How do I increase plot power and what determines someone's percent effect on a plot?

[rikkitikki]

So it seems whenever I want to kill some annoying vassal who's ruining all my plans I hover over the Plot to Kill button and see the odds are often only like 20 or 30%. I don't know what those percentages mean exactly (percent of what? anyone care to explain?) but I know it means I don't really have any chance at all of the deed being done. Besides planting my spymaster in the vassals territory is there something I can do to increese the number of people who will be predisposed to taking part in the plot? I realize it probably has to do with whether they have something to gain from the death but is there anything I can do to influence that? Other than the bribes I mean. What bout if I promote a commander or invite a noble to court? Would they be likely buddies of mine who will go along with my plans? Any advice from the wise would be appreciated.

Also, why do some characters have so much more ability to help the plot (higher percentage) than others? Proximity to the target or somesuch?

Lastly, any tips on who NOT to choose? I figure the gregarious types are bad choices since they are apt to run their mouths at social gatherings. I'm guessing the red vices like lust and gluttony are possible bad choices, too, since it connotes a lack of discipline but that's only a guess. Even with those precautions it seems I still get outted more than half the time.

Thanks for any wisdom!

[Langkard]

They aren't percentages. I can go off on a long rant about why that was a stupid idea on some dev's part. But I'll instead just direct you to the wiki for plots and assassinations. Should answer all of the above questions, including what traits to choose and how plot power works in general and specifically for assasinations. (It is not a percentage, Paradox! Fix it!).

http://www.ckiiwiki.com/Objectives#Plots
http://www.ckiiwiki.com/Assassination

[rikkitikki]

Thanks! Very helpful! Though after reading the wiki I feel it's incomplete in the area of traits that lead to discovery. The wiki only lists slow, imbecile and lunatic and I'm pretty sure I would not have invited such characters to my plots so I suspect there are other traits at work. It also doesn't explain why some characters have higher plot power than others which I would like to know given the wide range of powers often seen. If anyone has a clue on this I'd be fascinated to hear...

[Langkard]

The assassination page explains that. How much plot power a character contributes to the plot depends mostly on intrigue. Higher intrigue means more power. I don't think the actual multiplier for that is know. If the target is a ruler, characters on the target's council have their intrigue-based plot power doubled; even a count, as long as he or she has a council. If the target is a child, then the regent and/or guardian will also get doubled plot power.

Discovery is covered in that section also. I think you mean having the plot outed by one of the conspirators instead? Discovery is just the chance that the target will find out himself. I don't think I've seen any in-depth study of how the too-talkative plotter mechanic works. The chance of a plotter blabbing and telling everyone about the plot seems to be dependent upon the kind of traits you might expect. Drunkard, gregarious, possessed, proud, etc. would be the kinds of traits which might cause someone to talk about the plot. Paranoid and shy, though, would seem to do the opposite. I don't think anyone knows for certain.

[DETECTIVE BONGHITS]

Intrigue and trait determines plotters usefulness, for example type add_intrigue 100 and see how much your plot will reach.

[rikkitikki]

Thanks. Makes sense it would be based on intrigue rating. As for discovery, yes, I meant having the plot outed by a blabbermouth conspirator or one of the henchmen after the fact (e.g., the carriage driver or the person who sold the snake) which I find happens pretty frequently. I would say about a third to half the time, does this sound consistent with everyone else? I have stayed away from the vices you mentioned but I still get a blabbermouth now and then, plus a cowardly informant or somesuch. In talking about it it occurs to me I probably should have looked out for good stewardship or learning, people who are less prone to mistakes - but that's just my theory for today. I'll see if it holds up by tomorrow. :)

[rikkitikki]

Lord Apy - not sure how to type in modifiers to the game like that. Is this something people do regularly? Not sure I want to mess with the innards (I guess it's what they call a cheat) but I'm curious how it is done.

[Jocke]

The plot mechanic is one that I think still could use some work from Paradox. For example, it's ludacris that I can start a plot to kill Duke X and get his wife's support, and then succeed but be discovered and have his wife hate me for killing her husband.

I don't know exactly how the formula works, but the target's intrigue score has an impact as well. It is much easier to kill targets with low intrigue scores than targets with high intrigue.

As for what you can do to increase plot power, I think that sending your spymaster there to build a spy network and bribing potential plot backers are virtually the only two things you can do. Improving your own and/or your spymasters intrigue score helps of course, but it's a strategy that's entirely dependent on luck.

Inviting the target's courtiers to you court wont help since if they accept they'll no longer be at the target's court and able to help out with the plot.

You can cheat of course, in which case you can just kill the character off with a command and not plot at all. If you want to kill him with a plot you could try to remove the traits of the target that increases his courtiers' opinion of him (kind, gregarious, just and so on).

You cheat by typing commands into the console. I guess how you access it varies with your keyboard, but on my Swedish keyboard it's the § button to the left of the main keyboards numbers setup. If that doesn't work for you just google CKII cheat console, and CKII cheats to find the commands you need to use.

[rikkitikki]

OK thanks for that explanation, Jocke. Yeah, the whole plot thing is one of my least favorite parts of the game. Not so much the concept, but the way the designed it. Even the vocabulary (plot power?) seems gamey and despite the risks of getting caught seems acrtually less dangerous than I think it would be in RL even back then. I do like the idea of basing a plot on character traits, both the conspirators and the target, and I even like that we can't quite figure out "the formula." That part seems (frustratingly) real. :)

[rikkitikki]

With regard to the cheat thing, I find it interesting that such things exist, and the people engage in them. To me it kind of defeats the whole point of playing. Ah well to each their own...

[Langkard]

Don't use the console if you play ironman. It changes the checksum and disables ironman, meaning no achievements.

I generally don't worry too much about getting outed as a murderer, except when plotting against family. I use assassinations when necessary and killing the target is more important than getting the -10 opinion penalty for being a known murderer. I do tend to stay with Grey Eminence rulers when possible, however; so, the high diplomacy stat makes up for the negative opinion easily. I'd rather succeed at an assassination and have it revealed and make people angry than have too few plotters and fail over and over.