Really hard to play as a child ruler??

[Regina George]

I know it should be hard playing as a child-ruler, but does it have to be so hard that it ♥♥♥♥♥ up my whole gameplay? I was playing as one the Jimena siblings’ sons and was King of Castille. He died and left his 8-year-old on the throne.

In the next 8 years, I was constantly trying to quash factions created against me, doing everything I could as a minor to do this. I gave my vassals 150 ducket gifts, gave them my brothers and sisters to betroth to their children or as wards, and even changed several of their feudal contracts for a measly +10 so they would like me better and ♥♥♥♥ off out of the factions.

In return for my hard work, the factions still overthrew me, and I lost absolute crown authority and the Kingdom of Navarra. As a result of the lower crown authority, one of my duke’s declared war on a neighbouring Muslim kingdom and won (which I admit was good) but then I had to deal with a whole peasant/ religious uprising! And now the vassal is quite powerful and is the liege of about half of my kingdom, so if he chooses to overthrow me, half my military is with him.

And then when this kid turned 16, even though he had been ruling for literally HALF HIS LIFE, he still had nothing. He didn’t have any perks, any friends, and none of his vassals liked him that much. I know, I know, this game is supposed to be hard (especially when your kingdom’s left to an 8 year old) and I AM having a whine, but idk, it’s a bit annoying when you’re playing a child-ruler and the literal only difference is you get 0 power and a few events about crushes and bullies, and then when you do turn 16 you have no benefits of being a child ruler.

I’m not saying that as a child-ruler you should have all the game play mechanics as an adult, because I do think it should be harder than playing as an adult ruler because well, children aren’t MEANT to rule. I’m saying, as a child ruler, you should have some semblance of control (rather than just passively waiting to turn 16) and there should be advantages of being a child ruler AS WELL as the disadvantages we’re all so familiar with.

[Regina George]

For instance, some advantages of being a child ruler could be:

if you start ruling earlier, the lifestyle choices should activate earlier – perhaps when a child is 5 or 7. Of course, not all perk trees (i.e. ‘seducer’) should be activated. And if the lifestyles were activated earlier, there would actually be benefits to starting or playing as a child-ruler, like getting a head start on perk trees. This would also be realistic, as someone who has been king since they’re 8 is obviously going to have more skills than someone who is 16 and suddenly becomes king.

or, if your child-ruler has specific congenital traits like intelligent, robust, or pretty/ handsome this could aid them more than a child-ruler without these traits AND this benefit could be unique to children. I mean unique to children in the sense that this trait will benefit them especially as children – have you ever seen a really muscly kid? Or a really talented one (i.e. playing piano or dancing)? Or a really intelligent one? You probably thought they were cool/ interesting because they were so skilled at something for their age. So here there could be events where a vassal could ask you what you think of x, and depending on how you answer, your character can gain relationship with the vassal (but this event chain would only come up if you’re intelligent/ a genius). Likewise, if your child-ruler is robust or Amazonian/ herculean a vassal with a high prowess skill or a high martial skill could take an interest in you and even train you. Likewise, negative congenital traits or ‘average’ congenital traits like giant, albino, dwarf or shrewd could have their own event chains tied to them.

or, why isn’t the ‘sway’ scheme open to me? I know as an adult ruler you can’t sway another child ruler – and I can see why this makes sense – but why can’t a child ruler sway an adult? I just want them to like me so they won’t overthrow me.

or, why don’t I have my own loyal faction (loyalists?) composing my close family members, vassals who liked me (or were my parent’s friends), and chancellors. A child-ruler in history wouldn’t last long if they didn’t have support from these areas – as people say, it takes a village to raise a child, and in this case, it should take a faction to make sure the child-ruler STAYS a ruler. This way, your loyalists can do what you as a ruler could not do – scheme in your stead. Think of how Cersei plots for her children and protects them in Game of Thrones.

[EA Latium]

It doesn't seem like anything weird to be fair, before we used to have Regencies as well. You are still alive with Claims which is a big plus (getting rid of a child is usually quite easy), so slowly work your way back and you'll have a great story to tell.

There are also some pros for starting as a child, you'll probably be able to max more than a Tree and reorganise things for the future, chances are you'll have much more money and prestige by the time he gets to 30 yo than you'd normally have.

Go ahead, take back what's yours.

Edit: you can call your Dynasty members to help in you wars already, it costs some renown. That's why is very important to spread your Dynasty.

Cersei was definitely a "pro" CK player, you can do what she's done, but in that case would be the player that installed their own Heir on a seat of power for the future, and work to keep it that way. It's just from a different angle, you can do that as well.

