Merchant Republic Discussion

[Froggie]

I almost always play as Feudal or Tribal Reformer, so this is aimed towards people with experience playing Large Republics. After seeing a post asking about King/Emperor Tier Republics it has sparked my interest to play as a Republic Dynasty (seeing as IR is not in a good state to play, but that's another discussion!)

My Question:
Is it viable to form a Merchant Republic, become a King/Emperor Tier and make the goal of creating a Nation which only has other Merchant Republic Vassals?

What are the likely problems to face in this type of Playthrough and what are the biggest threats internally?

 

[Brian Bóroimhe]

Is it viable to form a Merchant Republic, become a King/Emperor Tier and make the goal of creating a Nation which only has other Merchant Republic Vassals?

What are the likely problems to face in this type of Playthrough and what are the biggest threats internally?

Maybe this is just being pedantic on terminology, but I think it's worth clarifying that as a merchant republic you can't actually have another merchant republic as a vassal. You can have a (non-merchant) inland republic vassal, feudal & theological vassals, and the other patrician families.

And yeah, feudal vassals will be a little pissy about "wrong government type", but the problem you'll face if you go full republic vassal is that all of your counties will have easily conquered cities as their capital. I think it's worthwhile having at least some feudal vassals as your marcher lords on the borders/new territory or whatever.

Regarding giving territory to the other patrician families it's a two edged sword.
You mentioned this thread:
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...a-merchant-republic-get-a-king-title.1193532/

If you're following the advice there and "farming" your other patrician families, then giving them good lands can speed up the process by giving them higher incomes. But they will waste as much as they can on election funds, so gotta watch out for that.

play as a Republic Dynasty (seeing as IR is not in a good state

If you're going for a Roman style vibe then I recommend expanding and building your powerbase and funds up as Venice or Amalfi before becoming a vassal of the Byzantines and try usurp the empire from within. Then restore Rome as a true republic!

 

[Lycrist Katkiller]

How does that work? As feudal ruler you have a limit on how many counties may be hold by different government types. Does that apply to MR as well?

And also, if you land your male dynasty members as feudal rulers, do they still count towards your tradepost limit?

 

[Kapitalisti]

And also, if you land your male dynasty members as feudal rulers, do they still count towards your tradepost limit?

No, only family members at court count.

I for one like having a real oligarchic republic with the five families holding most of the titles. For instance I had a Scandinavian empire with the families holding Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Lapland. Then I gave out most new conquests to them as vassals.

 

[Brian Bóroimhe]

How does that work? As feudal ruler you have a limit on how many counties may be hold by different government types. Does that apply to MR as well?

And also, if you land your male dynasty members as feudal rulers, do they still count towards your tradepost limit?

You definitely have the same limit on theocratic vassals, but I think that might be it.
Only unlanded male dynasty members in your court contribute towards your tradepost limit or are eligible to be elected doge.
But if you land a dynast, then you can invite their adult children to your court (if they'll accept, where they will then contribute to the limit and be eligible for elections.