Keeping My Family Alive...

[SRT]

I'm going to color-code this message. Relevant information will be presented in Red. History and aimless bantering with remain black. If you're limited on time, please just read the RED TEXT.

I'm playing as the Lithuanians on the Early Campaign with Longer Assimilation and Savage AI (Very Hard / Very Hard).

I knew Prussia was going to be an uncontrollable area for me in the beginning of the game. I've tried fighting Poland, Novgorod, Kiev, Hungary, Denmark, and Norway all together before... Needless to say, with my settings and starting location, it really can't be done. So I moved location, took my whole starting force (plus some Lithuanian cavalry) across the sea to Sweden on mercenary cogs.

First, I destroyed Norway, ending the Norwegian bloodline before I could seduce or bribe any of it into my family tree. Then I destroyed Denmark. I would have gotten some Danish blood in the family, if they had any generals aside from the Prince and King. Once I owned Scandinavia and North Denmark, I moved west in ships to Britain.

The Scottish had been pushed onto the Continent by the English; and I struggled to slay the English and drive them from the island. (It helped that their AI didn't seem to register Ireland as viable land until I took it. Holding Ireland, I raided Winchester, Inverness, and other locations, avoiding England's huge armies as best I could. Soon, England was losing money on their standing armies; and while I couldn't hold many of their cities, I kept ordering my men to exterminate populations and destroy buildings. Long story short, Britain became the meaty red of Lithuania.

I still don't have any English blood; but the English maintain their empire by one castle on the Continent, ironically just next to Scotland's only remaining settlement. I allied with the French (who are apparently apostate by Rome's standards), the Cumans, and the Egyptians (who are massive right now!).

Here is where my family first started to wane. Before I knew what was happening, I only had three generals "Of Lithuanian Blood"; all were old and two of them were unmarried; so I panicked. But, luckily, a bride was presented to the "Fertile" general and he had four children. So I managed to save my Lithuanian bloodline, barely. Also, one of my princesses eventually swayed a pure Frenchman to our cause. Soon, her son had "Of Lithuanian Blood" and "Of French Blood" as traits. He is my best commander yet, but I've been surprised that he's been unable to find a bride (he's now 35).

I must save this general's bloodline(s). He's Fertile; so he should be able to have many children.

When I first swayed the Frenchman to my service, there were many, many daughters growing to young adults in my family, but as they "Come of Age" they get a strange portrait of a woman in a brown coif with a tiara and do not become princesses or even become available as presentable brides. Twice, recently, I've received notice that bachelorettes are "Past Child-Bearing Age", despite the fact that many of my generals (adopted and otherwise) are unmarried!

The king himself is unmarried! The prince (who's the Frenchie's kid) is unmarried! A girl in the prince's family just "Came of Age" but is not a princess (I'm assuming that's because she has to be the king's daughter to be one). Still, why can't the unrelated king (he's from a different line) marry her?

How do I save my bloodlines? I need the Lithuanian and French blood; it makes men loyal (and it's my own aristocracy, which is nifty)!

Help my save my digital family, please! Any advice will be well-received.

Right now, I see that Novgorod has destroyed Poland and moved west and east, making peace with the invading Mongols and allying with powerful Kiev and the Roman Empire. Novgorod keeps trying to take Arhus and Visby, but both locations are well-defended by siege, Dievas' Guard, and Baltic spearmen. So I've set my sights to the East, to reclaiming what was mine in the beginning, plus interest. I'd really like to do that with a mixed descendant of King Mindaugas and King Philip I.

[Rilder]

I think 6.3 has some serious "Family" issues (so to speak). In my Fatmid campaign the Fatmids died out because they would hardly ever get married and have children to the point they got to old to even have children before they even had any. In spite holding oodles of more provinces then living family members.

Even when I had only 3 living family members it took like 5 years old for an unmarried member to take a wife and in like 10 turns he only had one daughter... (Getting adoption popups every turn but declining cause I wanted to try and get a new dynasty started.)

Another example, back in an old french campaign my royal line could only be maintained through royal marriages because they wouldn't ever get marriage requests.

So, in my eyes there is some bug or some unintended consequence with the mod that really makes it near impossible to keep families growing strong.

[Lugiahua]

well...if you don't mind use cheats, you can try following...
give_trait this Fertile 3
give_trait this WifeIsFertile 3
give_trait this WifeIsCharming 3

[Gnostiko]

well...if you don't mind use cheats, you can try following...
give_trait this Fertile 3
give_trait this WifeIsFertile 3
give_trait this WifeIsCharming 3

I think traits like that are irrelevant; I've seen couples with a hell of a lot of negative traits (plus high age) have children, when by all rights it should be younger couples with better traits having children.

