Succession
From EU3 Wiki
Every time the monarch of a country dies, be it natural or not, a certain number of options can occur. These are completely random and only follow the scripted probability factors which the developers put into the game, and are therefore not contextual nor historical.
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[edit] Normal Succession
The by far most common form of succession is the normal replacement of the deceased ruler with a legitimate heir, i.e. a randomly skilled ruler will take the place of the former one and everything will continue as usual.
[edit] Regency Council
The second most likely succession, but still not common, is the replacement of the ruler with a temporary Regency Council. This is supposed to model cases like when the legitimate heir is not old enough, or has duties elsewhere to take care of before being crowned. The Regency Council have stars like any ruler, but the country governed by an institution like this has several disadvantages. Firstly it cannot declare war, which can be a real pain, or become Holy Roman Emperor. Secondly it cannot inherit or become senior partner in a Personal Union with another country. Thirdly it cannot convert the Head of State into a general, as there is none. Regency Councils tend to not last for very long, thus making another succession check at the end of the ruling period.
The fastest way out of a Regency Council is to change your government type. See Forms of Government to find out how much stability you lose by doing so.
[edit] Personal Union
A more uncommon option is the Personal Union. This can occur if the nation has at least one royal marriage. What happens is that the country losing its ruler gets the ruler of a country with which it has a royal marriage. The country which still has a ruler becomes the senior partner of the union and the country that lost its ruler becomes the junior member. All of the senior members rulers stats will apply to the junior member as well. The junior member also gets some diplomatic penalties; it cannot form royal marriages or alliances (however it is automatically allied to the senior member) nor inherit another country (see further down), become Holy Roman Emperor or convert its ruler into a general. The senior member is restricted only as to not being able to declare war on the junior member. The union is broken no earlier than the day the common ruler dies. Then a normal succession occurs for both countries.
[edit] War of Succession
If the country losing its ruler had two royal marriages or more, there is a chance that a war of succession may break out. The country that lost its ruler will side with one pretending country, and the other pretender will go to war with them. In a succession war there is a special peace negotiation option to force a personal union. A country "wins" the succession war if it can force the other claimant to acknowledge this union. Winning a succession war also gives a prestige bonus, while losing gives a loss in prestige.
[edit] Inheritance
One of the more drastic options is the inheritance. This means that there is a very slim chance that the country now standing without a ruler is completely annexed/inherited by one of the nations it has a royal marriage with. The nation inherited will of course cease to exist as all her former provinces become owned by the inheritor. This feature is disabled for human players, meaning they cannot get inherited but can still inherit other AI countries.
