Up to date as of version 1.1
This is simply a list of the effects of national ideas on events and triggered modifiers - some of them are very powerful! I have shown the effects that are significantly good and those that are significantly bad. I hope you find it useful.
Many thanks to the contributors in this thread who have unearthed even more effects.
Notes
"Allows" means that an event will never occur without this idea, unless otherwise stated.
"Prevents" means that an event will never occur with this idea.
"Speeds up" refers to 90-95% normal speed unless otherwise stated.
"Slows down" refers to 105-110% normal speed unless otherwise stated.
NATIONAL IDEAS WITH HIDDEN BENEFITS
Patron of Art
One of the most underrated ideas if you play as a dove (not a warmongerer).
One of the most underrated ideas if you play as a dove (not a warmongerer).
Allows the "Prospering Times" event. This country event gives you either a cheap manufactory (500 ducats) or 200 ducats, your choice. It happens if you have +1 stability or greater, 500 ducats in the bank, an artist, and at least 25 provinces (e.g. an empire the size of Italy, France or Germany).
Allows the "Build a Great Palace" event. You must be completely aristocratic; the event costs 100 ducats but gives 5 prestige.
Allows the "Exceptional Court Painter" event. This province-based event gives +1 stability in exchange for 30 ducats. You must be extremely innovative and not have more than 5% of your badboy maximum for this event to fire, however, and it only applies to European countries.
Allows the "Grand Ball" event. If you are Christian, this rare event lets you spend 30 ducats to gain 2 prestige.
Allows the "Architectural Development" event. If you have a 6+ ADM monarch, this event will give you +2 innovation and 50 ducats in return for +2 revoltrisk for a year.
Quest For The New World
Prevents the Decline of Empire event. This country event fires with a mean time of only 240 months if you have at least 25 provinces and do not have either QftNW or Colonial Ventures, and reduces investment in one technology for 200 days.
Speeds up (0.9) the "East India Company" event.
Allows the "Rush of Colonists" event. This rare country event gives you either more colonists or 5% higher overseas income for a year.
Allows the "East Indian Trade Route" triggered modifier if you are a Latin country with at least four ports and have discovered the Cape of Good Hope and a few provinces in India/China. This modifier gives you a +2% prestige bonus and 20% higher trade incomes.
National Bank
Allows the Economic Reform event (for large countries with a treasurer), which gives you either lower interest and 60 ducats or 10% higher taxes for a few years.
Prevents the National Bank event (you cannot choose loan size after you take the idea). This is a known bug and will probably be fixed for v1.2
Allows the Stock Exchange event if you also have Shrewd Commercial Practices or National Trade Policy, are Christian, and are at least somewhat innovative after 1750. This event gives you 4% deflation!
Prevents one "State Bankruptcy" event and significantly slows down the other (0.6 without National Banks). With National Banks, you only need fear this devastating event if you have a loan, two gold mines, and are at war.
National Conscripts
Allows the "Establish Cantonments" event, which increases manpower in your country.
Grand Army
Speeds up the "Establish Cantonments" event (if you also have National Conscripts).
Speeds up "Naval Traditions scorned" and slows down "Land Traditions Scorned."
Allows the "Military Development" event if your monarch is a general, giving you the chance to raise quality by 2, gain 50 ducats and earn some prestige in exchange for +2 revoltrisk for a while.
Colonial Ventures
Prevents the Decline of Empire event that forces you to cut investment if you have a large country with ports.
Allows the Colonial Ventures event which lets you invest in the navy or disarm.
Speeds up the "East Indian Company" event.
Speeds up the "Rush of Colonists" event significantly (0.5) if you have QFTNW.
Bureaucracy
Significantly speeds up (0.7) all national unification events (Germany, Italy, France, Great Britain, Russia, Spain, Ireland, England, the Netherlands).
Speeds up the "Aspiration for Liberty" event which causes dissent if you are playing a despotic country after 1700.
Allows the "Royal Bureaucracy" event which lets you gain centralization at the cost of stability cost or lose 15% taxes. Only happens if you are already experiencing a revolution.
National Trade Policy
Speeds up the "Decline of the Hanseatic League" event.
Speeds up the "Lucrative Trade" event in colonies.
Allows the "Trading Company Disaster" event which can happen after 1700 if you have a trade advisor. This event costs you 70 ducats or lowers your trade incomes by 5% for a while.
Allows the "Monopoly Company Formed" event if you also have Shrewd Commerce Practices. This gives you either 300 gold or 5% higher trade incomes for some time, if you are at least somewhat mercantilist.
Allows the "Grant Export Licenses" event if you also have Shrewd Commerce Practices. This gives you +20 relations with a random neighbour and 10% higher taxes for some time.
Allows the "Stock Exchange" event (-4% inflation) if you also have the National Bank idea (and are Christian and somewhat innovative).
Humanist Tolerance
Slows down the "Peasants War" event.
Speeds up the Protestant Reformation/Calvinist Reformation events.
Allows the "Social Reform" event if you have serfs. This allows you to gain 2 freesubjects and 50 ducats at the cost of +2 revoltrisk for a while.
