Question!

[caravel]

I have just started using -ian, and was wondering how do you access other factions? I can't seem to control the spanish or russians. I was also wondering what else you can do and wondering what the keys are for them.

To access the other factions use CTRL+<no.> or SHIFT+<no.>, there are loads of other options which I rarely use such, and many others that I've forgotten. The 'a' autoruns the campaign and the # key, I think, places your faction completely under the AI. 's' turns off the following of AI movement, 'g' reveals the entire map. If I can think of any more I'll post them up.

<no.> = numbered key, e.g. 1,2,3 etc.

My other questio is is how the "gaining regions through marriage" thing works.

Basically if your princes marry a foreign princess then you may gain some claim on their lands if their faction leader dies without an heir. This is a rare occurrence, and I believe happiness in your own provinces is a big factor, but not the only factor. I have seen happen it twice, maybe three times, in years of playing this game. The first time was as the English where I had inherited the Danes' provinces. The other one or two occasions I cannot remember which factions were involved. I'm sure I've posted about one of them here before, but I doubt I'll be able to find it.