About 'Revoke the Privilegia'

[the_sleeper54]

So, I'm playing as Austria, and I'm doing pretty well. Just hit 1600 and almost have enough Authority to pass 'Revoke the Privlegia.' I've currently got 39 princes in the HRE. I've been pretty good about limiting the expansion of princes from getting out of hand. I had a personal union with Burgundy and integrated them, and also inherited Bohemia. I haven't really done much blobbing outside of that. Had two very successful wars against the Big Blue Blob, and killed their presitge bad enough that they lost their personal unions with Aragon and Denmark. I'm confident I can get most members to pass 'Revoke the Privlegia', but there are a few princes who really, really do not like me. Specififically Brandenburg, Bavaria, and the Hansa seriously hate me. I'd like to bring them to heel so they will pass the reform and not be an issue for me once I unify the HRE. Are there any good ways to get this done?

[Narf]

Make sure they share your religion. Improve relations to the maximum. Amass imperial authority - you can play the old "release vassal - annex vassal - repeat"-game for that. If their size is an issue and they hold cores of other, small nations, then cut them down to size - is what I would've said if you did not already pass the Landfriede reform. If they have rivals outside the HRE, share their rivals. Get the diplomatic +5 advisor.

[the_sleeper54]

good advice. how do i get them to convert to catholic if they're an elector? that's one thing about the HRE that irks me...they still have 'elector' status even after the status doesn't mean anything.

[Narf]

That is something you want to take care of before you invoke the Landfriede. Since you cannot use your emperor powers to make an elector convert you have to use extended diplomatic means - meaning you dump your army on their head and force convert them. Cropping all your princes to the right size and force converting electors is all something you have to do before the Landfriede. I also had to learn this the hard way the first time I played with the HRE.

[the_sleeper54]

yeah...looks like i made more work for myself, but at least i got to have the satisfaction of humiliating France twice.

[the_sleeper54]

i actually got every member to vote for it! i had to use bestow imperial grace, but i was able to enforce religious unity with bavaria, which got me a huge chunk of imperial authority. it's only 1606, too, so i'll have lots of time to play with my massive overpowered supernation.

[jords321]

a tip for if you do the HRE again, give the electors to the archbishop goverment types, they cant convert

[Narf]

Nice to hear it worked out. Yeah, being HRE emperor with second last reform in place is pretty much a "faceroll all the things!". I like declaring war on nations and just watching all those dozens small armies swarm out and just roll over everything like an unstoppable wave. They can sometimes be a bit silly - like stockpiling 200 regiments in one province and siege everything else with single-digit armies, though. And all the while you just sit back and watch the show, while your soldiers can just stay home.

In my current HRE game I went to war with Russia, Castille and Lithuania. The swarm still made it a piece of cake.