How do I get the AI to accept Ransom?

The AI weighs it. Its reasons: Clergy acting towards a secular Ruler +20, Relative Level of Devotion, Greed, Generous, Unimportant Courtier -10, They wants Freedom +100, The other character is dear to the recipient +25, The other character is dear to the recipient +200, The other character is the recipient's Rival -200, The other character is the recipient's Nemesis -500, They is of the other character's Dynasty +10, Intimidated by you and Terrified of you.

Interaction · Imprisonment actions

Ransom

No costThe AI weighs it

Ransom the other character's release for a payment of Gold or a Favor

What you need

You

If
- The option “invalid” is chosen
Then
- Never
The other character:
- If
  Has “imprisoned by diarch” (a variable the game's script sets)
  scope:secondary_recipient.var:imprisoned_by_diarch:
  is_diarch_of_target = scope:secondary_recipient.liege
  Then
  Cannot take any action that would release former Regent whilst current Regent is in office
… is currently being purged

The other character

Is imprisoned by you

Ransom is an imprisonment character interaction in Crusader Kings III. The AI weighs it. Reasons the AI weighs include Clergy acting towards a secular Ruler (+20), Unimportant Courtier (-10), They wants Freedom (+100) and 5 more. Patch 1.20.1.2, from game/common/character_interactions/00_prison_interactions.txt.

for a guide, post or blog

Quick answers (1)

How do I get the AI to accept Ransom?: The AI weighs it. Its reasons: Clergy acting towards a secular Ruler +20, Relative Level of Devotion, Greed, Generous, Unimportant Courtier -10, They wants Freedom +100, The other character is dear to the recipient +25, The other character is dear to the recipient +200, The other character is the recipient's Rival -200, The other character is the recipient's Nemesis -500, They is of the other character's Dynasty +10, Intimidated by you and Terrified of you.

Will they accept?

The AI adds these up and accepts above zero. Reasons in italics are the script's, with no label in the game.

Reason	Amount
Base	0
Clergy acting towards a secular Ruler when Is a member of the Clergy Your faith: Has a Doctrine or Tenet with Clergy gain +20 Interaction acceptance when acting towards secular Rulers The character you target: Is not a member of the Clergy Is a ruler	+20
Relative Level of Devotion when Your Personal Tenets unlock tenet celestial hierarchy interaction acceptance Your faith is the same as that of recipient	varies
Greed when `scope:recipient.ai_greed >= medium_positive_ai_value` One of these The option “gold” is chosen or The option “current gold” is chosen or The option “extortionate gold” is chosen or The option “extortionate current gold” is chosen or The option “herd send option” is chosen or The option “current herd” is chosen The target is not the other character	varies
Generous when One of these The option “gold” is chosen or The option “current gold” is chosen or The option “extortionate gold” is chosen or The option “extortionate current gold” is chosen or The option “herd send option” is chosen or The option “current herd” is chosen The target is not the other character `scope:recipient.ai_greed <= medium_negative_ai_value`	varies
Unimportant Courtier when The target is not the other character The character you target: Is not the other character’s spouse Is not family of the other character Does not have the other character as lover Does not have the other character as friend `NOT = { has_secret_relation_lover = scope:secondary_recipient }` Does not have the other character as soulmate Does not have the other character as best friend Is not a parent of the other character	-10
They wants Freedom when The target is the other character	+100
The other character is dear to the recipient when The target is not the other character The character you target: One of these Is the other character’s spouse or Is family of the other character or Has the other character as lover or Has the other character as friend or `has_secret_relation_lover = scope:secondary_recipient` Does not have the other character as soulmate Does not have the other character as best friend Is not a parent of the other character	+25
The other character is dear to the recipient when The character you target: One of these Has the other character as soulmate or Has the other character as best friend or Is a parent of the other character None of these Is the other character’s spouse All of these Is not a parent of the other character Is family of the other character Has the other character as lover Has the other character as friend `has_secret_relation_lover = scope:secondary_recipient`	+200
The other character is the recipient's Rival when The character you target: Has the other character as rival	-200
The other character is the recipient's Nemesis when The character you target: Has the other character as nemesis	-500
They is of the other character's Dynasty when The target’s dynasty is the other character’s The character you target: Is not the other character’s spouse Is not family of the other character Does not have the other character as lover Does not have the other character as soulmate `NOT = { has_secret_relation_lover = scope:secondary_recipient }` Does not have the other character as rival Does not have the other character as nemesis	+10
Intimidated by you when The character you target: Is a vassal (or below) of you `has_dread_level_towards = { target = scope:puppet_or_actor level = 1 }`	intimidated_reason_value
Terrified of you when The character you target: Is a vassal (or below) of you `has_dread_level_towards = { target = scope:puppet_or_actor level = 2 }`	cowed_reason_value

