the Crush the peasants decision was taken) – gives a short casus belli against any neighboring country who is not a monarchy and a relations improvement with the emperor
- The Peasants Plight – Loses some amount of prestige, however unrest is greatly reduced throughout the provinces and gains some monarch power
- An Emperor in Name Only (only available if the emperor concedes to the peasants) – Emperor loses 5 imperial authority for each elector who takes the decision, spawns a peasant regiment in the Electorate and if successfully defeated that Elector gains a bonus (+20/+30?) to their own vote chance.
Spawns once the Protestant Reformation begins and Martin Luther is put on trial at the Diet of Worms. The Emperor gets a choice to put him under the imperial ban or to let the church deal with him. An Imperial Ban will strengthen the resistance to the reformation.
If placed under the imperial ban, Protestant Electors get a supplementary event “The Highway to Wittenburg” and can choose:
- Abduct Luther - Intercept Luther and bring him to safety in the electorate. The Electorate gains a bonus to their monthly church power, prestige, reduces imperial authority and increases the spread of Protestantism in their lands. This action can be discovered based on spy efficiency. If discovered, any alliance with the Emperor will be terminated and relations greatly reduced, and the benefits also considerably reduced. The Emperor will gain a 20 year “Eliminate the Schmalkaldik League” CB on that nation.
- Do Nothing - Gain a malus to monthly church power and prestige
Opposition to Reforms
This one is really simple. Once the Emperor heads down the centralization path (according to Dev Diaries), the opposition to the reforms should become more intense. The Electors should gauge their combined development compared to the Emperors when assessing their vote for a reform, along with any other modifiers. Obviously a reform can be passed without the backing of the Electors; However, If an Elector opposes an imperial reform that has been passed anyway, that Emperor should get a malus towards their vote chance in the next election.
Reichskrieg
The Emperor was able to call on the entirety of the empire to fight off a mortal threat if the Imperial Diet voted for ‘Reichskrieg’. This happened exclusively against the French though it arguably also happened against the Ottomans, as the ‘Türkenhilfe’ was a continuous tax and levy against the ottomans. The main problem with this concept is that it would be hard to make fair. One way I can think of is this
The Emperor can ‘convert’ a war into a Reichskrieg by appealing to the Imperial Diet in a special Diplomatic Action. Both a majority of the electors must approve the call to aid as well as the rest of the imperial princes based on certain modifers (AE, Imperial Decentralization, Relationship, Imperial Authority, etc.). If it succeeds all Electors (who aren't fighting the Emperor) will join the war. As a counterbalance, any taking of territory is disabled as a peace option for the Emperor. This makes it a defensive mechanic, and also one that's hard to trigger. Another bonus would be that players can try to circumvent this by making strategic alliances with the Electors themselves.
The Turkish Bells (Turkenglocken)
Whenever the Emperor is at war with the Ottomans, every couple years an event should fire for imperial members called "The Turkish Bells" for a neutral imperial prince. If they chose the “For God and for Country” option, paying a set amount of gold and manpower, then the Emperor and his allies will get a boost to manpower and war exhaustion.
Bishoprics
One of the key factors in the HRE remaining decentralized was the ecclesiastical lands. Prince-Bishops were elected by clerics from their see, and then confirmed by the Pope. The Protestants were able to annex these lands because they didn’t care about the Pope. The Catholic southern states on the other hand had to worry about maintaining their good standing with the church. Bavaria for instance, because they were a leader of the counter reformation, had their heirs installed as bishops in Cologne, Munster, Liege, Hildesheim and Friesing. In some cases, like Cologne, they basically became pseudo-vassal states, but they were never outright incorporated.
It could be simple to represent this in game. First off anyone who annexes a bishopric should get a large relations malus with the Pope (on the order of -80 to -100). Protestant princes won’t really mind this.
Second, Catholic nations who embrace the counter reformation and have high papal influence should have a chance of their dynasty becoming bishops. This could work similar to the "Support Heir" feature used for Poland's Elective Monarchy with a monthly tick based on a number of modifiers including your total papal influence (or perhaps being able to directly invest it?). A Prerequisite could be designating one of your current heirs to the church, by forcing them to take the holy vows. This feature would provide another outlet for papal influence versus spending it on buffs and the curia controller and make Catholicism a bit more dynamic. The bishops would remain separate from the dynasties they came from, but if they can keep getting elected long enough then the Bishopric itself should get an option to secularize under that dynasty. Some other bonuses for being a bishop could also be considered.
Dynamic Religious Conversion
One thing that a lot of people ask for is more dynamic conversion mechanics. I think that would also go a long way to making HRE gameplay more interesting as it adds an asymmetrical aspect. Currently Centers of Reformation pick the provinces they convert haphazardly. I suggest adding a new covert action to the game, “Advocate Reform”, against any neighboring country of a different religion. This action would increase the chances that the next province converted by a CoR is in a neighboring province in that country. It would cost a monthly upkeep similar to a missionary as well as increasing unrest in their heretic provinces. If rebels do spawn they will get a "Support Reformers" CB. If the covert action is discovered it is disabled for 10 years. Encourages keeping track of what provinces are being converted and using counterespionage.
The Counter Reformation
Missionaries should be able to ‘Defend’ Provinces, i.e. you should able to place a missionary in a catholic province with upkeep. The missionary would be able to resist the reformation in that province as well as giving a small ticking papal influence.
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