How can I increase a princess' charm?

Playing as the English on vh/vh, my princess has been fairly successful as a diplomat, but her charm keeps going up and down, hovering right around the same level of 2 or 3. I just can't figure out how to raise it consistently. In one case, she picked up a retinue that hurts her charm, so that was understandable, but otherwise, it just seems to randomly fluctuate from turn to turn.

At one point, it peaked at 4, so I thought, now we're getting somewhere, but when I looked again it was back down to 2, and all she did between those two times was move further into Europe, she wasn't in any negotiations.

Has anybody been able to successfully build up the charm of their princesses?

Reminds me of a line from a song... "velut luna, statu variabilis". Those wicked CA programmers, I'd accuse them of misogyny but I might misspell it.

As far as I know there is no way to "train" a princess. Which, looking at other agents, seems a bit unfair. Hrmm, very good question.

Hmmmm....Maybe establishing succesful diplomatic relation does?
Don't know for sure though...

The best luck I have had is by using them as diplomats. Still it does fluctuate as, Hooray she got an alliance from that Venetian Diplomat and Trait Increase! What? Now she's banging (Secret Lover) the guy?

Highest I ever managed was five hearts but I think that was as much luck than anything else.

Still the whole trait system seems a bit off. I have lost six coinstack merchants to one with only two repeatedly and have had an all the eyeballs' assassin completely fail, repeatedly, to kill one minor Turkish family member.:shame:

I think your either lucky (head turner - pretty princess) or unlucky, which I like. Imagine your 50 year old princess marying a young prince.... that .. just .. doesn't... sound ... right

Send her to Italy and have her study under Casanova? Send her a copy of Ye Game? I don't know... other than using her as a diplomat, I haven't had any luck either.

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Originally Posted by Sir Robin

Hooray she got an alliance from that Venetian Diplomat and Trait Increase! WTF? Now she's Secret Lover the guy?

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It's RP stuff like this that add alot of spice to the game for me. I had a princess with an annoying dog and a beautiful handmaiden in her retinue... with no positive traits, her Charm should've been -3. I laughed out loud when I noticed the guy I married her of to had the "wife is a wretch"-trait. No wonder he fled away to the Holy Land to kill infidels.

Unsuccesful diplomatic attempts usually result in losing charm. Save before attempting to use a princess for diplomatic purposes. Likewise successful diplomatic proposals will increase charm. You can also use the give_trait cheat for princess characters. I'm not sure yet what all the possible princess traits are, but "PrettyWoman" level 1-3 can turn her into a real beauty. Many people don't like to use cheats, but you can at least use this beauty cheat when marrying your heir to a foreign princess (yes, the cheat works on foreign princesses). This way you won't jump through hoops to marry a certain princess who looks good in the picture only to discover after the wedding she's really a wretch which will decrease your likelyhood of producing offspring.

[QUOTE=Willknott]Unsuccesful diplomatic attempts usually result in losing charm. Save before attempting to use a princess for diplomatic purposes. Likewise successful diplomatic proposals will increase charm. You can also use the give_trait cheat for princess characters. I'm not sure yet what all the possible princess traits are, but "PrettyWoman" level 1-3 can turn her into a real beauty. Many people don't like to use cheats, but you can at least use this beauty cheat when marrying your heir to a foreign princess (yes, the cheat works on foreign princesses). This way you won't jump through hoops to marry a certain princess who looks good in the picture only to discover after the wedding she's really a wretch which will decrease your likelyhood of producing offspring.


"There are two dilemmas that try the human soul: Trying to hang on to someone who doesn't want to stay? And trying to get rid of someone who doesn't want to go?"

Danny DeVito, The War of the Roses

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Originally Posted by Willknott

Unsuccesful diplomatic attempts usually result in losing charm. Save before attempting to use a princess for diplomatic purposes. Likewise successful diplomatic proposals will increase charm. ...

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That's what I would have expected, but so far it's not that predictable. The princess that caused me to post my question had just had a successful diplomacy session, and still lost two points in charm shortly thereafter, without any explanation (no new retinue, no negative traits developed). Maybe a positive trait went away, I guess I need to pay more attention to what her traits are from turn to turn, and see if I can figure out what's going on.

Use her for diplomatic purpose, sign trade agreements etc and try to be successful be cause evrytime you fail she loses charm and gains when she succedes. I had a princess with 9 charm and it got boring so i stopped and instead started looking for a husband heh, found a 6 star spanish family member who i got after she seduced him.

I wonder If a princess can marry a rebel general?

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Originally Posted by Basileus

I had a princess with 9 charm and it got boring...

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Well doesn't it happen all the time? :laugh4: :laugh4:

And this is one interesting question, after all - how could she ever get more charming as she keeps aging? Diplomacy? Well think about one lady-diplomat, so experienced, after years and years of getting deals and making things happen. Charming Madeleine Albright.

Marrying Princesses to Rebel Generals seems to be impossible. It seems all those guys are already married (even the few 16 year old, very good statted rebels I spotted going about). A pitty.

Dingo

I havent been able to get charm above 4 so far. I used my starting princess to get a trade agreement with the moors and she got 4, but then when the "suitable prince" came up and i declined, she got the secret lover retinue... I wonder who that was... then I failed a diplomacy attempt and she lost THREE CHARM......

Can princesses marry generals of Muslim nations?---just a thought

[QUOTE=Willknott]

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Originally Posted by Willknott

This way you won't jump through hoops to marry a certain princess who looks good in the picture only to discover after the wedding she's really a wretch which will decrease your likelyhood of producing offspring.

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How do you offer mariage to other princesses? I thought they could only come to you?

Best way to increase charm is to make successful diplomatic proposals to the other factions. What I do is send my princesses to every faction around western europe (I'm english) looking to trade map information and enough money to make the proposal "generous". Just about always accepted and just about always increases the charm rating.

I still get the secret lovers though. Don't know how to avoid that. And I've even had one come of age with a chastity belt from her father, which lowered charm as well.

[QUOTE=Werner]

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Originally Posted by Willknott

How do you offer mariage to other princesses? I thought they could only come to you?

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I think if you send a diplomat to that princess then one of the demands is marry faction heir