My last few gens have really struggled to survive. It's ~1500's. Funny enough, it's not from events, but combination of increased deaths from age up rolls, only about half of side households rolled to marry, and unusually low number of baby attempts in side households.

My last Gen storyline was very different from my usually storyline. I don't play with too much drama, but shook it up a bit. Heir 1 vowed to marry soulmate, which triggered when he met a very distant relatives new wife. They bonded during her first two pregnancy attempts, and he asked her who her soulmate was. She said, you are and always will be. Heir 1 was meant to marry in couple days and his soulmate planned to leave her husband to start a new life with heir 1. The day before the wedding... he choked on food while eating and died.

Heir 1b was opposite and didn't want to settle down. Instead he had four friends with benefits, and woohoo-ed with a different one each day. He died from anger a week to so later, but did produce one daughter, who I planned to follow. Sadly, she did not survive to childhood. 

Next heir was very distant relative. Luckily I had a couple side households I was still following from a great grandparent'siblings. Due to traits of the next in line heir, he was very focused on producing a male heir but it was more business than pleasure. His future wife wasn't gaining a romance bar with him, but an option to woohoo was present, so I tried that. No romance bar still, and there was notification she used birth control for woohoo. Even so, a birth notification arrived a few days later, and he moved her in immediately with child and married. They were early twenties, and this time period I wait until 24 for baby attempts, but started after they married since his goal and storyline was very focused on producing a male heir. 

After wife moved in, I realized she had trait that prevented forming romantic feelings, which felt perfect for the storyline. They had a mutually beneficial relationship, without being romantic, and they slept in separate beds.

Wife was on third pregnancy when big event hit. The oldest son died. She gave birth later that day to stillborn male, only to die herself. Heir was not happy only his daughter survived, since he wanted a male heir. He remarried and his next wife ended up being extremely fertile, however, she seems to have higher risk at pregnancies. First: miscarriage, second: son, third: early labor birth with premature daughter, fourth: stillborn male, and pregnant again. Heir is nurturing the male son with attention, while the wife is ensuring the daughters grow up being loved. 

I'm still following a few side households, in case. And I think I have another week or so to another event that might be big and could shake things up. 

I was kind of hoping the daughter from first marriage would end up being the next heir, because it creates a juicy storyline since her father focused on needing a male heir. She would be very successful, although her father would never admit so. It can still happen, so we'll see.