2 issues - papal war and enemy faction

[Aigle édenté]

- Help ! My ally the holy roman empire declared war to the papal states. They prompted me to join them in war and I refused. Then my ruler protagonist died, my heir took the throne, and then we automatically declared war on the pope which is a disaster ! Can I somehow avoid this ?
- On the other hand, but it's less serious, how can I encourage a dissolution faction to declare war on me ? I want the achievement... There is a faction that forms regularly and every now and then disbands while they are close to ultimatum but they give up every time and breaks without reaching war.

[ricardo_traeger]

Maybe upset some other of your vassels so they are also join the fraction...

[Aigle édenté]

Hmmm that's a good idea though there are already other upset vassals (including powerfull ones)

[endymionologist]

You can encourage a Dissolution Faction to grow by eliminating Claimants to invalidate Claimant Factions. You should also build quick buildings in rebel territory that increase levy size, and revoke Counties from loyal vassals to give to vassals that are so angry with you that they won't leave the Faction when they gain the title. If you have a vassal ally, check to see if you can break the alliance with an enforced divorce; also look to see what vassals you can harass with Seduction schemes (but be sure to get caught).
Usually, if you put yourself in a Faction war that you need Mercenaries to win, but don't buy the mercs and instead just keep the war even for a few years, every other Faction will fire too and then you can buy the mercs and defeat the Factions in turn.

[Aigle édenté]

I don't quite understand you. Won't eliminating claimants prevent the faction war ?
What do you mean by "building in the rebel territory" ? Do you refer to where the dissidents will be when the war starts ?
And about vassal allies are you saying that having allies hinders the faction war ?

[endymionologist]

Vassals who hate you can join different kinds of Factions, and vassals that are your allies cannot join any Factions. Some vassals that want to join a faction against you will join a Claimant Faction organized around someone with a Claim, if you extinguish that Faction by murdering the Claimant, its members may look for other Factions to join, and more vassals generally will want to destroy you. Many vassal allies will be characters that like you enough to stay out of Factions anyway, so being messy when breaking those alliances will help make them hate you.

[Aigle édenté]

And what about the war on the pope ? Does anybody have a clue ?

[Delta-Kilo]

If you've already been dragged into the war, there's no leaving it. As long as you aren't on the 'defender' side, there's no penalty for ignoring it until it's conclusion, provided you don't have a border with the Papal States.
As for prompting the Dissolution faction to attack you, try to arrest a faction member you have 0% chance of catching. They will immediately declare war on you and every other member of the faction will join in (and more besides as well). I don't know if that would prompt the type of war you need for the achievement, but it will prompt a war.
Alternatively, work to tick off powerful nobles who've different culture/religion than yourself, particularly on the outskirts of your territory.

[Aigle édenté]

Originally posted by Delta-Kilo:

Alternatively, work to tick off powerful nobles who've different culture/religion than yourself, particularly on the outskirts of your territory.

You mean nobles of a different culture or religion who are also my vassals ?

[Delta-Kilo]

Originally posted by Aigle édenté:

Originally posted by Delta-Kilo:

Alternatively, work to tick off powerful nobles who've different culture/religion than yourself, particularly on the outskirts of your territory.

You mean nobles of a different culture or religion who are also my vassals ?

Correct; they, particularly if they are not 'de jure' parts of your kingdom/empire, would be most prone to joining dissolution factions.