Something clearly missing from the game is the ability for kings, priests, doges, etc, to live luxuriously and selfishly. With the lack of this, there's not much you can do with your stores of money except expand and improve. Historically, though, kings and priests weren't so interested in making their holdings better, as much as they were in making them fancy and prestigious. I imagine this would be modeled in the same way as a summer fair event, but granting benefits for multiple purchases at any time. I would prefer that these be individual items that one could keep track of. Shooting for the moon here, but what would really be cool is a Civilization 2 style "throne room" or "palace halls" that showcase your opulent decor. Keeping with CK2's graphical style, perhaps not something so visual/first person.
In any case, opulent decisions should give physical bonuses to prestige, variants to relations and revolt risk, other factors, and, for republics, levy size. Republics should have naturally low levy sizes, as they exist in a relatively free society, and expect to get their men through payment (mercs). However, donating to the public with luxurious projects: statues, bathhouses, whatever townspeople would enjoy in the period - doges get a boost to their natural levy size for a time.
A church which engages in opulence will have an increased risk of heresies popping up (historically, many/most of the religious movements in this period were a direct or indirect result of church opulence. Even the Cathar peasants joined their religion, in part, to get away from such practices). If this opulence is on the part of the Pope, the risk of heresy spread will be across all catholic provinces, with heavily reduced relative to what a local leader would get as a penalty. For an example of what to get, the Pope could 'buy another statue of Antinous' for a large sum, increasing prestige, piety, and bishop relations. Having high value opulence decisions should fix the concerns that, so far, have kept a playable pope out of the picture (the fact that they make way too much money).
Perhaps opulence should give some other beneficial value in general. Any ideas?
In any case, opulent decisions should give physical bonuses to prestige, variants to relations and revolt risk, other factors, and, for republics, levy size. Republics should have naturally low levy sizes, as they exist in a relatively free society, and expect to get their men through payment (mercs). However, donating to the public with luxurious projects: statues, bathhouses, whatever townspeople would enjoy in the period - doges get a boost to their natural levy size for a time.
A church which engages in opulence will have an increased risk of heresies popping up (historically, many/most of the religious movements in this period were a direct or indirect result of church opulence. Even the Cathar peasants joined their religion, in part, to get away from such practices). If this opulence is on the part of the Pope, the risk of heresy spread will be across all catholic provinces, with heavily reduced relative to what a local leader would get as a penalty. For an example of what to get, the Pope could 'buy another statue of Antinous' for a large sum, increasing prestige, piety, and bishop relations. Having high value opulence decisions should fix the concerns that, so far, have kept a playable pope out of the picture (the fact that they make way too much money).
Perhaps opulence should give some other beneficial value in general. Any ideas?
