It is more than a possibility it is a valid and optimal tactic.

If a noble dies without a valid heir i.e. You killed his children and he doesn't have any hidden away elsewhere their title is left in a power vacuum which leads to those with a claim fighting over the title itself.

There was even a discussion about removing the NPCs of a kingdom to rob the players of the manpower they would provide.

Now that said it has been mentioned in a QA or two that SBS is aware of the angst some folks have about losing their family and are looking at adding a revival mechanic for certain important NPCs. Whether that means those of certain status or those who are family your guess is as good as mine.

This ^^

Ánd if I remeber correctly, you can't kill NPCs (incl. heirs) at childs age.

Posted By Zunjin at 09:13 AM - Fri Feb 10 2017

This ^^

Ánd if I remeber correctly, you can't kill NPCs (incl. heirs) at childs age.

15 for death. Otherwise you can only knock them out. Which includes wards since they start <15.

Which to me 15 is still a kid but then again maybe I'm just old.

Makes me want to coat a whole capitol city in oil and watch it burn.

This is why you should send some offspring to squire for other nobles, it strengthens bonds as you're trusting your potential heir, or at least family, with them. It also means your family is more dispersed and you can't lose your whole dynasty due to an arsonist burning down your manor with them all inside. :)

Posted By Barghest at 09:45 AM - Fri Feb 10 2017

This is why you should send some offspring to squire for other nobles, it strengthens bonds as you're trusting your potential heir, or at least family, with them. It also means your family is more dispersed and you can't lose your whole dynasty due to an arsonist burning down your manor with them all inside. :)

Or just have a contract for a kid with a wench from a tavern in a nearby town.

Yes I can see spreading your family around would be a very smart choice if available. I didn't know about the 15 year old limit on killing, probably another smart choice by SBS. I know I would have a problem killing children as part of a game...even if it is a sound strategy.

I think NPCs should at least be like a king where you get like an average of 4 deaths depending on age. Your fresh 15 year orld getting 4 deaths while your grandfather may only get 1. An average adult getting about 2.

Posted By Malais at 1:13 PM - Fri Feb 10 2017

Posted By Barghest at 09:45 AM - Fri Feb 10 2017

This is why you should send some offspring to squire for other nobles, it strengthens bonds as you're trusting your potential heir, or at least family, with them. It also means your family is more dispersed and you can't lose your whole dynasty due to an arsonist burning down your manor with them all inside. :)

Or just have a contract for a kid with a wench from a tavern in a nearby town.

Or a dozen random kids with unknown NPCs. Or make an alt and have kids with yourself and scatter them all over. The business of the nobles will involve a lot of child creation to ensure an available heir.

Do we know if we can spread family around? If we can't, it seems really easy to just completely screw up someone's NPC family by just breaking into their house.

You can have as many kids as you can afford, since each kids need a room in a house and food and a starter pack. So if you can have 100 ten go for it and spread them in all our house taverns everywhere in the world. Best choice would be to send them working in Friend Duchies or Counties since they would be in security.

we don't really know how have an heir works. If someone kills your heir and then you die before naming a new heir then you might be screwed. Even if you have other children they might not get you land and titles unless they were the designated heir. As far as we know, if you die with children but never named one of them the heir then your property will be handed over the the local count or mayor.

Posted By Steevo at 10:29 AM - Sat Feb 11 2017

we don't really know how have an heir works. If someone kills your heir and then you die before naming a new heir then you might be screwed. Even if you have other children they might not get you land and titles unless they were the designated heir. As far as we know, if you die with children but never named one of them the heir then your property will be handed over the the local count or mayor.

As far as I know if you don't have a named heir everything automatically goes to the next naturally in line to inherit in your House/Dynasty i.e your eldest child of appropriate age > your eldest sibling of appropriate age > neice/nephew > cousin > etc.

Only when there is no more available heirs left would it be returned to the state.