[midget_roxx]

Don't accept promotions/adoptions

[Ichon]

You need to kill off generals not of Lithuanian and French blood or old and already had children. Right now you've got 3 + 4 from the princess and French FM. You probably have 20+ provinces so if you reduce your number of FM below 10 you should get your 3 youngsters married and producing children immediately when they come of age. It will take 2 generations to replenish but that can go pretty fast.

Naturally refuse adoptions even if the guy is awesome unless somehow he has the right blood trait(not sure if that ever happens). More princesses might come of age as well and you can use them to reach your goals quicker. I'm not totally sure how the game figures princess numbers because sometimes I go decades without a princess despite having daughters born and less generals than provinces then other times I get 4 princess in a row in a short period despite having too many FM for provinces already.

[SRT]

Thanks Rilder, Gnostiko, and Ichon!

I think I have the information I need.

By the way, does anyone know if there will be an update to SS anytime soon or is the mod "finished"?

[ShadowKiller2000]

Well I know PB is working on a new version of RR/RC to work with 6.3.

I think most of the 6.3 work is now bing done by Meneth and his fixes.

[Cyprexinia]

I think I managed to get a second bloodline of Venetian/Sicilian bloodlines going but it's extremly hard and annoying when your heir doesn't have kids but everyone else is

[ly0_ly0]

At times like this i wish i could assasinate my family members

[Arowaner]

At times like this i wish i could assasinate my family members

Me too. This is another feature that was fun and worked yet was taken out in ROME and MTW 2. In MTW 1 you where able to assasinate just about anyone IIRC.

Bring it back !

[Gnostiko]

At times like this i wish i could assasinate my family members

There is always the 1-ship fleet vs pirates....

[SRT]

Nothing seems to work to save my Fench / Lithuanian family. The current king (my Fertile, French / Lithuanian general) is also the "Heir Apparent", somehow. I got my entire family killed, but still I get no presented brides, just useless muts as "Candidates for Adoption".

I waited 8 turns, rejecting adoptees.

I think I'm done with SS until they can get their family system right.

What an epic waste of time!!

[worldsdead]

you must start game by only marring king and prince. leave other genrals as bachlors since if they do marry and have kids the woman clog the tree and can only marry non family members presented to them. sucks but it's hardcoded.
the trait cheats do work!!! if he's married!! four kids will pop out very fast, if you have enough territories of course (again not ss, tw flaw) i will always in beggining and in expansion periods marry princess to royal uncles, cousins, and nephews. it really helps if you can marry all prince's to foriegn blood then interbreed. i've had kings with spanish, portguese, danish, norway, and french blood. all while scottish! like ichon said as generals become old or are on outskirts of tree feel free to kill them or use them rashly . I have been known to take 50+ year old kings on suicide missions because i'm ready for son to become king and his son to start breeding before to old. on a side note when doing this kings become hard to kill lol. but you'll gain territory, increasing births, even if you can't hold them. my crusades are often missions to kill king and gain territories to continue line.

[SRT]

you must start game by only marring king and prince. leave other genrals as bachlors since if they do marry and have kids the woman clog the tree and can only marry non family members presented to them. sucks but it's hardcoded.
the trait cheats do work!!! if he's married!! four kids will pop out very fast, if you have enough territories of course (again not ss, tw flaw) i will always in beggining and in expansion periods marry princess to royal uncles, cousins, and nephews. it really helps if you can marry all prince's to foriegn blood then interbreed. i've had kings with spanish, portguese, danish, norway, and french blood. all while scottish! like ichon said as generals become old or are on outskirts of tree feel free to kill them or use them rashly . I have been known to take 50+ year old kings on suicide missions because i'm ready for son to become king and his son to start breeding before to old. on a side note when doing this kings become hard to kill lol. but you'll gain territory, increasing births, even if you can't hold them. my crusades are often missions to kill king and gain territories to continue line.

Well, maybe I was harsh with SS. I'll try your formula. Only marry within the royal family, right? All non-Of - Blood shall be always single and usually dead.

[guyverlance]

just always marry your king or heir (whoever is single) then let the family member spam begin!

[Losthief]

never adopt...marry ur princess to ur family and it works...adoption is the death cry of ur royal line...they always breed faster...which suxs....cool thing tho with this...is u can start a new family line 'dynasty' if ur's dies out...so theres that.

[The1Unwanted]

You could walk up to a princess of another faction with your diplomat and make an offer that she marries with your faction heir or king.

[Hyaweh]

You could walk up to a princess of another faction with your diplomat and make an offer that she marries with your faction heir or king.

it comes w/ an alliance to boot

[Epzilon]

I'm sorry hijacking the thread, but I have a few questions regarding families and such in 6.3. I usually always accept adoptions and marry princesses to other people besides my generals to get new blood in the faction. Why is this a bad thing?