A faction regency as shown in-game. Dong Zhuo assumes the position of faction regent for Liu Xie who has not yet come of age to govern the faction.
A Faction Regent is a court position that appears in factions. This court position is introduced in Total War: Three Kingdoms. The position is unique in that it is not a designated nor specific court position, instead it is a temporary position that only comes into use upon the death of a faction leader whose heir is still too young to lead the faction.
A faction that has a regent is known as a faction regency, a regency is established when a faction leader dies and their heir has not come of age to lead the faction. This starts an interregnum period in which the faction regent temporarily acts as the de facto faction leader, the factions name will change to reflect that of the regent. While the faction regent is not the de jure faction leader, they retain all capabilities of a faction leader including being able to replace the current faction heir.
Doing so will remove the originally designated successor and replace them with the new designated heir, essentially removing the intended inheritor to the former faction leader. Whilst the faction regent governs the faction the designated regent's specialisation will be utilised for the time being and his/her faction-wide bonus from background and traits will be activated.
A message indicating the end of a faction regency as the faction heir has now come of age and is able to lead their faction directly.
A faction regency may be ended in two ways; the faction regent may declare a new heir thereby removing the original heir and formally ending the faction regency; the faction regent will in turn assume the position of faction leader and continue as normal. Alternatively if the current heir has come of age a message will appear announcing their succession and they will automatically assume the role of faction leader ending the regency, the regent will be removed and continue to serve within the faction.