Acceptance (ai_accept) (180 lines of game script)

base = 0
celestial_hierarchy_acceptance_modifier = {
	ACTOR = scope:puppet_or_actor
	RECIPIENT = scope:recipient
}
modifier = {
	add = {
		value = scope:recipient.ai_greed
		multiply = -0.5
		if = {
			limit = {
				OR = {
					scope:herd_send_option = yes
					scope:current_herd = yes
				}
			}
			multiply = 0.5
		}
	}
	scope:recipient.ai_greed >= medium_positive_ai_value
	OR = {
		scope:gold = yes
		scope:current_gold = yes
		scope:extortionate_gold = yes
		scope:extortionate_current_gold = yes
		scope:herd_send_option = yes
		scope:current_herd = yes
	}
	scope:recipient != scope:secondary_recipient
	desc = AI_VALUE_MODIFIER_GREED
}
modifier = {
	add = {
		value = scope:recipient.ai_greed
		multiply = -0.10
		if = {
			limit = {
				OR = {
					scope:herd_send_option = yes
					scope:current_herd = yes
				}
			}
			multiply = 0.5
		}
	}
	OR = {
		scope:gold = yes
		scope:current_gold = yes
		scope:extortionate_gold = yes
		scope:extortionate_current_gold = yes
		scope:herd_send_option = yes
		scope:current_herd = yes
	}
	scope:recipient != scope:secondary_recipient
	scope:recipient.ai_greed <= medium_negative_ai_value
	desc = AI_VALUE_MODIFIER_GENEROUS
}
modifier = {
	add = -10
	scope:recipient != scope:secondary_recipient
	scope:recipient = {
		NOR = {
			is_spouse_of = scope:secondary_recipient
			is_close_or_extended_family_of = scope:secondary_recipient
			has_relation_lover = scope:secondary_recipient
			has_relation_friend = scope:secondary_recipient
			has_secret_relation_lover = scope:secondary_recipient
			has_relation_soulmate = scope:secondary_recipient
			has_relation_best_friend = scope:secondary_recipient
			is_parent_of = scope:secondary_recipient
		}
	}
	desc = UNIMPORTANT_CHAR_REASON
}
modifier = {
	add = 100
	scope:recipient = scope:secondary_recipient
	desc = WANTS_FREEDOM_REASON
}
modifier = {
	add = 25
	scope:recipient != scope:secondary_recipient
	scope:recipient = {
		OR = {
			is_spouse_of = scope:secondary_recipient
			is_close_or_extended_family_of = scope:secondary_recipient
			has_relation_lover = scope:secondary_recipient
			has_relation_friend = scope:secondary_recipient
			has_secret_relation_lover = scope:secondary_recipient
		}
		NOR = {
			has_relation_soulmate = scope:secondary_recipient
			has_relation_best_friend = scope:secondary_recipient
			is_parent_of = scope:secondary_recipient
		}
	}
	desc = DEAR_TO_ME_REASON
}
modifier = {
	add = 200
	scope:recipient = {
		OR = {
			has_relation_soulmate = scope:secondary_recipient
			has_relation_best_friend = scope:secondary_recipient
			is_parent_of = scope:secondary_recipient
		}
		NOR = {
			is_spouse_of = scope:secondary_recipient
			AND = {
				NOT = {
					is_parent_of = scope:secondary_recipient
				}
				is_close_or_extended_family_of = scope:secondary_recipient
			}
			has_relation_lover = scope:secondary_recipient
			has_relation_friend = scope:secondary_recipient
			has_secret_relation_lover = scope:secondary_recipient
		}
	}
	desc = DEAR_TO_ME_REASON
}
modifier = {
	add = -200
	scope:recipient = {
		has_relation_rival = scope:secondary_recipient
	}
	desc = RIVAL_TO_ME_REASON
}
modifier = {
	add = -500
	scope:recipient = {
		has_relation_nemesis = scope:secondary_recipient
	}
	desc = NEMESIS_TO_ME_REASON
}
modifier = {
	add = 10
	scope:recipient = {
		NOR = {
			this = scope:secondary_recipient
			is_spouse_of = scope:secondary_recipient
			is_close_or_extended_family_of = scope:secondary_recipient
			has_relation_lover = scope:secondary_recipient
			has_relation_soulmate = scope:secondary_recipient
			has_secret_relation_lover = scope:secondary_recipient
		}
		NOR = {
			has_relation_rival = scope:secondary_recipient
			has_relation_nemesis = scope:secondary_recipient
		}
	}
	scope:recipient.dynasty = scope:secondary_recipient.dynasty
	desc = MY_DYNASTY_REASON
}
modifier = {
	add = intimidated_reason_value
	trigger = {
		scope:recipient = {
			target_is_liege_or_above = scope:puppet_or_actor
			has_dread_level_towards = {
				target = scope:puppet_or_actor
				level = 1
			}
		}
	}
	desc = INTIMIDATED_REASON
}
modifier = {
	add = cowed_reason_value
	trigger = {
		scope:recipient = {
			target_is_liege_or_above = scope:puppet_or_actor
			has_dread_level_towards = {
				target = scope:puppet_or_actor
				level = 2
			}
		}
	}
	desc = COWED_REASON
}

As written in game/common/character_interactions/00_prison_interactions.txt.

