Scheme

Every character has an ongoing scheme, or ambition, at any time that represents their current objectives and activities apart from any currently held positions. These schemes vary widely, from learning and growing up or investing in existing holdings to increasing political influence and plotting against other characters. Schemes are generally the main mechanic by which non-ruler characters have agency and interact with other characters and their holdings. While the schemes of most characters are fairly unimportant and can for the most part be ignored, some, particularly those of powerful characters or those otherwise important to the ruler, can matter significantly, whether positively or negatively. Most schemes can be stopped by using the Persuade to Drop Scheme interaction, which costs 10 political influence.

Basic schemes

These schemes have no effect and characters will generally default to this if they are ineligible for any other scheme or simply have nothing better to do. Cannot be dropped.

• Growing Up - Used by all children under 12, small chance to increase one of the child's attributes (up to 8) each month
• Content In Life - Default scheme for adults

Ruler schemes

These schemes are available only to the ruler and usually involve spending a personal attribute to gain a countrywide bonus.

• Influencing Stakeholders - Gain political power generation in exchange for ruler popularity, can be started using the associated interaction on the ruler
• Proving Legitimacy - Gain legitimacy in exchange for ruler wealth with a small chance of gaining a bloodline trait if the ruler is in the Hellenistic culture group and does not already have one, can be started using the associated interaction on the ruler
• Siphoning Funds - Gain ruler wealth and corruption

Education schemes

Every child selects one of these when they turn 12, and the education that is chosen will determine the attributes they gain (and lose) during their adolesence and gives a trait and faction conviction when they reach adulthood. The education of the ruler's child can be changed using the Tutor Heir interaction on the Royal Tutor in monarchies.

• Becoming Great Warrior - Focuses on martial at the expense of other attributes, gain a military trait and democrats or populares conviction on reaching adulthood
• Becoming Tyrant - Focuses on martial and finesse at the expense of other attributes while gaining corruption, gain a sociopathic trait and oligarchs or optimates conviction on reaching adulthood
• Becoming Bureaucrat - Focuses on finesse at the expense of other attributes, gain a rulership trait and traditionalists or boni conviction on reaching adulthood
• Becoming Rich - Focuses on finesse at the expense of other attributes while gaining corruption, gain a greed-related trait and oligarchs or optimates conviction on reaching adulthood
• Becoming Politician - Focuses on charisma at the expense of other attributes while gaining corruption, gain a oratory trait and oligarchs or optimates conviction on reaching adulthood
• Becoming Demagogue - Focuses on charisma at the expense of other attributes while losing loyalty, gain a modifier to corruption and democrats or populares conviction on reaching adulthood
• Becoming Zealous - Focuses on zeal at the expense of other attributes while losing loyalty, gain a religion-focused trait and traditionalists or boni conviction conviction on reaching adulthood

Plot schemes

These schemes target another character, possibly even the ruler. Many of these schemes can assisted or interfered with to either increase (at the cost of ruler popularity) or decrease (at the cost of loyalty) the scheme's probability of success, in addition to being persuaded to drop the plot altogether.

• Assassinating - Attempts to kill a rival
• Theft! - Attempts to steal from a wealthy rival
• Claiming Holding - Attempts to take a holding from another character, costs popularity

Relationship schemes

These schemes involve trying to create a new relationship with another character, whether friendly or hostile.

• Provoking - Attempts to make another character into a rival
• Befriending - Attempts to make another character into a friend
• A Royal Proposal - Spends gold to try to arrange a marriage with the ruler, used only in monarchies if the ruler is adult and unmarried
• Seeking a Spouse - Spends gold to try to arrange a marriage with a member of another major family, used only by unmarried adult characters that are notable in some way and can be triggered for the ruler with the associated character interaction (Scheme: Political Marriage)

Investment schemes

These schemes usually involve the character either enriching themselves or spending their personal wealth to improve their position in some way.

• Sponsoring Games - Spends personal wealth to gain popularity
• Preparing a Grand Festival - Spend a large amount of gold to give +5% Integrated Culture Happiness, used only by the High Priest
• Investing in Opportunities - Gain personal wealth
• Seeking Patron - Attempts to convince another character to help gain prominence
• Buying a Holding - Spend wealth and popularity to gain a new holding in a territory with an empty slot, used only by heads of family and will prefer to target territories neighbouring existing holdings
• Expanding Estate - Spend wealth to increase the population output of held holdings but make them unrevokable, used only by heads of family
• Latifundia - Spend a large amount of gold and gain corruption to build a farming settlement in an owned holding, used only by heads of family
• Expanding Mines - Spend a large amount of gold and gain corruption to build a mine in an owned holding, used only by heads of family
• Extorting Territory - Increases wealth and corruption while decreasing region output and loyalty, used only by governors

Political schemes

These schemes involve trying to increase the character's power and potting against the ruler.

• Buying Troop Loyalty - Spends gold to gain the loyalty of commanded cohorts, can be used by generals
• Demanding a Office - Increases prominence and when finished fires an event for the ruler to demand an office, potentially displacing the current holder; only used by characters with high prominence and popularity
• Hiring Private Army - Spends a large amount of gold to gain the loyal veteran cohorts, costs gold to abort
• Plotting Quietly - Spends gold and lowers character loyalty by 10, cannot be forced to abort
• Inspiring Disloyalty - Spends a large amount of gold to reduce the loyalty of a more powerful character by 10, costs gold to abort

Vice schemes

These schemes do not do anything particularly productive, but represent characters getting involved in more questionable or problematic behaviours that can be rather costly.

• Gambling - Costs gold, and has a chance of gaining it back with some return or losing even more once the scheme finishes
• Fighting in the Arena - Decreases health and popularity, with a chance of gaining prominence and popularity if successful or losing more health if not

Other schemes

These schemes are used only in certain specific situations.

• Seeking Treatment - Increases health and attempts to heal an healable illness or injury. Can be selected for any eligible character in the country's court through the Seek Treatment interaction at the cost of 200 gold, which comes from personal wealth if selected for the ruler or the treasury for all other characters
• Escaping Prison - Attempts to escape imprisonment, costing health if unsuccessful, and will be frequently taken by prisoners

References

Characters

Mechanics