The Best Way To Control Your Vassals In Crusader Kings 3!

Vassal Management is one of the most important things you need to do in order to have a stable realm! These Must Know Vassal Management Tips will guide you through what you need to pay attention to when managing your vassals!

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Hi, I am ShadyEstablishments, but you can also just call me Shady or Chris! I am a YouTuber and Streamer dedicated to making your day more enjoyable and your Crusader Kings 3 playthrough much stronger! I started my Grand Strategy journey with Stellaris right after it was released and then really quickly graduated to Hearts of Iron 4 and Europa Universalis 4, but I was always put off by the huge learning curve that Crusader Kings 2 had! All of the tutorials on that topic seemed so cryptic to me that I decided that if no one can help me, I will help myself instead and this is why I am now trying to deliver the most important knowledge in Crusader Kings 3 easily to you so you can have just as much fun with the game as I have!
💜 xoxo ShadyEstablishments! 💜

[Derzull]

I prefer to give land to people that like me. I don't want to make my enemy stronger. A strong ruler must be loved and feared and if you can't have both, better be feared! Use the dread mechanic it's so worth it.

[BoloBouncer]

In CK2 I would control my vassals through my method of Vassal Anarchy.

For example - I have two Counts, each on far separate ends of the Byzantine Empire.

Give each Count a barony in the other Count's domain.

Then, if you can, make each of those Counts a Duke over the other's realm.

After that - just watch them go crazy trying to destroy one another.

[Goshak]

Made my sons kings of ireland, scotland, wales, finland, and norway, and they still waged war against their brother huh! Ungratedful

[darththomarius]

Depending on my character that's reigning, I'll go diplomacy or dread. But, I play to get the renown, so I install family as vassals first. When I take over, whoever is there, I'll leave them. If I take over and I'm over the limit, I still look for family first.

When my heir and second in line are of age, I give them a holding I don't make money on and put them on the council. They continue their own lifestyle trees if landed and on council. When I take over as one of them, it's less work.

I don't give anyone more than one title. If anyone, including family, is made a Duke, I keep them weak. I usually know a year before I die, so that frees me up to move titles around, even getting tyrant points that I didn't want previously. I retract vassals, even put others to death. My issue is, I want vassals that expand my land, but not holding too much land! I find that marriages work as it also keeps the land in my family as well as keep the peace. Certain counties I really like, so I won't make a duchy. Once I make empire, I start putting family as kings or set marriages. I promise them no title revocation, throw feasts, send gifts, befriend, give wards. They can fight each other, just leave me alone!

[DVineMe]

And the right tree in stewardship... So you can put yourself on wealth focus, get an extra 10% income and if you need it you can go down the right tree and get increased vassal, liege and councilor opinion, a tyranny modifier (or just don't be tyrannical?), even get a 20% levy increase (if ever you need cannon fodder), as well as a perk to make it less likely for vassals to join independence factions.

Stewardship's pretty much got it all really.

[ShadyEst]

I hope that you enjoyed the video! Feel free to let me know what I could change about my content in the future!

[CartWheelzOfRage]

I gave them a kingdom, a seat on the counsel, swayed them, took their daughter as a hostage and they still waged war against me lmao 😭

[jacksimpsonguitar]

After winning a civil war as byzantium i like to revole duchy titles and either give them to my best knights, my family or to heir of the duchy title. Works a treat.

[ashtonbarwick]

Civil war is a potential game ender. Thanks for this

[roberthudson]

The biggest things are:
a) try and keep your most powerful vassals content
b) be militarily stronger than your vassals (or have high dread), they will be less likely to revolt.
c) form alliances with one or two of your critical vassals, or always have a kid ready for an alliance/betrothal if needed. A well timed alliance can break up a faction, giving you time to strengthen.
d) if you revoke a title, grant it to a child, they will be unable to revolt for up to 18 years
e) if all else fails a murder can take out one problematic vassal and also potentially lead to a child replacing them, which brings d) into play.
f) finally as a last resort you can consider granting non de jure vassals independence which will get them out of any factions long enough for you to deal with the other faction members. Don't do this if another realm of higher rank than the vassal is nearby however; they may vassalize your ex-vassal.

[lorenzoperazzoni]

I’m sorry but I think you missed the chisiest and most fun ways to manage wassals, the first one, if you are an emperore, do not have duchy level vassals, give away entire kingdom or even 2 or 3 kingdom at the time, this will make the single vassal more powerfull, but way less powerfull than the 3 kingdom separetly, in my expirience by a half. The second one, witch assure you way less revolt, is to give away kindom like chunk of lend, to a duke, so he is going to have 40 or 60 count under him, with are going to bee in costant revolt, so you do not need to worry about that vassal at all, so potentialy, if you use this second strat to all your vassals, your vassals are never GONA BEE ABLE to rebel against you, becouse they have to deal with their own revolts.

[SeiriosMpakaoukas]

can i take from a vasal some regions for me or other vassals?If i try to remove his title i got tyranny and -80 opinion.One of my vassals cause of his rights after finishing wars got 4 regions.

[jgrowland]

If your Dukes are worried about your Counts rebelling, than they wont rebel against you!

[zackplog]

My biggest problem is when they go attacking each other. Trying to figure out how to get them to quit it and just play nice

[dallasbarnes]

This is the most fabulous ck3 content creator

[udikai]

my problem is no title bigger than empire 5 empire 25 kingdom in 55 years then i die then begin rebellion and claim wars

[myasin]

How should i fix " too many duchies " notification
That make my vassels angry at me (-300 opinion)
I hope someone help me 🥲

[azkkjhk]

i just did a world conquest changed the religion cause i wanted to restore the roman empire and now i have whole whole against me x.x
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