Strategic use of daughters

[Khubilai]

I laugh at the types of things I have to type out when talking about this game...

Anyway, what's a good strategy for use of daughters? Who should I be marrying them to? If I marry them off non-matrilineally, then is it just like sending them away forever? Should I be marrying them for alliances? Claims? What?

I'm the king of Ireland at the moment, and I just betrothed my daughter to the 3 year old Basileus. Not sure if that was a smart move. Having a daughter who is an empress sounds good in theory...

 

[nyah]

I'd be careful if you've only got one or two sons when marrying your eldest daughter, she might end up inheriting. Otherwise, if you don't want to matri-marry them then I'd go for the best alliance. Personally I like to choose somebody local and reasonably powerful, so an alliance with Byzantium if you're playing Ireland might not be that helpful. Try somebody a bit closer - in Britain, France, Spain, Scandinavia etc, otherwise your war will be over before your ally gets there.

 

[JonStryker]

Like mercenaries alliances are only really useful in the first years of a game. If you are strong enough yourself there's no point in marrying daughters patrilineally.

I love to use them to spread my family: If I marry them matrilineally to some newly generated guy (@ 5 piety) and than land that guy I get a completely separate branch of my family. The county given to that guy will either be passed on to his children (who will be my of family) or fall back to me, the ruler.
Women are actually more useful for spreading out the family because men always kill each to inherit land which eventually leads to overly powerful vassals.

 

[unmerged(589171)]

Like mercenaries alliances are only really useful in the first years of a game.

Why is this the case? Mercenaries become less useful because they are static and levies/retinues grow in power over the course of the game. This isn't the case with Alliances. In theory, the Roman Empires should always be powerful enough to be worth allying.

 

[unknownenlord]

i marry my daughters matrillineally to get good councillers if one sucks or if my council is good i do it to get another general

 

[Kaiser Ludwig]

Why is this the case? Mercenaries become less useful because they are static and levies/retinues grow in power over the course of the game. This isn't the case with Alliances. In theory, the Roman Empires should always be powerful enough to be worth allying.

Once you yourself blob, it's odd that you'll need the help I guess

 

[Hastyr]

In blob vs bigger blob battles they can be useful sometimes.

 

[Worldcrusher]

They're useful as children via betrothals...if you have a powerful aggressive blob nearby, betrothing your infant daughter to one of their ruling dynasty's sons can buy you sixteen years.

As adults, alliances and dynasty-spreaders as already mentioned.

 

[Lessing]

Early on, alliances, later on matri-stuff for furthering your dynasty.

You can also do the cheap trick of marrying a daughter to a foreign heir/claimant, then invite your daughter back to your court, which brings the heir/claimant with her.

 

[yezhanquan]

Early on, alliances, later on matri-stuff for furthering your dynasty.

You can also do the cheap trick of marrying a daughter to a foreign heir/claimant, then invite your daughter back to your court, which brings the heir/claimant with her.

Does the daughter always want to come back? I find it sometimes difficult to invite people back, due to the "no reason to move" modifier.

 

[Pietrus]

i mostly just betroth them to my enemies who are stronger than me to buy time like some other people have mentioned

 

[Prince de Conti]

I once played the King of France whose wives (3) produced only 3 sons between them, but about 12 or so girls. I married them off to very powerful nobles to keep them subdued or to other Kings to gain an alliance; one I used the matrilineal marriage option to draw a claimate from the Duchy of Lorraine, then declared war and claimed the duchy for my grandson.

 

[Jia Xu]

Alliances are a double-edged sword. Your allies also get to attempt to drag you into their wars, and you need to be aware of that when you decide to get into an alliance. Yeah, the King of France seems like a strong ally. But what if he has a strong claim on England and borders a stronger Andalusia? You will likely be called on for assistance often, fighting wars that do not directly benefit you at all.

If you're gamey, you can use daughters to matrilinially marry into families who have claims, and put those people onto thrones so your dynasty can cover the map. Alternatively, you can marry into families, just kill all of the people in line who are in front of your in-law, and put your dynasty into power that way. I don't do this though. I don't even use matrilinial marriages at all because it just seems like a method to paint the dynastic map mode with a single name and colour.

 

[Iron Chariots]

In blob vs bigger blob battles they can be useful sometimes.

True, but before too long whichever blob the human player is commanding is usually more powerful than the next two or three blobs combined.

Does the daughter always want to come back? I find it sometimes difficult to invite people back, due to the "no reason to move" modifier.

I don't know if they'll always come back, but consider your daughter will usually be of your culture and in a court of foreign culture, and will be your daughter, giving you a further opinion advantage, which can swing things quite a good way.

 

[nyah]

Once you yourself blob, it's odd that you'll need the help I guess

Yep, but blobbing isn't compulsory. I've started to enjoy playing small realm games throughout the time-span. More of a challenge.

 

[Lessing]

Does the daughter always want to come back? I find it sometimes difficult to invite people back, due to the "no reason to move" modifier.

You can gift her, and you can marry her to filthy infidels to make sure she comes back eagerly. That's how I won the Seljuk sultanate in my current game - no holy war with truces for each of their dozens of duchies, phew.

 

[ZechsMerquise73]

I usually send them out all over in the hopes of getting an inheritance, if I don't really need an alliance at the time. Sometimes even regular marriages lead to inheritance, but if you marry your daughter matrilineally to a second or third in line to the throne, it'll quite often come back to you in time (you'll get it if you have a higher tier title and you've given their heir a title). Regardless, its fun to put your dynasty in every kingdom in Europe, and matrilineal marriage makes that easier.

 

[Sam L]

Like mercenaries alliances are only really useful in the first years of a game. If you are strong enough yourself there's no point in marrying daughters patrilineally.

I love to use them to spread my family: If I marry them matrilineally to some newly generated guy (@ 5 piety) and than land that guy I get a completely separate branch of my family. The county given to that guy will either be passed on to his children (who will be my of family) or fall back to me, the ruler.
Women are actually more useful for spreading out the family because men always kill each to inherit land which eventually leads to overly powerful vassals.

That may be the case but I still like to roleplay sometimes and marry daughters to Kings or Princes. It is nice to see your daughter as Holy Roman Empress or Byzantine Empress.

 

[yezhanquan]

Yep, but blobbing isn't compulsory. I've started to enjoy playing small realm games throughout the time-span. More of a challenge.

Just curious: Independent or as a vassal?

 

[Lorehead]

With certain succession laws, you can even give daughters land, themselves. Marrying them matrilineally to ideal future dukes, then giving the husbands land, is the next-best thing, as long as she produces an heir. You’ll get an extremely loyal ally for one generation, and then a grandson or first cousin with good traits in the second generation. And even if they do overthrow you, it’ll still be your dynasty.

There’s really only one serious drawback for me. Your vassals are going to look for alliances with their neighbors. So, what happens when all the nobles are close relatives? Realistic, but I admit it still bothers me.