how to protect against murder?

[ddrei]

when i play a new heir, i always put my spymaster on defense and make sure he/she likes me.

earlier i got the message that a plot against me was discovered. later i got the event with the bad omen - which means they keep going. then i died.

is there anything i can do against those plots? or something i can do if i discover them at least? i could not find any action to prevent it and felt bad :(

edit: this is the first time i play a ck game so i wonder if i miss something obvious

edit 2: i have 2 rivals. should i murder them? try to become friends with them? i guess they are behind it

[Das Boot]

Pick a spymaster with high intrigue, even if he's an unlanded courtier. Your other council positions can be political appointments, but the spymaster must be competent.

And if one of your vassals buys you a shaggy rug then throw it away - he got it so his assassin doesn't get exposed by a creaking floorboard.

[ddrei]

i only got a spymaster with 15 for this heir :(

so there is no action i can take? just pray that the spymaster fixes it?

[Das Boot]

Originally posted by ddrei:

i only got a spymaster with 15 for this heir :(

so there is no action i can take? just pray that the spymaster fixes it?

I'm sorry to say that 15 is not very high. In my last game I had spymasters who were 25 and higher.

As for actions, making yourself likable makes courtiers and vassals less willing to join plots against you. I educate my rulers in diplomacy for this very reason.

[Aurian]

Also make sure your spymaster doesn't have traits like arbitrary, vengeful etc.

[Overcoming]

it is just a question of how to have more skillful councilors. There are several tricks to do this. First, just ignore the strong vassals want council positions warning.

Second, you marry your sons/daughters/relatives to someone who is the most skillful.

Third, having gender equality can double the number of skillful people that can be hired. With a spymaster with 15 and more, it is almost impossible to be murdered(never happened to me ) .

In late game, I usually have councilors with skill more than 25. There are also other small tricks like seducing skillful person to your court but that might be something to do when your realm is small and need micro-management.

[Xef]

I don't think there's any way to 100% proof yourself against murders but in general you're safe if you bump your dread to 100 and get rid of brave people. That way strong hooks are needed to get agents to backstab you.

That being said sometimes there's nothing you can do, I've gotten murdered twice in about 5 minutes after starting a new game.

[ddrei]

yeah, the random murders can happen. i just saw it coming this time and that did hurt :D

ok, so i will look around in the whole kingdom and get a 20+ spymaster again. i had it quite a lot in the past but i cannot find anyone with higher stats than 15 currently.

[JuX]

Keep in mind if you have lot of unhappy courtiers they can be recruited as agents within the plot. So always check religion of new courtiers and knights to see if you need to demand conversion, as having same religion is significant relation improvement.

In summary check your court tab and the people on it. Well as your council members.

[ddrei]

in my council and court everyone but my 2 rivals like me. does religion still cause problems if they are +30 or higher?

[GorishiDan]

apart from spymaster, if you have lovers and the proper perk, they can save you if someone tries to murder you, or if you have the family connections perk too (dynasty perk i think) you're saved from one murder attempt automatically which buys you some time to your grip

[Mr W]

There are a few lifestyle selections that can help with this, but that usually takes a commitment.

[ddrei]

yeah. that is a very drastic solution. think i stick with the murder them before they murder me plan :P