You can argue it either way, but you're sacrificing long term IA and monarch points for extra expansion opportunities early. Each of the OPM that don't leave you end up ahead on IA after 20 years, if the prince has two provinces it's 40 years, 3 then 60, etc. You also don't have to pay monarch points to get that dev if it never leaves the HRE. Instead you can spend your MP coring land that's all gain instead of short term gain, long term loss.
I've honestly never had that happen, usually the alliance keeps them from wanting to piss me off.
They have behaved all game, but theres nowhere to expand to now, super Muscovy is a match so they aren't taking it, and of course Ottomans on the other side. They were my only big ally since Spain had just been PUed and was not quite loyal yet so I bet the AI decided I could not contain them.
May have to, or try to avoid attacking France until Ottomans are at war already.
Yeah, that's the death spiral, just doesn't usually tend to come from Castile because they get the wedding so often, at that point it's pretty hard for them to be too aggressive for what's around them.
With hindsight maybe, but that kind of thing is a lot harder to predict, sometimes you can win those kinds of wars before anyone else thinks you're too weak. Sometimes you can't, but you learn a lot from trying even if you lose an ironman run out of it. I'm not going to judge too much one way or another.
But not under control of a country in the HRE, unless you do the exploit to get Venice in the HRE.
Sure, but that's only a problem for the small IA drain. It has no impact on the Shadow Kingdom.
I looked it up, apparently your correct. Less warscore needed and less of a truce timer if you are doing multiple wars with Venice.
For PU you need to have the same dynasty, unless they are habsburg already all you can aim for is giving them a habsburg.
Yes there's a chance, but it takes an extra diplo slot, it's not very likely, and it's land you'll already get through HRE mechanics. So I'd say it's not worth it.