Slows down the "Revolution" event.
Deus Vult
Speeds up the hated "Papal States" event.
Prevents all Reformation events (the Reformation and Calvinist Reformation may not start in or spread to your nation).
Smithian Economics
Smithian Economics does not directly affect any event, but the extra 10% Production Efficiency gained from this idea indirectly affects several events and makes it easier to achieve them.
Higher production efficiency (10%, 20% or 30%) slows down (by up to 0.73) the negative "Battles on Foreign Ground" event if you have the liberalism flag and are at war.
Higher production efficiency (10%, 20% or 30%) slows down the "Financial Crisis" event (by up to 1.37) that can occur if your country experiences a Revolution.
20% Production Efficiency will prevent the "Bad Harvest" event which will reduce your treasury and give you the "harvest" flag that can cause other bad events.
20% Production Efficiency will prevent the "Financial Reform" event which gives a tax income boost and government tech at the cost of 2 stability, or higher stability in exchange for less taxes.
20% Production Efficiency will significantly slow down (2.0) the "Financial Crisis" event that can happen if you have a trade advisor after 1700 and either Shrewd Commercial Practices or National Trade Policy.
25% Production Efficiency will prevent the "Plague" event which can occur in grain and fish provinces and reduces the population and/or your treasury.
30% Production Efficiency prevents the "Famine" event which can happen if you have the "Time of Troubles" flag and give you the "famine" flag that can cause other bad events.
35% Production Efficiency will significantly speed up the "Festivities" event (0.67) which can happen if you have ADM 6 and are not at war and provides either +1 taxvalue or +1 stability.
50% Production Efficiency is required for the "New Land Claimed" event which gives +1 tax or +1 manpower in a random province.
50% Production Efficiency significantly speeds up (0.5) the "Exceptional Year" event, which can happen if you have a treasurer advisor before 1550 and gives either 100 ducats or 25% higher taxes for a year.
50% Production Efficiency significantly speeds up (0.5) the "Monopoly Company Formed" event, which can happen if you have Shrewd Commercial Practice AND National Trade Policy and are at least somewhat mercantilist.
50% Production Efficiency allows the "Good Harvest" event in grain provinces, which provides either 100 ducats or 100 government tech.
NATIONAL IDEAS WITH HIDDEN COSTS
Shrewd Commerce Practices
Speeds up the "Trade Restrictions" event in the American Revolution chain.
Speeds up the "Kontor" event that countries in the Hanseatic League receive, and slows it down if you do not possess it.
Allows the "Rifts in the Hanseatic League" event.
Allows the "Monopoly Company Formed" and "Grant Export Licenses" events if you also have National Trade Policy.
Allows the "Stock Exchange" event in which inflation falls by 4% if you also have the National Bank idea.
Viceroys
Speeds up the "Colonial Ventures" event if you also have the Colonial Ventures idea.
Allows one of the "State Bankruptcy" events to happen if you also have 0.15% inflation and 2 gold mines.
NEUTRAL NATIONAL IDEAS
Grand Navy
Slows down the "Naval traditions scorned" event and speeds up the "Land traditions scorned" event.
Naval Glory
Prevents the "Colonial Ventures" event which gives you the choice of investing in the navy (faster tech but more expensive ships) or disarming (slower tech but better land tech).
Engineer Corps
Allows the "Italian Engineer available" event, which allows you to gain +1 quality, some minor land investment, and a shift towards defensive in exchange for 50 ducats.
Merchant Adventures
Speeds up the "Rifts in the Hanseatic League" event, and slows it down if not possessed.
Speeds up the "Indian Trade Company" event.
Speeds up the "Lucrative Trade" event in colonies.
Speeds up the "Merchants Harassed" event if you are also a Merchant Republic.
Espionage
Speeds up the "Vatican Infiltration" event significantly (0.5) (if you have a spymaster, cardinal, and are Catholic).
Church Attendance Duty
Oddly enough, speeds up the "Tolerant Society" event if your nation is experiencing religious turmoil.
Divine Supremacy
Allows Protestant members of the HRE to gain the "Interconfessional Wars" event which marks the beginning of the religious wars in Germany. Yay. This event also gives your province the "religious_turmoil" flag, which can cause the "Intolerant Society" or "Tolerant Society" events to happen for you. This also speeds up the "Religious Wars" event which is based on the religious turmoil flag.
Speeds up the hated "Papal State" event that fires repeatedly if you conquer Roma and are Catholic.
Prevents the Protestant Reformation or the Reformed church from being founded in your nation or spreading to your nation. Yes, this can be a problem if you want to convert, but many players seem to find it easier not to have to deal with missionaries and increased stability costs during the Reformation.
NATIONAL IDEAS WITH NO HIDDEN EFFECTS
that I could find
Sea Hawks
Superior Seamanship
Naval Fighting Instruction
Excellent Shipwrights
Military Drill
Battlefield Commissions
Glorious Arms
Cabinet
Bill of Rights
Scientific Revolution
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I'll change it to "National Ideas with Hidden Benefits/Costs" to be clearer.
