The other day, I was reading about Sultan Bayezid II of Ottoman empire. After his father's death, both he and his brother Cem claimed the Ottoman throne. After Beyezid II was victorious in their struggle, Cem decided to flee the realm. At this point, Beyezid II offered Cem one million akçes to stop competing for the throne and relinquish his claim.
It would be interesting if we had the option to compensate pretenders to the throne in CKII as well in return for relinquishing their claim. Here's an example of how it would work:
King Jean has two sons, Charles (older) and William (younger). Suppose Charles has no (or just one) sons/daughter of his own and assuming the Kingdom has Primogeniture law of succession, if the King dies, Charles will become the new king and William will get a strong claim on the throne as a pretender. Well, you could make William a bishop before the King dies to get around it, but IMO that is a bit gamey. So, in the above scenario, there could be an option for you (as King Charles) to convince your brother William (ie: bribe him) to give up his claim on the throne. How much exactly you would need to bribe would depend on what claim he is giving up (it should be cheap for a county, big for a Kingdom) and depending on how much he likes you.
The claim should not just go away, rather there should be a new type of claim: "suppressed claim", which will stay suppressed as long as the current dynasty are on the throne (but will revert to a strong claim if some other dynasty obtains the title), and which will not be inherited by William's own successors. This should not affect the order of succession, William should still be eligible to inherit the Kingdom if he is the legal successor in future. Claims for younger sons in Gavelkind successions should be automatically suppressed... this would mean gavelkind succession, which is a horrible law at the moment, (unless you appoint all your younger sons bishops) will be a slightly more attractive than at present.
On another note, this mechanic could also be used to implement a "dowry system". If you are giving away your daughter in a regular marriage, there should be an option whether you are ready to pay the dowry or not. If you are paying the dowry, then your daughter will automatically have her claim to the throne suppressed. The dowry could be in form of cash or holdings (give one barony away with the daughter etc). In matrillineal marriages, it should be groom's family who would have to pay the dowry to suppress any claims he would inherit.
It would be interesting if we had the option to compensate pretenders to the throne in CKII as well in return for relinquishing their claim. Here's an example of how it would work:
King Jean has two sons, Charles (older) and William (younger). Suppose Charles has no (or just one) sons/daughter of his own and assuming the Kingdom has Primogeniture law of succession, if the King dies, Charles will become the new king and William will get a strong claim on the throne as a pretender. Well, you could make William a bishop before the King dies to get around it, but IMO that is a bit gamey. So, in the above scenario, there could be an option for you (as King Charles) to convince your brother William (ie: bribe him) to give up his claim on the throne. How much exactly you would need to bribe would depend on what claim he is giving up (it should be cheap for a county, big for a Kingdom) and depending on how much he likes you.
The claim should not just go away, rather there should be a new type of claim: "suppressed claim", which will stay suppressed as long as the current dynasty are on the throne (but will revert to a strong claim if some other dynasty obtains the title), and which will not be inherited by William's own successors. This should not affect the order of succession, William should still be eligible to inherit the Kingdom if he is the legal successor in future. Claims for younger sons in Gavelkind successions should be automatically suppressed... this would mean gavelkind succession, which is a horrible law at the moment, (unless you appoint all your younger sons bishops) will be a slightly more attractive than at present.
On another note, this mechanic could also be used to implement a "dowry system". If you are giving away your daughter in a regular marriage, there should be an option whether you are ready to pay the dowry or not. If you are paying the dowry, then your daughter will automatically have her claim to the throne suppressed. The dowry could be in form of cash or holdings (give one barony away with the daughter etc). In matrillineal marriages, it should be groom's family who would have to pay the dowry to suppress any claims he would inherit.
