Quote Originally Posted by jan_boruta View Post
EDIT: There is one big issue on my mind - the Kingdom of Arles. At this point it is included as a vassal of France, which is:
a) probably better for balance and to make France a viable faction
b) totally not historical
Arles was incorporated into the HRE in 11th century and the Emperors were crowned Kings of Arelat. Upper Burgundy (the parts with Dijon) came under French influence early enough to warrant Burgundy as a vassal of France from the game start, but the rest of Arles remained in Imperial hands until much later. The earliest (within the mod's time frame) territorial change is the cession of Provence to the house of Anjou in 1246, and other parts - such as Lyon and Dauphine - only were incorporated to France in mid-14th century. There are three ways I think:
1) keep Arles as a vassal of France for game balance
2) make Arles a vassal of the HRE, but with "same blood"/confederation trait as France
3) break Arles up into Provence and Dauphine - Provence a vassal of France, Dauphine a vassal of the HRE. This would necessitate the change of the name of the city of Lyon to Vienne or Grenoble. (or to rename Dauphine into Lyonnais, but I'm probably too lazy to make a new faction symbol)

I don't know, maybe I'm just stirring it unnecessarily, but it bothers me to no end.

Also, should Flanders start as a vassal of France?
Yeah, it is a bit ahistorical to have Arles as a vassal of France.

Maybe just make Arles a military ally of France and the HRE? It was arguably autonomous enough not to be a vassal of either at the time. That way France should still gain the support of Arles in any conflict.

I don't think Flanders should be a vassal of France - there was influence there but no direct control.