Crusader Kings III News

Өглөөний мэнд!

Today we'll be covering some of the extra mechanics that Nomads use. We’ve already talked about the main features in our first Khans of the Steppe Development Diary, so make sure you take a look at that one first – and apologies if I repeat myself.

We shall now get into the details.

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As we have mentioned in previous Development Diaries, Nomads have their own mechanics and, when it comes to how they rule, one of the most important is their Dominance level.

Before I dive into the specifics of each level, it's important to note that Nomads have a fixed Minimum and Maximum Domain and Vassal Limit per Dominance level. These numbers can be increased only through Dominance and Yurt Buildings, and no skills or lifestyle perks affect it. We have also changed the Lifestyle Trees to better work with Nomadic mechanics, but more on that later.

Dominance represents a Nomadic ruler's perceived power. It can be increased by a prestige cost once the character reaches the necessary Herd to unlock the next level.

Rulers of Dominance 1 are typically Counts. They migrate frequently and have a maximum of 1 Vassal and a Domain limit of 2. At this point, moving to the area with the best fertility or taking over Herders’ lands is very common. Some may even offer themselves as tributaries to bigger realms, to ensure their safety during this critical time. Only the strongest are able to survive.

Rulers of Dominance 2 are usually Dukes. At this point, their Fertility Equilibrium is a bit higher, and they can stay in their lands for longer periods of time; they’ll simply likely need enough tributaries to continue growing their herd. This is also the moment when a ruler can, if they own a non-Nomadic holding, decide to Forsake the Nomadic Ways and become settled. This is one of the three ways to stop being a nomad. More on that later.



Rulers of Dominance 3 are typically Kings. This is the level that the khans of Cumania, for instance, have on game start. Vassal and Domain limits have grown significantly and now migration can target entire de jure kingdoms.

If you target a kingdom or empire during your migration, however, you must choose which duchy within that title is the one you're aiming for. If you win, you will take over the duchy and all lands the previous king held within that de jure title. If your foe held additional outside titles, they would retreat to there.

After successfully migrating thusly, you will get access to the Expand Dominance CB, which lets you de jure shift additional lands.



Rulers of Dominance 4 are akin to emperors. At this level, migration can target empires. However, rulers of this high Dominance level don't tend to migrate at all. They get most of their Herd through Tributaries, and their Fertility has reached a comfortable level where their herd can steadily grow through holding their vast territory. It is at this point that a Paiza System can be established, and access to the ‘Overrun Kingdom’ Casus Belli is granted.

Paizas were the mark of trust of a great khan. They were given to their loyal merchants and used to ensure safe travel through the Great Steppe. Granting paizas is a great way to make characters Obedient, and allows for the Summon Wealthy Visitors decision, where you can invest some gold to get special artifacts, even more gold, improvements for your Nomadic Horde, or random Innovation progress.

However, characters in possession of a paiza can use the Leverage the Khan's Authority interaction to make a different character obedient to them, or Abuse the Gurkhan's Authority through a decision that extracts fertility from someone's lands to increase their own prestige and gold. But the khan may hear of these infractions and take matters into their own hands, gaining an imprisonment, execution and banishment reason on their previously favored character.

The effects of paiza investments can be increased through the yurt buildings of the capital.



The Overrun Kingdom Casus Belli is the second path that nomads can follow to stop being nomadic. This CB can target any settled kingdom title and, if the war is won, will grant the target title to the attacker, who also converts to Feudalism, Clan or Tribal.



But coming back to Dominance. Dominance 5 is the highest level of them all and can only be obtained by the Gurkhan – that is, the ruler who possesses the largest Herd of the entire Great Steppe.

At this point, the Gurkhan can take the decision to Become the Greatest of Khans (should they fill that decision’s steep requirements). In a later Development Diary, we’ll explore this further! For now, we’ll let you know that the Greatest of Khans is well set up to both conquer the world and switch their government type, without having to leave the Great Steppe.



Dominance also affects migration range, with higher Dominance rulers being able to travel further while migrating.

[h2]Dominate Title[/h2]
Migration is not the only way to increase your tier. Nomads can also use the Dominate Title decision to create the de jure title of their very own territory… they just need to fight everyone in the desired area.



Dominating a title replaces regular title creation for nomads. In the steppe, no amount of document fabrication will prove that a title belongs to you: only fighting everyone in the area will.


We have already talked about County Fertility in our first dev diary, but we have not yet explained Fertility Equilibrium.

Equilibrium is the prediction of how fertile a county will become over time. It is where the Fertility Growth and Consumption meet, and it can be affected by terrain types, seasons, kurultai tasks and the holder's learning skill.

Equilibrium is higher the bigger your Domain is, representing your herd travelling through different counties to graze, rather than being confined to just one county. This means that higher Dominance rulers are able to live a more settled life within the Steppe, without having to abandon their nomadic ways.

