Title: Religious Claims for Other Nobles
Summary: Allow priests using religious claims on regions to install other nobles, namely long-standing elders of a religion, as lords in a region, rather than just themselves.
Details: When a priest engages in a religious claim, instead of automatically installing that priest, provide an option to select a noble. Make the options the priest, and any elder of the same religion who has been an elder for at least 30 days and who does not hold any other lordship and who is in the same region. The 30-days restriction is to try and forestall the use of temporary-elderships to circumvent normal TO mechanics. The requirement of being in the same region simply seems reasonable and obvious. The requirement of eldership is, again, to prevent this option from being used as a semi-normal appointment option. The requirement of no other lordships means that this isn't a way to just cycle offices around elders– you're awarding it to some other faithful elder, not just trying to use religious influence to reward a patron who had some lesser region. Whoever is going to receive the new region must have already have stepped down from other lordships: they must bear some of the risk of losing out if the action fails. If it does, they end up without lands.
Benefits:
It makes sense. It seems historical-ish at least. It adds some useful diversity to the game. It enhances the priest game and priestly power without an appeal to the mystical or any kind of god-moding power: it makes sense that a priest could install someone else as lord, someone who the peasants would recognize as a friend of their faith. A loyal exiled duke who has returned to reclaim his house from the pagan usurper, put in power by the will of God! That is the situation this mechanic is intended to address. Hence the requirement of eldership, no other lands, etc.
Possible Exploits:
With the restraints I have identified, exploits should be few. Even non-exploiting uses should be few. However, it is possible it could be used to re-appoint wounded important people if the King can't make it to some outlying region. Duke Joe who is an elder in State Religion and who has been Duke for 90 years is wounded? Duke Joe's city is 2 days march from the frontlines? Well then– send a priest to do the appointment. This kind of abuse is possible– but the base cost of religious claims to begin with should reduce its likelihood.