[dulany67]

You just need to start the long road of revenge.

[Chilltex]

Did you assign yourself a guardian? I know this helps with stat development. Also would help whomever like you a whole lot more for being your guardian. And If I am not mistaken, these events play out a bit differently when playing as the child getting educated.

[titanopteryx]

It does have 1 benefit. You can choose your education focus. If you switch to an appropriate religion, and pick education focus, you could start with the wise man trait. Otherwise, you could assign yourself as someone's ward and get a opinion boost with that person.

[Messsucher]

Originally posted by Regina George:

For instance, some advantages of being a child ruler could be:

if you start ruling earlier, the lifestyle choices should activate earlier – perhaps when a child is 5 or 7. Of course, not all perk trees (i.e. ‘seducer’) should be activated. And if the lifestyles were activated earlier, there would actually be benefits to starting or playing as a child-ruler, like getting a head start on perk trees. This would also be realistic, as someone who has been king since they’re 8 is obviously going to have more skills than someone who is 16 and suddenly becomes king.

or, if your child-ruler has specific congenital traits like intelligent, robust, or pretty/ handsome this could aid them more than a child-ruler without these traits AND this benefit could be unique to children. I mean unique to children in the sense that this trait will benefit them especially as children – have you ever seen a really muscly kid? Or a really talented one (i.e. playing piano or dancing)? Or a really intelligent one? You probably thought they were cool/ interesting because they were so skilled at something for their age. So here there could be events where a vassal could ask you what you think of x, and depending on how you answer, your character can gain relationship with the vassal (but this event chain would only come up if you’re intelligent/ a genius). Likewise, if your child-ruler is robust or Amazonian/ herculean a vassal with a high prowess skill or a high martial skill could take an interest in you and even train you. Likewise, negative congenital traits or ‘average’ congenital traits like giant, albino, dwarf or shrewd could have their own event chains tied to them.

or, why isn’t the ‘sway’ scheme open to me? I know as an adult ruler you can’t sway another child ruler – and I can see why this makes sense – but why can’t a child ruler sway an adult? I just want them to like me so they won’t overthrow me.

or, why don’t I have my own loyal faction (loyalists?) composing my close family members, vassals who liked me (or were my parent’s friends), and chancellors. A child-ruler in history wouldn’t last long if they didn’t have support from these areas – as people say, it takes a village to raise a child, and in this case, it should take a faction to make sure the child-ruler STAYS a ruler. This way, your loyalists can do what you as a ruler could not do – scheme in your stead. Think of how Cersei plots for her children and protects them in Game of Thrones.

Have you ever fathered a child? 8 years old kid is literally kid, not a queen, not a king, but a kid, and no trait changes that.

[Regina George]

Originally posted by Messsucher:

Originally posted by Regina George:

For instance, some advantages of being a child ruler could be:

if you start ruling earlier, the lifestyle choices should activate earlier – perhaps when a child is 5 or 7. Of course, not all perk trees (i.e. ‘seducer’) should be activated. And if the lifestyles were activated earlier, there would actually be benefits to starting or playing as a child-ruler, like getting a head start on perk trees. This would also be realistic, as someone who has been king since they’re 8 is obviously going to have more skills than someone who is 16 and suddenly becomes king.

or, if your child-ruler has specific congenital traits like intelligent, robust, or pretty/ handsome this could aid them more than a child-ruler without these traits AND this benefit could be unique to children. I mean unique to children in the sense that this trait will benefit them especially as children – have you ever seen a really muscly kid? Or a really talented one (i.e. playing piano or dancing)? Or a really intelligent one? You probably thought they were cool/ interesting because they were so skilled at something for their age. So here there could be events where a vassal could ask you what you think of x, and depending on how you answer, your character can gain relationship with the vassal (but this event chain would only come up if you’re intelligent/ a genius). Likewise, if your child-ruler is robust or Amazonian/ herculean a vassal with a high prowess skill or a high martial skill could take an interest in you and even train you. Likewise, negative congenital traits or ‘average’ congenital traits like giant, albino, dwarf or shrewd could have their own event chains tied to them.

or, why isn’t the ‘sway’ scheme open to me? I know as an adult ruler you can’t sway another child ruler – and I can see why this makes sense – but why can’t a child ruler sway an adult? I just want them to like me so they won’t overthrow me.

or, why don’t I have my own loyal faction (loyalists?) composing my close family members, vassals who liked me (or were my parent’s friends), and chancellors. A child-ruler in history wouldn’t last long if they didn’t have support from these areas – as people say, it takes a village to raise a child, and in this case, it should take a faction to make sure the child-ruler STAYS a ruler. This way, your loyalists can do what you as a ruler could not do – scheme in your stead. Think of how Cersei plots for her children and protects them in Game of Thrones.

