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To put it simply, hooks are a way you can coerce other characters into doing something you want. They represent the “you owe me something” notion, and they come in two flavors: weak hooks and strong hooks.
Weak Hooks, which can only be used once, and represents smaller favors.
Strong Hooks, which can be used many times until they expire, with a cooldown in between. They also have many other benefits (listed below) over Weak Hooks.
Let’s go over them each in detail.
Weak Hooks
Uses
Using a Weak Hook when modifying your vassal’s Feudal Contract will not incur in Tyranny.
Weak Hook’s most common uses are for forcing marriages, revoking titles or modifying feudal contracts.
They can also be used to force characters to join your council or court.
As mentioned before, Weak Hooks are single-use, meaning they disappear once used.
How To Obtain Them
In the table below you can see every method to obtain a weak hook.
Hook
Duration
How to Get
Blackmail
10 years or the secret is otherwise exposed
Blackmail a character over their shunned practice secret
Favor
10 years
Random Events, Ransom/Release, help Claimant Faction win
House Head
Infinite
The House Head gets it when a new child is born in the House
Indebted, Manipulation, Threatened
10 years
Random Events
Strong Hooks
Uses
Forcing someone to become a Scheme Agent is one of the most popular uses for Strong Hooks.
Strong Hooks can be used for the same purposes as Weak Hooks, but they have some benefits on top of that.
Strong Hooks are reusable for as long as they last, with cooldowns in between uses.
And unlike Weak Hooks, they can be used to force someone to join a Scheme of yours as an agent.
Additionally, Strong Hooks prevent a character from taking hostile actions against you, such as joining schemes or factions against you, declaring war on you, etc.
How To Obtain Them
Just like before, check the table for information on getting Strong Hooks.
Hook
Duration
How to Get
Blackmail
Until the secret is exposed
Blackmail a character over their criminal practice secret
Fabrication, Threatened Life
10 years
“Fabricate a Hook” scheme while having Intrigue Lifestyle Perk “Truth is Relative”
Karakal is an Argentinian writer and long-time 4X game lover. He's most often found creating a great new empire in Hearts of Iron IV, playing mini-games in GTA V, or raging at lag in Escape from Tarkov.