What happens

If they accept

If
- The character you target: Has the Modifier: Allowed to go Outside
Then
- The character you target: Loses “Allowed to go Outside”
If
- The character you target: Has the Modifier: Diet of Moldy Gruel
Then
- The character you target: Loses “Diet of Moldy Gruel”
If
- The other character: Is imprisoned by you
Then
- The character you target:
  If
  Employs a Man-Haggler
  One of these
  The option “extortionate gold” is chosen
  or
  The option “extortionate current gold” is chosen
  or
  The option “gold” is chosen
  or
  The option “current gold” is chosen
  Then
  … Man-Haggler Aptitude: new ransom value
- You:
  If
  Employs a Man-Haggler
  One of these
  The option “extortionate gold” is chosen
  or
  The option “extortionate current gold” is chosen
  or
  The option “gold” is chosen
  or
  The option “current gold” is chosen
  Then
  The character you target: … Man-Haggler Aptitude: +…
  If
  The portrait first is not the prisoner
  Then
  The prisoner:
  If
  a check the game hides
  Then
  If
  The payer: Is played by a person
  The prisoner: Is played by the AI
  Then
  Opinion: Ransomed Recently for 1 year
  If
  Is played by the AI
  Ai honor at least 25
  Ai greed at most 0
  Then
  The payer:
  If
  can_add_hook = { target = scope:prisoner type = favor_hook }
  Then
  Gain a Indebted on the prisoner
  Otherwise
  The payer:
  progress_towards_hook_effect = { CHARACTER = scope:prisoner HOOK_TYPE = indebted_hook }
  The payer:
  Depending on always:
  When always is scope:extortionate gold:
  Pay gold to the imprisoner
  The imprisoner:
  Gain … Prestige
  mandala_trickster_increment_gold_ransomed_effect = { GOLD_AMOUNT = scope:prisoner.increased_ransom_cost_value }
  When always is scope:extortionate current gold:
  Pay gold to the imprisoner
  The imprisoner:
  Gain … Prestige
  mandala_trickster_increment_gold_ransomed_effect = { GOLD_AMOUNT = scope:ransom_saved_gold_value }
  When always is scope:gold:
  Pay gold to the imprisoner
  The imprisoner:
  mandala_trickster_increment_gold_ransomed_effect = { GOLD_AMOUNT = scope:prisoner.normal_ransom_cost_value }
  When always is scope:current gold:
  Pay gold to the imprisoner
  The imprisoner:
  mandala_trickster_increment_gold_ransomed_effect = { GOLD_AMOUNT = scope:ransom_saved_gold_value }
  If
  The option “favor” is chosen
  Then
  If
  The payer is the prisoner
  Then
  Opinion: Demanded a Hook
  The imprisoner: Gain a Favor on the payer
  If
  The option “influence send option” is chosen
  Then
  The payer:
  change_influence = { … }
  The imprisoner: Influence changes
  If
  The option “herd send option” is chosen
  Then
  The payer:
  pay_herd = { target = scope:imprisoner value = scope:prisoner.ransom_herd_value }
  Else if
  The option “current herd” is chosen
  Then
  The payer:
  pay_herd = { target = scope:imprisoner value = domicile.herd }
  The payer:
  If
  The Personal Tenets unlock tenet philanthropia ransom captives
  Philanthropia ransom gold more than 0
  Then
  Gain … Piety
  Spiritual fulfillment changes
  The prisoner:
  release_from_prison = yes
  Otherwise
  The prisoner:
  If
  a check the game hides
  Then
  If
  The payer: Is played by a person
  The prisoner: … (more in the script below)
  … (more in the script below)
  … (more in the script below)

If they refuse

Event char_interaction.0131

Options when sending

For a Hook
Demand Influence
Invalid

Events it fires: char_interaction.0131

• the game's own tooltip text · ◦ our reading of the script line · code the script where neither exists

Who can use it and sees it (is_available, is_shown) (4 lines of game script)

is_shown = scope:secondary_recipient ?= {
	is_imprisoned_by = scope:puppet_or_actor
}
scope:puppet_or_actor != scope:recipient

As written in game/common/character_interactions/00_prison_interactions.txt.

