Quote Originally Posted by Fisherking View Post
I keep having problems that I don’t expect.

I make a new title and it tells me I lose claim to my original holdings.

I marry an heir to my lands to a Countess only to find later that the kids took her name and I have no heir. (got lucky twice, I killed her and my eldest son and got the land and my youngest child is heir. There were steep odds against me too.)
First thing you'd want to do is check the type of marriage you got into. If it was matrilineal that means the children take her dynasty and not the male's.

I really don’t understand why my lands could be lost or what to do about it.
Heirs and succession is really odd in this game and can catch you off guard. You'll want to establish the right succession laws from the very start of your game. Your lands can be lost when by the laws of succession, you lack a capable heir to take over after your current ruler dies. You can see the line of succession for everything (even down to individual cities and counties) by mousing over the coat of arms for that particular holding. Lands of vassals can also be lost to lords outside your realm, so you really need to be ontop of things.

As to what can be done about it? Honestly, if it comes to the point that you get the pop up saying you're about to lose something, chances are its too late to fix it. Assassins can be good for clearing out unwanted lines of succession but aren't viable unless your ruler has high state intrigue. The best way to ensure that your lands stay with you, is to micromanage your heir. Always try to marry your family up in the world. If you're a count, marry a duchess, if your a duke, marry a princess, ect. Always get marriages that propogate your dynasty, not the other guys'. This isnt always possible but its something you should strive for.

One of my favorite tactics after securing a new Duchy is to use the intrigue option to invite a noble to my court. This will give you a new male courtier to use as a pawn. Matrilineal marriages are usually hard to establish, since those with power want to keep their dynasty in control, but a lowly courtier doesn't care, he just wants to move up in the world. So i marry my daughter to him, with the understanding any children will be apart of my dynasty. The very next day, i award the lucky guy his very own duchy. In 20-30 years, my dynasty will be ruling after him. This could create problems down the road (potential pretenders to the throne) but its a good way to spread your bloodlines through the kingdom.

I've also noticed that dukes/counts/barons will institute their own laws of succession below yours. The duchy of Valencia, for example, became the republic of valencia due to the duke instituting open elections for his succession. This caused a huge uproar and led him to declaring independance/starting a civil war with me because suddenly, his government and my government were not working happily together. Other than causing strife, this can have the cause of titles passing outside your realm due to someone having a succession law that says that old guy living under a rock in Germany has more rights to the duchy than you do. To fix that, you'll want to raise crown authority (if you are a king) high enough to the point where titles cannot pass from your borders. If you aren't a king, you have to play the dynasty game and hope for the best.

edit: wow that turned way longer than I thought...