Questions about managing a large empire

[zenkmander]

Playing as the Roman Empire in the late 1300s, I control almost half the map with 11 kings under me. At this point I'm mostly putting down succession wars and painting the map in preparation for EU3 conversion.

1. How do you guys manage plots at this size? I just don't have the time to sift through 50+ plots continuously. Does it even matter anymore? I'm sure I could prevent some vassal wars, but not sure if it's worth the effort.

2. Is there an efficient way to consolidate land? The HRE and others control some random provinces in my territory, and others sometimes only control one holding. If I declare war on the HRE, I end up having a truce for years before I can then take another province.

3. Is there a better way to manage vassal wars? I have High CA right now, so I can switch to Max CA but it would make succession that much harder. Most of the wars I'm talking about are internal, like dukes rebelling against kings etc. I don't have a problem with kings expanding my borders. I understand that civil wars happen, but is there a way to help stabilize the realm? I try to make sure everyone is Orthodox, has good traits, etc, but there are cases where I can't avoid having vassals with different cultures, ambition, and so on.

I'm basically just trying to get the empire as stable as possible so it doesn't implode in EU3.

 

[Darkgamma]

Well, you can't do anything about dukes rebelling against kings, and you can't do anything about plots except sift through them, really. The HRE, on the other hand, is not so hard to kill - get your ruler a claim on it and push that claim.

 

[zenkmander]

The HRE, on the other hand, is not so hard to kill - get your ruler a claim on it and push that claim.

I've tried that a couple times through marriage, but it's tough since the HRE is Elective. Is there a better way to get a claim on it directly?

 

[Panzerschiffe]

When I reach a certain size, I ignore plots completely. Too tedious and too insignificant at that point. Only when it concerns me somehow do I actually do something. In that case, my spymaster usually informs me of what's happening so I don't have to sift through 40+ plots.

 

[Kaiser Ludwig]

I've tried that a couple times through marriage, but it's tough since the HRE is Elective. Is there a better way to get a claim on it directly?

The elective nature of the HRE has no impact on the claims of the children of the Kaiser, and the subsequent grandchildren; it DOES mean you'll probably NOT be able to INHERIT it, but you can always INVADE it. Much neater, that.