Have you ever fathered a child? 8 years old kid is literally kid, not a queen, not a king, but a kid, and no trait changes that.

Have you ever given birth to a child? I know an 8-year-old is a kid first and foremost, not a king or a queen, but lots of historical figures were children AS WELL AS kings or queens or counts/ dukes because that’s how the system of governance worked for a lot of history. An 8-year-old king would have far more power than a normal 8-year-old and as well as this, far more responsibility, duties, and opportunities available to them as well as unique struggles and disadvantages of being a child-ruler. I am not advocating for child-rulers or saying they should be treated equivalent to an in game ‘of age’ ruler – I’m just saying there should be advantages and disadvantages of playing as one, because right now there only seems to be disadvantages, with little nuances incorporated into their unique position.

Furthermore, it’s not like kids are just kids – today and throughout history, kids and teenagers have impacted the world around us. Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai, for instance. Or in the past, Joan of Arc, Anne Frank, Catherine Howard (Henry VIII’s 5th wife), the Shunzhi Emperor (his father died when he was 5 and he was in a regency until he was 12, when he took the reins), Tutankhamen (inherited throne when he was 9 or 10), Mary Queen of Scots (ruled two kingdoms before she was 18), Ptolemy XIII (Cleopatra’s younger brother, allied himself with Pompey) and Cleopatra (was 18 when she became queen).

[Hans]

It is very difficult to play as a child ruler, especially since you don't have access to intrigue and can't use any schemes. I think the game makes up for this with the various events you get as a child ruler, such as causing mischief or acquiring pets that give you stat buffs.

I started as a child ruler at like the age of 4 and found a cat I creatively named "Flame." Flame caused all sorts of mischief and pissed off several of my vassals, it was glorious. Somehow I made it to age 16 despite my kingdom falling apart and numerous rebellions (shout out to my marshall Jarl Magnus for staying loyal) and selected my wife.

She was then allergic to my cat! I loved Flame, but seeing as how I needed to produce an heir, I decided to give Flame to my sister.

Then she cheated on me and my heir had disputed heritage... glorious.

Then my intrigue focused ruler that spent the next 20 years assassinating and kidnapping all of his enemies... and was then himself assassinated at 37.

Long story short, ruling as a kid was difficult but the story that followed was super amazing. Poor King Grimr, he tried so hard, and ended up getting poisoned by gold of all things.

[Regina George]

Originally posted by Arngrim:

It is very difficult to play as a child ruler, especially since you don't have access to intrigue and can't use any schemes. I think the game makes up for this with the various events you get as a child ruler, such as causing mischief or acquiring pets that give you stat buffs.

I started as a child ruler at like the age of 4 and found a cat I creatively named "Flame." Flame caused all sorts of mischief and pissed off several of my vassals, it was glorious. Somehow I made it to age 16 despite my kingdom falling apart and numerous rebellions (shout out to my marshall Jarl Magnus for staying loyal) and selected my wife.

She was then allergic to my cat! I loved Flame, but seeing as how I needed to produce an heir, I decided to give Flame to my sister.

Then she cheated on me and my heir had disputed heritage... glorious.

Then my intrigue focused ruler that spent the next 20 years assassinating and kidnapping all of his enemies... and was then himself assassinated at 37.

Long story short, ruling as a kid was difficult but the story that followed was super amazing. Poor King Grimr, he tried so hard, and ended up getting poisoned by gold of all things.

I do like the events that come up when you're a child ruler, but I wish there were more political ones that offered distinct benefits, rather than just having bullies/ victims, crushes, and pets. I do like the pets event though bc it DOES add stat benefits with the pet you have, but idk I wish there were more political or rulership events/ opportunities that could maybe give you distinct advantages like making sure a vassal is allied with you, or you increase a perk, kind of like how as adult rulers there's that event that pops up where you get a letter from a foreign ruler. And then judging by their personality, you have to pick what to talk about based on what you think they'll be interested in, and depending on what you pick they can get an increased opinion of you, you could get a hook on them, or you can have trade deals.

Also, what ruler were you playing as?

[Hans]

Originally posted by Regina George:

Also, what ruler were you playing as?

I started as the Hvitserk Dynasty in 867 as Halfdan Whiteshirt. I was on my third ruler who had the compassionate trait (REALLLLY unfortunate for an Astaru warmonger) and had just completed a "war for captives" and had 5 prisoners. If you execute a prisoner while you have the compassionate trait, you get 70(!) stress.

