I've looked around for this and I can't seem to find anything, but forgive me if its posted elsewhere. Does a faction leader's influence have any other real affect than when negotiating specifically with him? Personally I don't notice much of a difference between my different heirs when they take the throne; the nation seems to stay at the same level of loyalty etc.

I have to say I really liked the MTW system of having peity and dread in addition to the other traits, and especially in having their affects able to be seen. I would have liked to see dread in RTW, such as having a king with high dread giving public order bonuses to the entire nation because they are so afraid of him.