familial/national grief mechanics?

[Sllhouette]

i've been able to kill almost all factions without any general losses. they're all standard fighting styles, you can win by having better cavalry. however, the crusader states are HARD. every single unit they have is some heavily armored extreme morale fanatic that wields a giant two handed weapon. even with my gunpowder and cavalry, they're still so tough that i walk away from battles with much of my infantry ruined.

i have 6 generals with full armies, all together, against 3 full crusader armies, at alexandria in egypt. whenever my young men come of age, i no longer care about schooling or raising them, i send them to the front immediately and give the kids full command on the spot. i only have 30+ turns left, so i'm rushing to conquer before the game closes.

one 16 year old had his first combat, and the battle was going well, but the crusader units are so strong they still smashed into my line, and the center actually broke open, and their captain cavalry immediately rushed through to my boy general, and killed him even though his armor is upgraded (late general armor is bugged for scotland). his army fought on but was smashed, ran.

older general came into the battle (i keep AI as reinforcements only), mopped up, we win.

i tried to find out who's son it was, but i couldn't find him on my family tree, so he was in my second family tree (i have two royal families because of weird early game). so i was thinking, how would i ever find out which general was his dad?

what if we gave grief traits to the fathers and brothers of generals? no doubt the older man would feel grief at the news of his boy's death in the egypt campaign. it doesn't only have to be negative traits, depending on their personality type, it could embolden them to avenge them, just like the "losses" trait for generals who either lose their friends and feel depressed about war, or lose their friends and become stronger men.

you could even extend this on a national level, beyond only relatives. if you have a supreme general, with glorious victories, he is a hero of the empire. when the legend is killed in combat, you could apply buffs to all generals, increased loyalty, things similar to going on crusade, like movement speed and morale, etc. there could be national mourning and increased patriotism, give bonuses to public order, just like "successul religious expedition" when you succeed in crusade.

a beloved king with great authority could get the same treatment when he dies. it would help to offset the power transfer chaos that happens, helps offset civil war, if you play your king well and make him into a powerful monarch

[kostic]

The idea is a good one, although I don't know if it's possible to create character traits in response to grief.
The problem is this: does grief cause distress and depression, or anger and a spirit of revenge?