The Royal family was probably the most important element in the first game for me. Sometimes I had to abandon playthoughs if the king ended up childless or had only princesses. I always aimed for only blood relatives in the court and this really prolonged my games but also gave me satisfaction. The king and the successor were always marshals and every second and third son would become a cleric / merchant / another marshal. Once the king died, all but the successor practically lived forever if not killed, so seeing this "important relatives" component I guess this would not be possible now. I hate hiring outsiders into the court but I guess I'll have to adapt.
