User Guide

71
countries with a royal marriage will form
a "personal union" when one of the rul-
ers dies. This is a situation where both na-
tions are governed by the surviving ruler
for the remainder of his lifespan. The
country whose ruler has died becomes the
"junior" member of the union and cannot
make any new alliances or royal marriages
during this time. It is also unable to con-
vert its ruler into a general for use in com-
bat. Otherwise, each realm continues to
operate independently; during this time,
they will have a superb relationship and
are prohibited from declaring war on one
another. When the surviving ruler dies,
the personal union is dissolved and each
country will receive a new, independent
ruler.
• There is also a very small chance of a suc
-
cession war breaking out when a ruler of a
country that has two or more royal mar-
riages dies. The country will immediately
decide to form a personal union with one
of two competing nations and a war will
ensue to attempt to enforce this. The nor-
mal penalties and restrictions on going
to war are ignored in this situation, since
it is an issue of dynastic disagreement;
however all diplomatic ties between the
competing factions (such as alliances or
royal marriages) are immediately can-
celled. The war will continue until one
side agrees to a peace where it renounces
its claim to the vacant throne.
Offer Alliance/Dissolve
Alliance
Alliances were another form of relationship
that could be created between realms in this
time period. Although these would become far
more complex at the beginning of the 19
th
cen-
tury involving large multi-national pacts that
operated as “grand alliances”, for our purposes
each alliance is treated as a bilateral pact to
come to one another’s aid during times of war.
Click the “offer alliance” button to send a
diplomat to propose the agreement. There will
be a delay as your emissary presents the offer;
the country’s decision will be based primarily
on your existing relationship, your ruler’s di-
plomacy attribute, your country’s prestige and
reputation, and to a lesser degree on your eco-
nomic and military might.
There are no general restrictions placed on
which nations may form alliances, though it is
less likely that an offer will be accepted if you
have conflicting religions. If the alliance is re-
fused, there will be a small reduction in the re-
lationship between the two realms. If accepted,
you will now have a commitment to assist one
another in any wars that might ensue.
There are two situations where an alliance
will be impossible:
• A country that is a vassal to another coun
-
try may only form an alliance with its
"overlord". It cannot offer an alliance to any
other country; nor may another country
(other than its overlord) send an offer ask-
ing it to become an ally.
• A country that is the "junior" member of a
personal union cannot form new alliances
or accept offers of alliance. Only the "sen-
ior" member of a personal union may do
so.
Allies share a great deal of information with
one another, resulting in the fog of war being
lifted from provinces that are controlled by an
ally. You will be aware of the exact locations
of an ally's armies, and will be able to see any
other nations' troops that might enter an ally's
provinces; however, this relationship does not
automatically grant permission for each coun-
try's armies or fleets to enter the other coun-
try's territory. You will need to use a separate
diplomatic action to request military access to
your ally's realm.
When a country becomes involved in a war,
any allies of that country will be required to de-
cide whether to support that ally. AI countries
will make this decision automatically based on
a variety of factors that include the relation-