Understanding faction relations and diplomacy is key to political success. Your relationship with individual lords, kings, and entire factions will dictate your opportunities and challenges.
- Individual Lord Relations: Completing quests for lords, helping them in battle, and releasing them after capture improves your relationship. Negative actions (looting their villages, capturing them) decrease it.
- Faction Relations: Your relationship with a faction is an average of your relations with its lords. Being at war with a faction will naturally lower your standing.
- Right to Rule: This hidden stat is crucial for starting your own kingdom and convincing lords to join you. You gain Right to Rule by sending companions on missions, marrying into nobility, or having other kings recognize your claim.
- Persuasion Skill: A high Persuasion skill makes it easier to convince lords to join your kingdom, resolve disputes, and influence decisions.
- Marriage: Marrying a noble lady can significantly boost your renown and provide a strong alliance with her family.
Diplomacy is a long game. Cultivate good relationships with lords you might want to recruit later, and be mindful of the consequences of your actions on the political landscape.