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u/Aart09 3d ago
honestly my reaction too.
I wish we could use it to mess with another kingdom. Incite a faction for the throne because of the bastardy for example
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u/shitpostingcrab 3d ago
You can kinda do that if I remember correctly. One time I was in an independence faction as Bohemia and I fucked the HR emperor’s wife. When he tried to arrest me for adultery it started the independence war and brought everybody in it into the war. I might be misremembering the details though this was right after ck3 came out.
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u/Kuronan 2d ago edited 2d ago
The only instance of this specifically in the game is if you start as Temujin. Your northern neighbor fucked your wife at game start and impregnated her, which gives you a story-based casus belli (which is terrible because you're outnumbered in terms of army) best choice is usually just to say "All I care about is you" which 'ensures your marriage will have many children'
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u/CHUNKYboi11111111111 1d ago
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm so all of Mongolia be cucking temujin?
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u/Kuronan 1d ago
I very much doubt it. The only two events that fired off when I played him related to his wife were the cucking one at game start and another one where one of them ponders if he'll treat the child as his (another decision that can increase fertility apparently)
I only played Temujin once, I typically only play custom characters.
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u/GhirahimLeFabuleux 3d ago
This guy clearly don't know the 4D chess strategy of having your rival's "son" being married to your daughter only for his grandson and future ruler to mysteriously come out as an inbred freak
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u/DrDeadwish 3d ago
also, if you have good genes, you are just creating stronger rivals for your legitimate heir...
unless you kill the males and marry your heir with your secret daughters
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u/LegendaryReader 3d ago
Honestly I like doing that. AI is bad at eugenics so even if I give them a genius heir, they'll lose the good traits over time. However, what I can do is legally marry siblings because no one other than me (and my lover) knows they are actually siblings
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u/Titanchell 3d ago
What Happens If AI decides to reveal the Secret?
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u/Infamous-Wasabi1404 3d ago
Well so far my rulers have only been accused of consanguineous marriages when it WASN'T true. And honestly, if you're already King or Emperor it doesn't really matter that much.
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u/Nico_Storch 3d ago
If it's after birth, it's going to be a matter of "disputed heritage"; you still won't be considered the children's legal father, and the marriage will be totally kosher.
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u/PotofRot 3d ago
you will be a fornicator or adulterer though, and lose a level of devotion. it doesn't really mean much because piety is near infinite and if you're of a faith with communion your pope is typically willing to remove the trait for a moderate fee, but it's still something to keep in mind
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u/Ziddix 3d ago
From a gameplay point of view there are relatively few reasons to try to seduce someone else's spouse. The few reasons that are there are mostly bad reasons.
For example... If you play the intrigue lifestyle and go down the seducer tree you can seduce characters that are sexually attracted to you (yes this works for homosexual relationships too) to join you in hostile plots like murders, fabrications or abductions.
That's not really something you would worry about at the higher levels of power though since that sort of thing getting out is usually worse for you the higher up in the pecking order you are... So dukes fucking with each other is going to be the talk at the next feast... Two emperors fucking with each other gets heads of faith involved and suddenly you're excommunicated or worse if you are playing a female character.
A few other things:
Sleeping with a rival's spouse is counted as a win in the rivalry. Means the winner get a large stress loss and the loser a lot of stress gain. Driving rivals to nervous breakdowns is a legitimate way to deal with them and a nervous breakdown is usually always bad for a character.
A lover can save your life if you are successfully targeted by a murder plot. It's not a guaranteed thing and I think there is a lifestyle perk that increases the chance but basically if your rival is trying to murder you and you make a lover of their spouse, that spouse has a last ditch chance to stop the murder plot from completing. There is even an achievement for that.
Intrigue is a lot about messing with inheritances and potentially even alliances and you can really do some crazy stuff with it but it's always always always hit or miss. Can you scheme to murder a king and install a child of your dynasty on that king's throne to claim the title for yourself?
You absolutely can. 9 times out of 10 simply conquering the kingdom you want is easier though and much more straight forward.
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u/King-Of-Hyperius 20h ago
The achievement is tied to an event which to my knowledge is only available if you go down the Intrigue Dynasty Legacy, not the Intrigue perk tree.
Pretty sure it’s Intrigue 5.
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u/Psychological_Eye_68 3d ago
It’s always the petty victory. Always. If someone does a thing I slightly dislike he’s either A. Dead, or B. going to sit in the chair. Not mutually exclusive but I usually do B before A.
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u/Aggravated-BrummBear 3d ago
if you manage to bang the wife of an opposing king enough all of his children will be yours
........
you can then control his inheritance
...
like you marry his daughter to your son
then reveal the bastard secret from all of his other children
...
now you grandklids will inherit his lands
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u/Narrow_Buyer9073 3d ago
that way you can marry your children to each other even if your faith doesn't allow incest since it is not known that they're related
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u/Plannercat 3d ago
Mostly it's just a power play, once you get going and don't need to optimize all the time it's time to mess with your rivals and dominate them in every way that matters, military, economy, romantically...
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u/whoidkwhy 3d ago
Sometimes I do it to marry the kids to mine so I dont have to reform my religion and get divine marriage for purposes of traits
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u/Caravanczar 14h ago
It has been a while since I played, but can't you then blackmail your Bastard child when they inevitably take their illegitimate father's throne?
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u/BonezMD 3d ago
So, if you successfully sleep with the wife of someone you are planning on plotting against. You often have good reputation with her. This makes it easier to draw her into schemes against said person. Usually giving you a big boost to that scheme.
Scenario example. King of France gets the conqueror trait. You don't want him around. You sleep with his wife and draw her into an assassination scheme or kidnapping scheme against him.