Can be sent when (is_valid…) (26 lines of game script)

trigger_if = {
	limit = {
		scope:invalid = yes
	}
	always = no
}
scope:secondary_recipient = {
	custom_description = {
		text = currently_being_tortured
		NOT = {
			has_character_flag = is_being_tortured
		}
	}
}
cannot_release_former_regent_whilst_old_regent_holds_power_trigger = {
	PRISONER = scope:secondary_recipient
	REGENT = scope:secondary_recipient.var:imprisoned_by_diarch
}
custom_tooltip = {
	text = is_currently_being_purged_tt
	scope:secondary_recipient = {
		NOT = {
			has_character_flag = is_currently_being_purged
		}
	}
}

As written in game/common/character_interactions/00_prison_interactions.txt.

Effects (on_send, on_accept, on_decline) (150 lines of game script)

on_accept = if = {
	limit = {
		scope:recipient = {
			has_character_modifier = allowed_to_go_outside
		}
	}
	scope:recipient = {
		remove_character_modifier = allowed_to_go_outside
	}
}
if = {
	limit = {
		scope:recipient = {
			has_character_modifier = moldy_gruel_diet
		}
	}
	scope:recipient = {
		remove_character_modifier = moldy_gruel_diet
	}
}
if = {
	limit = {
		scope:secondary_recipient = {
			is_imprisoned_by = scope:puppet_or_actor
		}
	}
	scope:secondary_recipient = {
		save_scope_as = prisoner
	}
	scope:recipient = {
		save_scope_as = payer
		if = {
			limit = {
				employs_court_position = person_haggler_camp_officer
				is_asking_for_gold_in_ransom_trigger = yes
			}
			random_court_position_holder = {
				type = person_haggler_camp_officer
				save_scope_as = haggler
			}
			scope:prisoner = {
				save_scope_value_as = {
					name = new_ransom_value
					value = haggler_ransom_cost_modifier
				}
			}
			custom_tooltip = has_person_haggler_decrease_ransom_cost
		}
		if = {
			limit = {
				OR = {
					exists = scope:current_gold
					exists = scope:extortionate_current_gold
				}
			}
			save_scope_value_as = {
				name = ransom_saved_gold_value
				value = scope:payer.current_gold_value
			}
		}
	}
	scope:puppet_or_actor = {
		save_scope_as = imprisoner
		if = {
			limit = {
				employs_court_position = person_haggler_camp_officer
				is_asking_for_gold_in_ransom_trigger = yes
			}
			random_court_position_holder = {
				type = person_haggler_camp_officer
				save_scope_as = haggler
			}
			scope:recipient = {
				scope:prisoner = {
					save_scope_value_as = {
						name = new_ransom_value
						value = haggler_ransom_cost_modifier
					}
				}
				custom_tooltip = has_person_haggler_increase_ransom_cost
			}
		}
		scope:recipient = {
			save_scope_as = portrait_first
		}
		if = {
			limit = {
				scope:portrait_first != scope:prisoner
			}
			scope:prisoner = {
				save_scope_as = portrait_second
			}
			send_interface_message = {
				type = interaction_prison_ransom
				title = msg_ransom_prisoner
				right_icon = scope:portrait_first
				left_icon = scope:portrait_second
				ransom_interaction_effect = yes
			}
		}
		else = {
			send_interface_message = {
				type = interaction_prison_ransom
				title = msg_ransom_prisoner
				right_icon = scope:portrait_first
				ransom_interaction_effect = yes
			}
		}
		if = {
			limit = {
				any_character_struggle = {
					involvement = involved
					activate_struggle_catalyst_secondary_character_involvement_involved_trigger = {
						CATALYST = catalyst_ransom_important
						CHAR = scope:secondary_recipient
					}
				}
			}
			every_character_struggle = {
				involvement = involved
				limit = {
					activate_struggle_catalyst_secondary_character_involvement_involved_trigger = {
						CATALYST = catalyst_ransom_important
						CHAR = scope:secondary_recipient
					}
				}
				activate_struggle_catalyst = {
					catalyst = catalyst_ransom_important
					character = scope:puppet_or_actor
				}
			}
		}
	}
}
on_decline = if = {
	limit = {
		scope:recipient = {
			is_ai = no
		}
	}
	scope:secondary_recipient = {
		add_character_flag = {
			flag = character_ransom_refused_by_player
			years = 10
		}
	}
}
scope:puppet_or_actor = {
	trigger_event = char_interaction.0131
}

As written in game/common/character_interactions/00_prison_interactions.txt.

Category: Imprisonment actions
In the menu: under More…
ID: ransom_interaction

Source: game/common/character_interactions/00_prison_interactions.txt and the English localisation, Crusader Kings III 1.20.1.2. “You” is the character who sends it (scope:actor, or a puppet acting for you); “the character you target” is the recipient.