How to get mad traits

[Bijo]

'lo.


Anybody know a good way to get your general some mad and sick traits? I recall in RTW how sometimes they got this "bloody" trait, and others up to a point it'd scare the troops.

My generals always have a mix between good amounts of chivalry and dread (and many stars of course). Sometimes some cruel traits but never any mad ones.

I want a CRAZY general in my family tree for once!

[A. Smith]

My generals always have a mix between good amounts of chivalry and dread (and many stars of course). Sometimes some cruel traits but never any mad ones.

off topic: this is a bad idea. when you at 0 chivalry/dread, you get no bonus. you only get any bonuses if your really chivalrous (morale bonus for your troops) or really dreadful (morale malus foryour ennemy). at 0, it does literally nothing. try to concentrate on one or the other.

[LordKhaine]

I'm pretty sure it's random, and it usually gets worse once the seed is planted (which is usually at birth).

I'm proud to say my current Russian faction leader is insane. His madness brings morale penalties, but this are overcome by his other morale bringing traits so I don't mind. And for some reason the -4 authority his madness brings seems to have wrapped around his authority scale since he went from 0 to maxed out when he got the trait.

He really does kick amazing arse as a warrior king.

[Bijo]

@A. Smith:
Thanks for the tip.

I'm proud to say my current Russian faction leader is insane..

That's what I wanna have. Surely there gotta be a way. Maybe you remember the kinds of actions your faction leader did?

Maybe sending one of your lesser generals and his bodyguards into a full enemy army, and doing this a couple of times with generals, would help make the faction leader insane?

Or having tax rates insanely high, to a point settlements rebel and you exterminate them over and over again?

Maybe using assassins to kill literally everybody on the map. Even allies, pointing to paranoia, pointing to insanity?


Just speculating, 'cause I gotta know.

[Foz]

Nah - I think the madness is genetic in this game, not triggered by whatever the guy is doing AFAIK. Try inbreeding, it might be linked to that. I'm betting they have far better chances to go insane if you marry the royal family into itself. Historically, it's not from the inbreeding itself, but primarily from the syphilis that would so often become rampant in royal families due to their sexual relations. Unchecked, syphilis can eventually cause neurological complications, most notably insanity. As there were no good ways to treat or diagnose syphilis until the 20th century, those infected would often fall prey to the insanity so common in the later stages of the disease.

[Bijo]

Hmmm, sounds reasonable, foz. How do you exactly go about that business? I occasionally had a mission to marry my princess to a family member, so do I just do that.... gotta point my princess to a family member? Are there more ways?

[LordKhaine]

As there were no good ways to treat or diagnose syphilis until the 20th century, those infected would often fall prey to the insanity so common in the later stages of the disease.

Well, malaria was an effective cure for syphillis. It just had the minor side effect of possible death. But hey... that beats eventual death by syphillis right?

But I still maintain that madness in the game is random. I don't think repeated assassination attempts will cause madness, though it will cause a number of other negative personality traits such paranoia.