I couldn't release them though, because releasing captives you're supposed to sacrifice has a huge negative relation debuff with all your vassals so I found out what happens when you reach stress level 3.

Long story short, my king died at 31 and my prince took over at like 4 or something.


EDIT: I agree with you though, more events to somewhat steer your realm as a child ruler would be very welcome.

[BoydofZINJ]

Originally posted by Arngrim:

Originally posted by Regina George:

Also, what ruler were you playing as?

I started as the Hvitserk Dynasty in 867 as Halfdan Whiteshirt. I was on my third ruler who had the compassionate trait (REALLLLY unfortunate for an Astaru warmonger) and had just completed a "war for captives" and had 5 prisoners. If you execute a prisoner while you have the compassionate trait, you get 70(!) stress.

I couldn't release them though, because releasing captives you're supposed to sacrifice has a huge negative relation debuff with all your vassals so I found out what happens when you reach stress level 3.

Long story short, my king died at 31 and my prince took over at like 4 or something.


EDIT: I agree with you though, more events to somewhat steer your realm as a child ruler would be very welcome.

Stop executing people then... lol. Compassion means the opposite of execution ... well something like that!

[Hans]

Originally posted by BoydofZINJ:

Stop executing people then... lol. Compassion means the opposite of execution ... well something like that!

Haha, I imagined my kind, conflicted king trying to balance the pressures of leading a bunch of marauding vikings and the internal struggle waging in his compassionate heart. The stress was too much!

[Rhudda]

Originally posted by titanopteryx:

It does have 1 benefit. You can choose your education focus. If you switch to an appropriate religion, and pick education focus, you could start with the wise man trait. Otherwise, you could assign yourself as someone's ward and get a opinion boost with that person.

That's not exclusive to being a child. You can choose the education focus of your children as soon as they turn six - in their character view, there's a small, round button to the bottom left of their portrait - they'll already have a focus picked out, but you can change it once and only once.

[Illusion17]

Originally posted by Regina George:

I know it should be hard playing as a child-ruler, but does it have to be so hard that it ♥♥♥♥s up my whole gameplay? I was playing as one the Jimena siblings’ sons and was King of Castille. He died and left his 8-year-old on the throne.

In the next 8 years, I was constantly trying to quash factions created against me, doing everything I could as a minor to do this. I gave my vassals 150 ducket gifts, gave them my brothers and sisters to betroth to their children or as wards, and even changed several of their feudal contracts for a measly +10 so they would like me better and ♥♥♥♥ off out of the factions.

In return for my hard work, the factions still overthrew me, and I lost absolute crown authority and the Kingdom of Navarra. As a result of the lower crown authority, one of my duke’s declared war on a neighbouring Muslim kingdom and won (which I admit was good) but then I had to deal with a whole peasant/ religious uprising! And now the vassal is quite powerful and is the liege of about half of my kingdom, so if he chooses to overthrow me, half my military is with him.

And then when this kid turned 16, even though he had been ruling for literally HALF HIS LIFE, he still had nothing. He didn’t have any perks, any friends, and none of his vassals liked him that much. I know, I know, this game is supposed to be hard (especially when your kingdom’s left to an 8 year old) and I AM having a whine, but idk, it’s a bit annoying when you’re playing a child-ruler and the literal only difference is you get 0 power and a few events about crushes and bullies, and then when you do turn 16 you have no benefits of being a child ruler.

I’m not saying that as a child-ruler you should have all the game play mechanics as an adult, because I do think it should be harder than playing as an adult ruler because well, children aren’t MEANT to rule. I’m saying, as a child ruler, you should have some semblance of control (rather than just passively waiting to turn 16) and there should be advantages of being a child ruler AS WELL as the disadvantages we’re all so familiar with.

In my experience, being a child ruler is actually pretty good. In order to stop your vassals from rising up, just execute people until most of them are too scared to oppose you. You'll have to deal with tyranny issues, but it should stop them from rising up against you long enough for you to solidify your position.

[titanopteryx]

Originally posted by Hagrid Glodson:

Originally posted by titanopteryx:

It does have 1 benefit. You can choose your education focus. If you switch to an appropriate religion, and pick education focus, you could start with the wise man trait. Otherwise, you could assign yourself as someone's ward and get a opinion boost with that person.

That's not exclusive to being a child. You can choose the education focus of your children as soon as they turn six - in their character view, there's a small, round button to the bottom left of their portrait - they'll already have a focus picked out, but you can change it once and only once.

It's not exclusive to being a child, but it's definitely something one should remember to do when playing as a child.