Qs part1 - Strategos, confiscation

[marko river]

Hi all. Newbie with CK2 but with solid EU3 DW experience. Wanted to try more intrigue, bloodlines and vassal handling, since in EU3 holding a huge empire becomes a bit easy.

Anyway, tried the tutorial scenario and started my first game with Rascia, serbian vassal in Byz Empire in 11th century start. Shouldn't be too easy with only one county and other vassals are Greeks, shouldn't be too hard hoping vassalage protects me from open attacks of neighbors.

Did some reading but still got some questions open and need some advices. This gonna be long (sorry), consider this as a small guide, not really a question I will ask in parts or it would be toooo long.


1. Emperor makes me Strategos of Rascia giving me some claims but with warning that title is lost on inheritance. OK, learned that about Byz, but I found that creating the duke title on your own acts like normal feudal one. So if I conquer counties for Duchy of Duklja which are not part of BE and create title for myself then my heir gets to keep it? Then will that title become my heirs primary on succession and will there be problems since capital is in Rascia/Rashka county, not in Duklja duchy? Should I chase inheritable titles as vassal in BE? Can Emperor make Strategos someone else, if I'm controlling two of three counties and the third one is my vassal?

2. As Strategos, I warred for claim on Hum/Arsa county. Duchy of Duklja was actually ruled by my father and inherited by oldest half-brother. Turns out I have a dozen of (half) brothers and sisters. The second HB (half-brother) was ruling Arsa so after the war he became my vassal. If it was ruled by the Duke it would go to me directly, correct?

3. 2nd HB, now my vassal, rebeled about something and lost, ending in prison and I can revoke his title without penalties (wish I knew that when Singidunum lord started a faction and I persude him to stop). Now, while in prison, banishing him won't give me his money (some 300 gold) until I revoke his title. But after I revoked it, my 1st HB Duke of Duklja is now his liege!? Is this expected? So after revoking his title, now I can't banish him. So I left him in prison, conquered Ragusa (Zeta was taken by another Greek lord) and my 1st HB ends up in my court with his entire Court, and 2nd HB gets released in peace deal, to walk freely in my castle with "my" gold in his pocket.

What was proper order to do this? Keep him imprisoned and in charge of the county until I defeat 1st HB so he remains my subject after legal revokation? Why would he switch the Liege on revokation?

4. Speaking of confiscation, is it useful with old lord to make him tyranical and sieze all cities/bishopries for himself, confiscate their gold and leave it to the heir? Heir makes new mayors/bishops and becomes both loved and rich. Doable?

5. Is it better to leave that gold so they can build in their holdings? If so is it better to have one guy as bishop/mayor in two or three holdings? At least until new mayor, he could start building faster at least in one holding?


Thank you

 

[NeverHelm]

1. You will get to keep counties no matter where they are, but your demesne might get split by succession if you have many kids. The Theme of Rascia will go to the Basileus, as it is a viceroyalty, and all vassals whose primary titles are de jure Rascia (that is, the counties of Rashka, Hum and Belgrade) will also be lost. Any vasssals in Duklja will stay with you along with the title. Here's where it gets kindof confusing: If Rascia is your primary title, all vassals outside Duklja will be lost. But if you make Duklja your primary title, you will keep everything outside Rascia. Essentially, if you don't have a vassal title's de jure liege title it counts as a vassal of your primary title. For this reason, you want a hereditary title as your primary as a vassal of the ERE. The Basileus might give the Theme to somebody else after you die, and you won't be able to usurp it.

2. This is correct. The Ducal Claim CB vassalizes the target county, but Dukes and counts with more than one county can't be vassalized this way.

3. I've yet to find a pattern in how determining lieges for prisoners works. The seem to prefer their closest family. The order you describe would likely guarantee that you stay his liege.

4. Be careful with this. Recent patches make it so that some of a vassal's opinion of the predecessor influences their opinion of the heir. Too much tyranny will likely cause your heir to become hated. On the other hand, it also means that giving lots of land out before you die is not a wasted effort.

5. I generally don't bother fleecing baron level vassals. If you really need that much money, create a vassal merchant republic and commence Operation: Scrooge McDuck.

 

[marko river]

1. I think I understand. So if I don't have hereditary title in possession (Duklja in this case), safest would be to revoke title to vassals so all counties in Theme of Rascia are my demesne. So if Emperor give title to someone else, that person will get claims, but won't get those counties without a fight at least.

1. + 5. A) I already saw having vassal merchant is good for your income. Now I have more questions about primary title. After creating title of Duklja, is it better to create Kingdom of Serbia? I suppose kingdom is then my primary title since it is highest tier title. Will that leave Rascia vassals under me or they would still go to Emperor and to new Strategos of Rascia if Emperor chooses another one?

B) As for vassal merchant city, is it better to be the king for them also? Then I can hold either a county or duchy level merchant vassal. I read different opinions on have vassal republic or only vassal grand city. Were you suggestion republic specifically for Scrooge Op or grand city will do?

C) I have some courtiers will claims for Italian counties I can claim. One is that merchant city Almafi, Amalfi or whatever. I wasn't sure can I hold it as Strategos. It says Grand City, but when I click on the county and hover in the upper right coat-of-arms it says republic. So if it is republic I need to be a king to vassalise it (apart from landing that claimant first)?

D) If I give the city to claimant of feudal county, press the claims and win, will the county turn to grand city? The other courtier has claims on neighbour county of Amalfi/Almafi. So in theory I can make claimant of county a mayor in my realm, claimant of grand city a baron, and after pressing claims, Amalfi/Almafi would turn into feudal county and neighbor county would become grand city. Is this how it works?