Role-play

At first, it seems weird giving the player options to role-play in a grand strategy game. It opens a fantastic solution to the difficulty problem. When a player wants to role-play he has a different solution to what should be my next move.

Most grand strategy games sadly only really allow for the next move to be either bad or optimal. The best grand strategy game for role playing would be Crusader Kings 2/3 because they really allow the player to interact with the game world based on a role the want to play. Characters make it easy to determine what role the player should play, and they are quite dynamic.

A character can become insane, be cured, die. A son that wants his revenge because his father was killed by crusaders etc. CK2/3 allows for dynamic story. It should be taken as a great example on how to implement it. But I personally believe that CK2/3 role play only scratches the surface.