Hey, guys. Here's some DLC ideas I'd like to see and I'd definitely be willing to pay for.
– some trade, and I don't mean playable republics but a couple of decisions and generally some influence of trade-related events... possibly even just the atmosphere of Italy or the Levant;
– more diversity in ecclesiastic vassals, especially monasteries, with abbots and abbesses as landed vassals;
– some stuff to do inside the kingdom, developing on the stewardship angle of things (construction/administration/law & justice/art); (this said, the current events are already lovely as they are but you don't get them so often...)
– arbitration/ADR system to settle claims etc. without going to war (especially when 2 dukes each hold a similarly rich or poor county in the other's de iure), ability to lure courtiers (claimants) with the promise of the grant of a council position or barony;
– Mending the Schism as a Catholic (with perhaps some special roles for the Pope, HRE and BYZ);
– some Rome-related events for the HRE, but especially something for the occasion when the HRE and the ERE unite under one dynasty and especially one ruler;
– reaction to game-changing battles, wars, inheritances (even just a verbal comment) (enhanced reporting for flavour).
This said, there's especially already some stuff in the game to facilitate a somewhat ecclesiastic DLC, as abbesses wouldn't differ that much from the occasional glitchy female prince-bishop; bishops require reworking to enforce celibacy and court chaplains need attention to remove the somewhat anti-climatic overabundance of royal heirs wearing bishops' robes (just because they had the highest Learning around, which made it seem reasonable to the AI) etc.; there's already the problem of gavelkind sons & bishoprics, so why not work on the Templar/Hospitalier/TK angle and make them join those orders as knights and celibates at the same time (the Templars in particular were full of French cadets, including royal cousins, just look at names of the grandmasters: de Beajeu, de Perigord etc.); there's already a Pilgrim trait and Christian pilgrimage sites sound like a characteristic mediaeval flavour that could make it into the game for better immersion. Also, excommunication/lifting excommunication could become harder and more complex, e.g. with the need to do a more specific penance (e.g. executing a bishop should take more than a couple of Piety but at the same time it shouldn't be a definite game stopper; speaking of which, such an executed bishop could give rise to a pilgrimage site later on).
Arbitration/ADR could use something like the EU3 peace negotiation system, except with mutual concessions. Cede or gain land, cede claims, get paid, impose or remove vassalage etc. This connects to adding a promise of land grant to an invitation to your court.
Mending the Schism is already in the game and IMHO it could stay with just the modification that the Roman Pope is the highest patriarch instead of Constantinople, as the mechanics would have been the same.
Reaction to battles etc. is something like I think about e.g. Hittin, Manzikert, Golden Spurs, Tannenberg. This could use the same mechanics that tell you about the Mongols sacking specific cities such as Baghdad or Novgorod (those notes are very specific; e.g. I once had the game tell me about a specific church in Novgorod burning, despite Novgorod never having converted in my game, Baghdad would have its Tower of Heads) or about the Khagan's conversion. IMHO important things like a King of France going Cathar or the HRE getting excommunicated should be reported in a similar way and it would greatly enhance the gameplay. Same if somebody inherited an empire into a different dynasty after the empress died... in fact, I guess a young and single empress should merit an event in her own right.
Other stuff could include reports from random battles in a crusade, a beautiful and kind woman in some far-off lands (e.g. some court has a princess or other courtier with Attractive, Kind and Chaste traits at the same time, which would have merited the attention of troubadours all over the world if it had been somebody important, like the sister of a major French vassal), deposition of a major ruler by a claimant, a dynastic shift here or there when an old dynasty dies, resurgence of some claimant or especially a deposed ruler (i.e. when someone gets a title he used to held before but lost it).
These are just loose ideas, though, not 100% specific. Just wanted to discuss (constructively, not the usual "smart" comments).
– some trade, and I don't mean playable republics but a couple of decisions and generally some influence of trade-related events... possibly even just the atmosphere of Italy or the Levant;
– more diversity in ecclesiastic vassals, especially monasteries, with abbots and abbesses as landed vassals;
– some stuff to do inside the kingdom, developing on the stewardship angle of things (construction/administration/law & justice/art); (this said, the current events are already lovely as they are but you don't get them so often...)
– arbitration/ADR system to settle claims etc. without going to war (especially when 2 dukes each hold a similarly rich or poor county in the other's de iure), ability to lure courtiers (claimants) with the promise of the grant of a council position or barony;
– Mending the Schism as a Catholic (with perhaps some special roles for the Pope, HRE and BYZ);
– some Rome-related events for the HRE, but especially something for the occasion when the HRE and the ERE unite under one dynasty and especially one ruler;
– reaction to game-changing battles, wars, inheritances (even just a verbal comment) (enhanced reporting for flavour).
This said, there's especially already some stuff in the game to facilitate a somewhat ecclesiastic DLC, as abbesses wouldn't differ that much from the occasional glitchy female prince-bishop; bishops require reworking to enforce celibacy and court chaplains need attention to remove the somewhat anti-climatic overabundance of royal heirs wearing bishops' robes (just because they had the highest Learning around, which made it seem reasonable to the AI) etc.; there's already the problem of gavelkind sons & bishoprics, so why not work on the Templar/Hospitalier/TK angle and make them join those orders as knights and celibates at the same time (the Templars in particular were full of French cadets, including royal cousins, just look at names of the grandmasters: de Beajeu, de Perigord etc.); there's already a Pilgrim trait and Christian pilgrimage sites sound like a characteristic mediaeval flavour that could make it into the game for better immersion. Also, excommunication/lifting excommunication could become harder and more complex, e.g. with the need to do a more specific penance (e.g. executing a bishop should take more than a couple of Piety but at the same time it shouldn't be a definite game stopper; speaking of which, such an executed bishop could give rise to a pilgrimage site later on).
Arbitration/ADR could use something like the EU3 peace negotiation system, except with mutual concessions. Cede or gain land, cede claims, get paid, impose or remove vassalage etc. This connects to adding a promise of land grant to an invitation to your court.
Mending the Schism is already in the game and IMHO it could stay with just the modification that the Roman Pope is the highest patriarch instead of Constantinople, as the mechanics would have been the same.
Reaction to battles etc. is something like I think about e.g. Hittin, Manzikert, Golden Spurs, Tannenberg. This could use the same mechanics that tell you about the Mongols sacking specific cities such as Baghdad or Novgorod (those notes are very specific; e.g. I once had the game tell me about a specific church in Novgorod burning, despite Novgorod never having converted in my game, Baghdad would have its Tower of Heads) or about the Khagan's conversion. IMHO important things like a King of France going Cathar or the HRE getting excommunicated should be reported in a similar way and it would greatly enhance the gameplay. Same if somebody inherited an empire into a different dynasty after the empress died... in fact, I guess a young and single empress should merit an event in her own right.
Other stuff could include reports from random battles in a crusade, a beautiful and kind woman in some far-off lands (e.g. some court has a princess or other courtier with Attractive, Kind and Chaste traits at the same time, which would have merited the attention of troubadours all over the world if it had been somebody important, like the sister of a major French vassal), deposition of a major ruler by a claimant, a dynastic shift here or there when an old dynasty dies, resurgence of some claimant or especially a deposed ruler (i.e. when someone gets a title he used to held before but lost it).
These are just loose ideas, though, not 100% specific. Just wanted to discuss (constructively, not the usual "smart" comments).