Self-appointed to the council

[fsantoianni]

I'm having a strange problem lately: from time to time, a vassal appoints himself to the council, removing whoever was there, and I have no saying in that. It just happens, and I can't fire them for too many years.

So, I have to go and murder them, just to restore the capable people to their roles (and also, because the nerve!). But the last one was the worst: he self-appointed spymaster with just 6 skill, so I had to send him to jail and execute him "without reason" (which gave me tyranny points, but it was worth it).

But why is this happening? Is there a way to stop it?

 

[Allen418]

Check his feudal contract.

 

[Deep Space Explorer]

They can do it if they have a hook on you.

 

[Silens]

But why is this happening? Is there a way to stop it?

As others already hinted at, there are two ways to get on a liege's council: through a hook or by having council rights in the feudal contract.

Hooks are self-explanatory; a direct vassal somehow gets a hook on you - through events, blackmail or whatever - and uses that hook to get on your council. The obvious solution is to avoid giving hooks to direct vassals (note the word "direct") like the devil avoids holy water.

Council rights in feudal contracts are hereditary, and they pose a much bigger problem. You take over as liege from a weak ruler and with it all vassals, and they keep their feudal contracts. Weak rulers usually lose to their factions, and that often results in hook. Those vassals then use these hooks to modify their vassal contracts, and whoever takes over those vassals is stuck with the conditions.

It's easy enough to change that part of the contract, if necessary by a unilateral change (gives you tyranny, though).

Now, how to remove those vassals from the council. As you already noted, only direct vassals can be on your council. The obvious solution is to grant this vassal to another vassal, so that this direct vassal becomes an indirect vassal. With that they leave the council. Assassination is another solution.

My personal solution is to avoid getting in the situation in the first place. I never take over foreign vassals. I look to revoke all titles, even if it means causing a rebellion. Once all titles are in your hand, the feudal contracts bound to them reset and you can appoint new vassals with fresh contracts and no council rights. After that it's all about avoiding hooks.

Another way is to rely on republic vassals. Their contracts are quite good, even better because they can never be changed. This means no council rights, ever. Just avoiding giving hooks.