When the crown falls to a child, someone rules in their name. You do not pick the regent; the game does. This page shows who it picks and how the throne goes back to the heir.
When a regency happens
On succession, by death or abdication, when the new leader is a minor. A leader under 7 always gets a regent. A leader aged 6 to 17 gets one only when a suitable relative exists. From 18 the new leader rules alone.
Who is picked
The game goes down this list and takes the first candidate someone in your court fits. You may decline the first three; the last two are forced.
- priority 6 Parent of the new leader you may decline
- priority 5 Aunt/Uncle of the new leader you may decline
- priority 5 Grandparent of the new leader you may decline
- priority 4 any character in your court forced
- priority 3 a family head forced
When no relative qualifies, a family head takes the regency: an outsider with their own family's interests, hence "Power Play".
What being regent does
While regent
- They are your leader: their ratings, traits and archetype drive your empire, and they take the Regent title.
- They carry the Regent trait, worth +40 opinion with their own family.
- Their time on the throne counts as a reign, so cognomen stats accrue to them.
Giving the throne back
- The heir keeps the Rightful Heir trait, and the succession list skips regents and their descendants. A regency does not move your line to the regent's branch.
- When the throne passes on, a regent who still holds the trait converts to Former Regent , worth +1 Wisdom for the rest of their life.
- If the regent dies while still holding power, a dedicated event returns the rightful heir to the throne.
Some story events also install a regent outside succession, sometimes a foreign character.
See also Family Head Selection, which follows a different rule.