First of all, Paradox should strive to avoid ahistorical outcomes.
The bridefinding system as well as the system for getting and administering new lands outside your culture/religion/language should be reformed heavily.
First of all, it should be harder to find brides outside your geography and cultural group. Another group of court position should be introduced, which should be under Chancellor (expanding the government system somewhat), with emissaries. Each emissary, which is basically a travelling diplomat with an entourage costs, very much like the assassination missions, but at a cheaper price and with no risk to piety at all. These emissaries, or rather representative and well-funded delegations should stake out a range of objective destinations, up to say 1-6 courts (capacity decided by Diplomacy skill). Each court would provide a short-list of brides to court for marriage, and the chance of success should be dictated by culture, language, religion as well as relation between the two parties. Dowry should be negotiated as well in this model, in order to add more planning on the candidate level, not on the mass screening level. Land, gold as well as alliance treaties and annual payments should be part of this. This era had living blood as the signature of a contract, brides. Peacetime diplomacy would be heavily improved with this model, and bride hunting would get a more interesting and historical feel.
Emissaries could also be used to headhunt new government members. Presently, there is Chancellor, Steward, Marshall, Spymaster and Diocese Bishop. These five should be expanded to include one more, somewhat to master planner or master builder, even architect, which would be a requirement for more advanced buildings, and a general bonus to building related assignments. Such a position would make the development of a realm even more person dependent, and would make the game also more interesting.
This should be possible to implement nicely.
Improving the endgame
I like the idea of making the time before the Battle of Stanford Bridge in 1066 the start date, as anything can happen there, and alterate outcomes for Northern Europe as well as France and beyond heavily. This concept should also be applied to the endgame as well. I find the conquest of Constantinople as well as the discovery of America as spurious end dates, same with the Gutenberg Bible. The Reformation, as well as the real creation of the Ottoman as well as Russian Empires should really define the endgame, as there is a need to add more drama and gameshifting elements towards the end, in order to avoid some boring bankrolling of prestige towards the end.
The map towards Iceland and Greenland needs to be expanded, as Iceland is broken short to the west, and Greenland is omitted altogether. Americas should be possible to find in this version, following the Iceland/Greenland route, but be abstracted as the far Northeast of Americas. One can also scrap a few of the Russian provinces farther to the east, making all territory stop by the Urals and Caucacus.
A more proper end date could be 1517, when Luther hammers up his 95 bullets. This coincides with the introduction of more absolutist monarchs as well as general centralization of power, and the introduction of more advanced firepower and sailing technology. This is also ahead of Cortez and other historical changes.
The bridefinding system as well as the system for getting and administering new lands outside your culture/religion/language should be reformed heavily.
First of all, it should be harder to find brides outside your geography and cultural group. Another group of court position should be introduced, which should be under Chancellor (expanding the government system somewhat), with emissaries. Each emissary, which is basically a travelling diplomat with an entourage costs, very much like the assassination missions, but at a cheaper price and with no risk to piety at all. These emissaries, or rather representative and well-funded delegations should stake out a range of objective destinations, up to say 1-6 courts (capacity decided by Diplomacy skill). Each court would provide a short-list of brides to court for marriage, and the chance of success should be dictated by culture, language, religion as well as relation between the two parties. Dowry should be negotiated as well in this model, in order to add more planning on the candidate level, not on the mass screening level. Land, gold as well as alliance treaties and annual payments should be part of this. This era had living blood as the signature of a contract, brides. Peacetime diplomacy would be heavily improved with this model, and bride hunting would get a more interesting and historical feel.
Emissaries could also be used to headhunt new government members. Presently, there is Chancellor, Steward, Marshall, Spymaster and Diocese Bishop. These five should be expanded to include one more, somewhat to master planner or master builder, even architect, which would be a requirement for more advanced buildings, and a general bonus to building related assignments. Such a position would make the development of a realm even more person dependent, and would make the game also more interesting.
This should be possible to implement nicely.
Improving the endgame
I like the idea of making the time before the Battle of Stanford Bridge in 1066 the start date, as anything can happen there, and alterate outcomes for Northern Europe as well as France and beyond heavily. This concept should also be applied to the endgame as well. I find the conquest of Constantinople as well as the discovery of America as spurious end dates, same with the Gutenberg Bible. The Reformation, as well as the real creation of the Ottoman as well as Russian Empires should really define the endgame, as there is a need to add more drama and gameshifting elements towards the end, in order to avoid some boring bankrolling of prestige towards the end.
The map towards Iceland and Greenland needs to be expanded, as Iceland is broken short to the west, and Greenland is omitted altogether. Americas should be possible to find in this version, following the Iceland/Greenland route, but be abstracted as the far Northeast of Americas. One can also scrap a few of the Russian provinces farther to the east, making all territory stop by the Urals and Caucacus.
A more proper end date could be 1517, when Luther hammers up his 95 bullets. This coincides with the introduction of more absolutist monarchs as well as general centralization of power, and the introduction of more advanced firepower and sailing technology. This is also ahead of Cortez and other historical changes.
