Earning More Settlements As a Vassal

[Zeebo]

Is there a better way to play the game? I am at Clan Rank 3, so I can't create huge armies and go off on my own, so I became a vassal for the Western Empire and I'm running around ransacking castles and towns with the larger armies, barely gaining any influence (Sacred Majesty -1 the entire time)

So I can't vote for myself to get the settlement. I was able to get one castle by chance, and lost it very shortly thereafter to a siege that was not defended by anyone else but my little <100 army.

What should I be doing?

[Jack Niggleson]

The way fief elections works is kind of inscrutable and not very fair. It seems to be a combination of your total influence, whether or not you helped take the fief and how much the ruler likes you. I think proximity to your other holdings might also be a factor, since the fiefs I've been awarded in my current playthrough are all right next to each other. I've never even been a candidate for castles I took on the other side of the map from my first fief.

[Zeebo]

Originally posted by Blastin' Ns:

The way fief elections works is kind of inscrutable and not very fair. It seems to be a combination of your total influence, whether or not you helped take the fief and how much the ruler likes you. I think proximity to your other holdings might also be a factor, since the fiefs I've been awarded in my current playthrough are all right next to each other. I've never even been a candidate for castles I took on the other side of the map from my first fief.

So what do I do after I've been given a castle? I should just defend it - but I tried that, and I was just steamrolled by the enemy AI while my people didnt move an inch to defend.

[Balan214]

Originally posted by Zeebo:

Originally posted by Blastin' Ns:

The way fief elections works is kind of inscrutable and not very fair. It seems to be a combination of your total influence, whether or not you helped take the fief and how much the ruler likes you. I think proximity to your other holdings might also be a factor, since the fiefs I've been awarded in my current playthrough are all right next to each other. I've never even been a candidate for castles I took on the other side of the map from my first fief.

So what do I do after I've been given a castle? I should just defend it - but I tried that, and I was just steamrolled by the enemy AI while my people didnt move an inch to defend.

when you join a faction and the ruler says blah blah serve me and we will serve you blah blah bs. when you join a faction you pretty much help advance them and do the legwork and get very little in return. thinking your fellow nobles will protect your lands? nah bruh thats a pipe dream

[Zeebo]

Originally posted by Balan214:

Originally posted by Zeebo:

So what do I do after I've been given a castle? I should just defend it - but I tried that, and I was just steamrolled by the enemy AI while my people didnt move an inch to defend.

when you join a faction and the ruler says blah blah serve me and we will serve you blah blah bs. when you join a faction you pretty much help advance them and do the legwork and get very little in return. thinking your fellow nobles will protect your lands? nah bruh thats a pipe dream

Can you point me to a good resource to creating and building your own kingdom?

[Ri0Rdian]

If you lost that castle and it was in a position where you would not be able to defend it ever be happy and hope you will not get it again, cause that can happen. Losing a fief nets you a nice - relation with everyone.
Got a castle in the middle of enemy territory (I REALLY did not want it but there is no way to say no), got taken back, over and over at least thrice. Hefty penalty to that.

ATM the way fiefs are awarded is a mystery, the last city I got with an army got awarded to someone who was not even there, already had a fief but everyone supported him so not even 300 influence could change that.

Edit:
Custom Kingdom is kinda hard because you will end up fighting multiple kingdoms at once ( I think up to 3), slowly over time. You have to hold long enough so they stop, which is most likely no easy feat.

[Tantalus]

Unless it's been patched out, get the perk "Everything has a price" in the trade skill. That enables you to buy fiefs in barter with other nobles. Last I checked, the perk was broken and allowed you to buy all the fiefs a lord has for only 1 coin, but if you don't like this, you can always offer more coin (i.e. whatever you think is a fair price for their fiefs) and they'll still accept.

It's basically a way of conquering the map (mostly) without bloodshed. I say "mostly" without because if you're buying fiefs from a faction you do not belong to, they may declare war on your faction once you own most of their fiefs. It also has several side effects, both good and bad. For one, buying a fief from a faction you do not belong to does not carry the rep penalty (with the enemy faction, I mean) that taking a fief in a siege does, and instead, actually gives you a pretty substantial rep gain with your own faction's ruling clan (if you are a vassal). Second, because you bought the fief with your own coin, it always goes straight to you - there is no vote on it and the ruler has no say (at least until someone initiates a reassignment vote). Third, any garrisoned troops or militia in the fief when you buy it become your troops, so you don't have to station new men there like you would after a successful siege, which makes defending it easier. Of course, because they're now *your* men, you have to feed and pay them, so it might be worth making sure a fief is profitable before buying it.

[Killiberke]

I have my own (huge) kingdom and it's just as frustrating there. My own (ruling) clan is tier 4 and I have 4 fiefs. I can not get more (even if I put in all the siege work myself). Some of the clans I recruited are tier 5 and one of them already has 5 fiefs.

My guess is that clans take turns until all of them have a number of fiefs that corresponds with their clan tier. I may be completely wrong too.

[Rogue]

I assemble the army, my personal army is 204 strong with almost all end game troops (hell 80 of them are Fian Hero Champions!) and I siege all these castles and I don't get any. The only castle I have is legit in the heart of the enemy empire and it only holds because it has a maxed out garrision so they leave it alone but it's a money pit. No matter how many castles and towns I take I don't get any of them. I mean hell our king holds half of ALL of our towns and castles and when I vote to change who owns it the king just gives it to himself again lol. If I vote for a castle he doesn't own he just takes it for himself now too. I tried to save scum to see if the people ever change and after 7 attempts it's the same 3 lords and the king wins every time.

[ile]

Influence is the biggest factor here. I've done a couple of playthroughs as a vassal and cheated some influence to start with, and I can tell you that having the most influence will grant you the most fiefs.

And in my experience then comes the factor how close your already owned fiefs are (you should be pretty much neighbors to be even a candidate).

And lastly, if the ruler likes you enough (and is not on the candidate list) + you have the influence to vote yourself, you will get the fief.

[Bomada]

only played as a vassel once and was northern empire ran around killing bandits and joining every army i could even though they rape your food supply got a castle and a town using 200 influance then left the kingdom kept the fiefs and completed the kingdom quest all at once but still rather create my own faction harder work more enjoyable but don't get vassels myself just a self sustaining by my clan