trigger · is_owned_by

Hands-On Usage

is_owned_by is commonly used in territorial conquest/transfer mods to check whether a specific state belongs to a designated nation, thereby triggering particular events or decisions. For example, in peace treaty scripts or territorial dispute decisions, subsequent operations are only permitted when the target state has the correct owner.

# available condition in a decision: only usable when state 42 is owned by Germany
available = {
    42 = {
        is_owned_by = GER
    }
}

Synergy

• [is_controlled_by](/wiki/trigger/is_controlled_by): Ownership and control often need to be verified together. A state that is merely owned but not controlled presents incomplete logic in occupation scenarios; using both triggers together precisely describes the state of "actual control."
• [is_core_of](/wiki/trigger/is_core_of): Determines whether a state is both a core territory and owned by a nation, commonly used for dual verification in legitimacy/annexation conditions.
• [set_state_owner_to](/wiki/effect/set_state_owner_to): is_owned_by serves as a precondition confirming current ownership, while set_state_owner_to executes the transfer afterward—the standard pairing for territory transfer logic.
• [transfer_state_to](/wiki/effect/transfer_state_to): Similar to the above; first use is_owned_by to limit the trigger scope, then use transfer_state_to to complete the actual transfer, avoiding unintended operations on non-target states.

Common Pitfalls

1. Reversing the scope: is_owned_by must be called within STATE scope; beginners sometimes write this trigger directly within COUNTRY scope, causing script errors or silent failures. The correct approach is to first switch into the appropriate state scope using state ID or capital_scope and similar methods.
2. Confusing "ownership" with "control": is_owned_by only checks sovereign ownership, not actual control—during war a state may remain owned by nation A but be controlled by nation B. If the scenario requires both conditions to be met simultaneously, you must additionally pair it with is_controlled_by or is_fully_controlled_by; relying on this trigger alone will introduce logic gaps.