Vassals' External Wars Feed Blobs

[Chlodio]

The lack of multiple lieges and the external wars of vassals are inevitable to cause blobbing because weak vassals are protected by their lieges, while regional powers are unable to push these blobs back (as it would require beating entire empire), even if they would be able to defeat the enemy vassal.

I have come up with a solution: when tenants-in-chief (sovereign's direct vassals) start and win an external war they become their liege's tributary called "march", unlike other tributary types, marquess cannot be called their suzerain into wars, nor can their suzerain. The relationship is permanent and all the marquess has to do is pay a percentage of their taxes to the suzerain.
Obviously, there should be some constraints when it happens, e.g. the vassal would have to be a duke or a king, their liege would have to be of a certain size.

 

[Karlington]

While I like the idea of doing something about the issue you are raising (vassals of powerful lieges being able to declare war on outsiders, while the outsiders cannot retaliate without taking on the whole realm), I don't like the notion of vassals becoming quasi-independent by foreign conquest.

Maybe we could make it so that if a vassal loses a war against an outsider, for the duration of his truce, the defender is able to declare war back without the liege being able to intervene?

Of course, that raises issues on its own: a realm could lose territory without being able to defend it, which is likely to frustrate players a lot. I guess I don't have a good solution, heh.