谋略

Intrigue is one of the two paths to victory used in both the Middle Ages and the Crusader Kings series. It is the more indirect one, focusing on defeating other characters through subterfuge.

Schemes

Any character can be targeted with a Scheme in accordance with the plans of the schemer. Each character can run one Hostile Scheme and one Personal Scheme at the same time but a character cannot be targeted by a Hostile Scheme and a Personal Scheme simultaneously. Ongoing Schemes can be canceled at any point.

Each Scheme has a Scheme Power and each target of a Scheme has a Scheme Resistance. Both are determined by the Skill of the schemer and its target and both their Spymasters. Every month a Scheme has a chance of progressing one step, with the odds determined by the schemer’s Scheme Power and the target’s Scheme Resistance. Once the Scheme finishes progressing it is executed with the current Success Chance, which determines whether the Scheme succeeds of fails.

Hostile Schemes

Hostile Schemes are executed in secret and have a Secrecy value which determines whether the schemer will avoid being discovered when the scheme is executed or not. A high Success Chance increases the Scheme's Secrecy.

A character can run a second Hostile Scheme simultaneously if they have the Twice Schemed perk.

Scheme	Skill used	Agents	Success effect	Secrecy effect	Required perk
Murder	Intrigue		Target is killed	Character only gains the Murder secret	None
Abduct	Intrigue		Target is imprisoned	Character is not accused of the Crime of kidnapping	Kidnapper
Fabricate Hook	Intrigue		Gain a Hook on the target	Can execute the Scheme again	Truth is Relative
Claim Throne	Stewardship		Gain Pressed Claim on the Liege's Primary Title	Do not lose a large amount of Prestige	Meritocracy

Hostile Schemes can have Agents - characters who are close to the target and increase the Scheme Power based on how close they are. Agents may join a scheme if they stand to gain something or dislike the target. They can also be bribed with  Gold to slightly increase their acceptance and a  Weak Hook will greatly increase it. Characters who are Terrified of the Scheme target will never become Agents except through the use of a  Strong Hook. Agents will grant the following amount of Success Chance depending on their closeness to the target and their  Intrigue.

Closeness	Success Chance
Spymaster	+75
Spouse	+50
Guardian	+50
Best Friend	+50
Friend	+30
Lover	+30
Concubine	+30

Closeness	Success Chance
Court Physician	+30
Councilor	+25
Close Family	+20
Powerful Vassal	+15
Extended Family	+15
Nemesis	+15
Any other	+10

A scheming character is protected from discovery while the Scheme progresses but its Agents are not. If an Agent is discovered the target will gain a +5 Hostile Scheme Resistance modifier for 2 years.

Personal Schemes

Personal Schemes do not use Secrecy or Agents. A failure usually prevents the scheme from being used again on the same character.

Scheme	Objective	Success factors	Base Success Chance	Min Success Chance	Requirements
Sway	Gain +25 Opinion with the target	Diplomacy Skill Rank difference Whether the target is in a different Realm	50%	20%	None
Seduce	Target becomes a Lover	Target Opinion Trait compatibility Target's Opinion of their Spouse if Married	5%	0%	None
Romance	Gain Prestige and target might become a Soulmate	Target Opinion Trait compatibility Whether the target is the character's Spouse	0%	0%	Target has correct sexuality
Befriend	Target might become a Friend	Diplomacy Skill Rank difference Diplomacy education trait Target Opinion Trait compatibility	5%	0%	Befriend Perk
Elope	Target joins your Court and you get married	Intrigue Skill Target Intrigue Skill Target liege's Intrigue Skill Whether Target is unimportant	25%	5%	Soulmate Relationship

Secrets

Characters acquire Secrets when they do something that is a Crime or frowned upon. Secrets can be discovered through random events or via the Find Secrets spymaster task. If a secret is discovered the character who uncovered it has two options. One option is to expose the secret, which will apply various negative effects upon the target based on how serious the Secret is. The other option is to blackmail the target. If the target agreed the character will gain a  Weak Hook if the secret is Shunned and a  Strong Hook if the secret is Criminal. If the target refuses the secret will be exposed.

Secret	Severity	Description
Attempted Murder	Depends on who was the target	This character has attempted murder.
Murdered	Depends on who was the target	This character is a murderer.
Is a Cannibal	Depends on whether faith has the Ritual Cannibalism tenet	This character consumes human flesh.
Is a Deviant	Depends on the Deviancy crime doctrine	This character has a predilection for socially unacceptable acts.
Is a Sodomite	Depends on the Same-Sex Relations crime doctrine	This character engages in sexual intercourse with other men.
Is Incestuous	Depends on the Consanguinity marriage doctrine	This character has sexual relations with close family members.
Is a Non-Believer	Always Shunned	This character believes in a false god, or none at all.
Is a Witch	Depends on the Witchcraft crime doctrine	This character practices witchcraft.
Is the illegitimate child	Depends on the Bastardry marriage doctrine	This character is a bastard.
Lover	Depends on the Adultery crime doctrines	This character is someone's illicit lover.

The Is the illegitimate child secret is removed if the real parents eventually join in marriage or concubinage.

Hooks

A Hook can be gained in a variety of ways and is used to increase or force a character's Acceptance for various things. Vassals who have a Hook on their Liege can use the Demand Council Position character interaction. Blackmail hooks are are lost if the Secret they're used with is exposed. A Hook can be Weak or Strong.

• A Weak Hook can only be used once.
• A Strong Hook can be used multiple times with a cooldown and prevents a character from taking hostile actions against the one holding the Hook. They can also be used to force a character to become an Agent in a Scheme.

Hook	Strength	Duration	Source	Can be fabricated
Blackmail (Weak)	Weak	10 years	Blackmail character interaction over a secret which is a shunned practice
Favor	Weak	10 years	Random events Ransoming an imprisoned character for a favor Negotiating to release an imprisoned character for a favor Faction members who helped put claimant on the throne receive a hook on new liege
House Head	Weak	Permanent	House Head over when a child is born
Indebted	Weak	10 years	Random events
Manipulation	Weak	10 years	Random events
Threatened	Weak	10 years	Random events
Blackmail (Strong)	Strong	Permanent	Blackmail character interaction over a secret which is a criminal practice
Fabrication	Strong	10 years	Fabricate a Hook scheme
Loyalty	Strong	Permanent	Random events
Threatened Life	Strong	10 years	Fabricate a Hook scheme

Spending Hooks

• While negotiating a feudal contract with a vassal
• Can force a character to accept a marriage proposal, join your council/court/faction
• Can force your liege to allow you on their council
• Allows vassals to declare war on other vassals of their liege at crown authority 3+ (normally prohibited at this level)
• Can demand payment for hooks (Requires Level 1 Steward Perk: Golden Obligations)