Pregnant Widow and Succession

[Hodor 'Holder of Doors']

You can also save the child for yourself for... lets say... future uses if your wifey happens to die and the child turns out to be a girl

Unfortunately incest is now out of the question as the widow has just given birth to a healthy baby boy with a strong claim to the county of Teviotdale.

 

[Darkgamma]

Ouch. Marry him to someone not important, chaste and with good traits, keep him close and be his guardian.

 

[SRM]

After you become a Duke you may consider giving him the county he has a claim on back. A loyal vassal that's not likely to try to shank you is worth his weight in gold, provided he's not Ambitious or Gluttonous. A cadet branch makes a good backup for if your current line goes extinct too.

 

[Darkgamma]

That's a good solution as well.

 

[CurtisManning]

Yes it's kinda cool to have some members of your dynasty in positions of power. If he's your vassal, you can even tutor him to make sure he's content of his life/not ambitious plus he'll get a +20 with out because you'll be his mentor. He won't pose a threat to you, unless he gains back the ambitious trait one day and you go kinslayer. And expect a few factions to put him against you, but as long as you're a small-size domain, it'll be okay.

 

[Hodor 'Holder of Doors']

I like the sound of that plan. Now then, how to win the Duchy... At least the claim is sorted.

 

[Darkgamma]

A faction always works - you could either go independent and usurp the duchy or just take the duchy as-is

 

[Hodor 'Holder of Doors']

A faction always works - you could either go independent and usurp the duchy or just take the duchy as-is

If I create a faction would I need to do anything militarily? The current Duke holds York and would crush me pretty easily. If I take Cumberland, which should be pretty easy once my claim comes through, would I be able to usurp holding 2/3 of the De Jure counties?

On a side story...
My other brother's wife has just given birth to my bastard. I'm such a great sibling! The mother's a genius so I'd quite like the kid in my dynasty. If I legitimise him my current 1 year old son will take a -50 hit in opinion of me. Is this penalty life long, or will it go away?

 

[Darkgamma]

For the first part, you'd have to do stuff militarily, but you'd have a relatively easy time if you gather a large enough following.
For the second part, if the child's a genius himself, legitimise him and gift your son. I really don't know about the duration.

 

[Hodor 'Holder of Doors']

Cheers for the help Darkgamma, do you know at birth whether a child is a genius or not? I had presumed the trait wouldn't appear until later in life. (He's just been born and doesn't have any traits)

 

[Damorte]

Genius and other hereditary traits, such as strong, dwarf and so on appear immideatly.

 

[Darkgamma]

What Damorte said. If he's not genius now, he'll never be a genius. The only exception is the "Stutter" trait, which may be acquired in life.

 

[yezhanquan]

If I create a faction would I need to do anything militarily? The current Duke holds York and would crush me pretty easily. If I take Cumberland, which should be pretty easy once my claim comes through, would I be able to usurp holding 2/3 of the De Jure counties?

On a side story...
My other brother's wife has just given birth to my bastard. I'm such a great sibling! The mother's a genius so I'd quite like the kid in my dynasty. If I legitimise him my current 1 year old son will take a -50 hit in opinion of me. Is this penalty life long, or will it go away?

1) If you hold most of the de jure counties, you can usurp if the duke is at peace. However, do expect some fighting later as the fellow will be pissed.

2) Minors' opinions are not that important. When they become 16, grease their palms. Gold makes the world go round.

 

[Olaus Petrus]

Unfortunately incest is now out of the question as the widow has just given birth to a healthy baby boy with a strong claim to the county of Teviotdale.

Famous prince said once: "I send all my problems to church. Because I hate God. And myself." And I suggest the same here. Career as a bishop is most suitable for those relatives who have unfortunate claims.