Will there be war again?

[Corvus Corax]

Things have gotten overly peaceful in my game.  The Vaegir kingdom has been eliminated, the Swadian kingdom is hugely expanded (mostly due to my largely unrewarded efforts)...and everybody is at peace.  So all I have to do is a bit of trading, quests, and random encounters with wandering miscreants.  Will another war break out of its own accord....or can I cause one somehow?  Maybe I'll take a castle of another faction and see how that plays out.  I notice that each kingdom has a pretender, but I'm not really sure what to do with these (from the wiki it looks like they can be added to your party).  I suspect that if you help one of these claimants take control of his/her kingdom, you can probably get control of that kingdom.  Thanks for any guidance.

 

[Orj]

War can break out on its own, but it's a low chance. Alternately, you can take a quest to start a war from a lord. You'll be instructed to attack two caravans, which will cause war to break out (only if you're on the quest).

Don't just attack a castle of another faction. It won't start a war, it'll just make them mad at you.

 

[Corvus Corax]

I was just elected Marshal of Swadia which gives me the power to gather an army for a new campaign.  Looks like this might be a way to launch a war against another faction.

 

[Orj]

That'll just gather some of the lords together. It won't start a war, and the other lords won't help you attack a neutral faction.

I know, it sucks.

 

[Corvus Corax]

That'll just gather some of the lords together. It won't start a war, and the other lords won't help you attack a neutral faction.

I know, it sucks.

So the only two ways a war starts is (1) the AI starts one and (2) the "start a war" quest.  It's looks like being marshal is only useful if your faction is already at war.

 

[Fall of Denial]

Exactly.