CK3 currently has some serious balance issues related to levies, vassals, and retinues (or Men-at-arms as they're called here).
Men at arms limits are limited only by your budget and technology, and money is relatively plentiful if you have lots of holdings. Your vassals by and large don't give you much of anything, a 10 county loyal duke vassal will give you about the same number of troops as a holding, and a few cents a year.
In addition to this, the partition inheritance law always reduces you to 1 holding and you can't change that inheritance law until much later in the game. This means immediately upon succeeding the throne, every kingdom heir will immediately have 50% to fewer troops and angry vassals. So every single inheritance immediately leads to an independence war, a downgrade of crown authority several times, and then invasion from all their neighbors.
If on the other hand you have built a massive men at arms force to make up for your loss of holdings, you won't have the money to maintain it.
For this reason, I would like to propose an entirely different system for vassals and war. Vassals do not provide levies at all, vassals join your war as allies. Let me explain:
Vassals should determine the context of the war and follow particular behaviors. One score should be the interest the vassal has in the war.
If it's a defensive war targeting their territory, they get a +1000 modifier and always join the war.
Their relations with you are a modifier, so if their relations with you are +54 that's the modifier
If they would get land from an offensive war, they also get a +1000 modifier.
If the war would weaken a rival in the kingdom in a defensive war, they get a -50 modifier
If they share a border or would come to share a border with the hostile kingdom in a defensive war if they won, they feel threatened and get a +50 modifier
If it's an offensive war, there is an automatic -20 modifier
If you offer the vassal a favor you can get a +20 modifier
If a vassal contributes significantly to the war they can get a favor from you in the war.
Some vassals who don't want to join the war but are sneaky and join the war but then don't do anything and avoid combat, they just wanted favors or money to get them into the war.
Rivals or people who hate you may take the opportunity to switch sides, procuring favors and promises of a cut of your land when you lose. For instance if someone invades claiming your whole kingdom, a vassal who hates you could offer to switch sides in exchange for a piece of what you have.
If a vassal joins the war but then their modifier drops below positive during the course of the war, the vassal will return their army to their territories and act defensively, and will not help you.
Men at arms limits are limited only by your budget and technology, and money is relatively plentiful if you have lots of holdings. Your vassals by and large don't give you much of anything, a 10 county loyal duke vassal will give you about the same number of troops as a holding, and a few cents a year.
In addition to this, the partition inheritance law always reduces you to 1 holding and you can't change that inheritance law until much later in the game. This means immediately upon succeeding the throne, every kingdom heir will immediately have 50% to fewer troops and angry vassals. So every single inheritance immediately leads to an independence war, a downgrade of crown authority several times, and then invasion from all their neighbors.
If on the other hand you have built a massive men at arms force to make up for your loss of holdings, you won't have the money to maintain it.
For this reason, I would like to propose an entirely different system for vassals and war. Vassals do not provide levies at all, vassals join your war as allies. Let me explain:
Vassals should determine the context of the war and follow particular behaviors. One score should be the interest the vassal has in the war.
If it's a defensive war targeting their territory, they get a +1000 modifier and always join the war.
Their relations with you are a modifier, so if their relations with you are +54 that's the modifier
If they would get land from an offensive war, they also get a +1000 modifier.
If the war would weaken a rival in the kingdom in a defensive war, they get a -50 modifier
If they share a border or would come to share a border with the hostile kingdom in a defensive war if they won, they feel threatened and get a +50 modifier
If it's an offensive war, there is an automatic -20 modifier
If you offer the vassal a favor you can get a +20 modifier
If a vassal contributes significantly to the war they can get a favor from you in the war.
Some vassals who don't want to join the war but are sneaky and join the war but then don't do anything and avoid combat, they just wanted favors or money to get them into the war.
Rivals or people who hate you may take the opportunity to switch sides, procuring favors and promises of a cut of your land when you lose. For instance if someone invades claiming your whole kingdom, a vassal who hates you could offer to switch sides in exchange for a piece of what you have.
If a vassal joins the war but then their modifier drops below positive during the course of the war, the vassal will return their army to their territories and act defensively, and will not help you.
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