A County will always tend towards its Equilibrium, which means that it will grow until it reaches it, or decrease if the current value is higher.

[The "Current County Fertility Modifier" represents the tendency of the county towards reaching Equilibrium.]

[h2]Settlement Issues[/h2]
County Control slows down the rate at which Fertility grows by a percentage equal to the current control. So the Fertility growth will only be optimal when Control is at 100%. To address Control, we have introduced Settlement Issues.



After migrating, either peacefully or not, nomads will be greeted with some contracts regarding the problems presented by moving to a new area. These contracts will usually help increase the County Control, which allows for a better Fertility extraction and a much calmer life.



These contracts have 3 possible tiers, as usual, and some extra rewards.




Nomads live in the Great Steppe, divided in three regions: Western, Central and Eastern. Each of these regions has its own active Season, which may or may not differ from one another's.

Seasons affect the Fertility of the region, but they also offer modifiers to how people (and even animals) behave, with additional effects on subjects, warfare, herd and characters.

There are 2 good seasons, 3 bad, 1 especially good and 1 quite bad, all of which are also reflected on the map visuals. Let's go over them.



Abundant Grazing offers 25% fertility growth to any county in the region. It's a calm time, and rulers are generally happier, with increased Vassal Opinion and more Herd given out using the Demand Herd character interaction. Men-at-Arms are also 20% cheaper to maintain, as food supplies are well stocked, and Hunts are 50% cheaper to host.

Everlasting Summer represents the perfect climate for the land. It's a time of leisure and abundance that brings 75% fertility growth. Supply limit in the Great Steppe is also 50% larger, and Vassal and Tributaries have both an increased opinion and increased herd contribution, based on their contracts.

The Severe Drought is the first of the bad seasons. Fertility Consumption is increased by 20%. However, this means that people are more willing to migrate, and every courtier will increase their opinion of you after a peaceful migration. Rulers are also more likely to accept a peaceful migration request during this time, and the Conquer Casus Belli give out Prestige in the Steppe, which they normally don't. Herd gain is slower, and so is their conversion into Horde Riders, as more resources are needed for the same result.

[A Drought reflected on the map.]

During Zud seasons, the weather is especially adverse, which pushes character to seek protection from stronger and more resourceful nomads. During these seasons, the Demand Obedience and Demand as Tributary Character Interactions have a higher acceptance chance.



Characters are also slightly more likely to gain the Ill trait.

A Cold Zud brings strong winds and blizzards. The extremely low temperatures force the livestock to use most of their energy to keep warm.

A White Zud occurs when the snow settles over the grazing lands, making it impossible for the livestock to reach the grass. This is reflected by a 40% increase in the Fertility Consumption. The Retaliation Casus Belli (given when someone moves into your Tributary's lands but refuses to pay you tribute) is free, and upgrading your Horde Riders into better Men-at-Arms 25% cheaper. However, the supply limit is 20% smaller.

A Havsarsan Zud is the combination of two or more types of natural disasters. It's a time of great adversity, with grazing land impossible to find, and hardships in every possible direction. The County Fertility is completely gone, but that doesn't mean that you're out of options.

Demanding Tributaries still has a higher acceptance chance, and the Desperate Times Decision becomes available. In it, you can pay some Prestige and make all of your people Obedient, as well as unlocking the Invasion Casus Belli to try to get you out of the Steppe, no matter your situation.

The Retaliation and Humiliation Casus Bellis (used against a Nomadic ruler of higher Dominance than you) are free, and characters have a 30% increased Stress gain.



The other special season is the Blessing of the Blue Sky, which is much nicer to everyone involved. During a Blessing, Fertility grows with a 300% increase. The Supply Limit within the Great Steppe is also 100% higher, Tributaries and Vassals have a better opinion of their overlords, and characters have 25% less Stress gain.



We have nudged these seasons so they're more likely to happen after the Mongol invasion of China, and the Mongol invasion of Europe, as climate change was one of the factors that drove them out of the steppe. They can only happen once in the entire game, and their chances also grow each 100 years after each game start date.

It matters not if the 10 years of the previous season haven’t concluded: these seasons will take over whenever they reach their turnover point, and propagate to all regions. If you are blessed, you can grow an enormous herd that will help you take over the world; if you encounter the Havsarsan Zud, you will soon discover that the only possible way is out.

Rulers will also try to migrate to other regions if the local season is much better than theirs, and they have the necessary resources.

[h2]Stargazer[/h2]
The Stargazer is one of the main tools that Nomadic rulers have when it comes to predicting upcoming seasons. This Court Position also acts as a substitute to the Court Chaplain, as they have been replaced by the Kurultai, and can help guess what the next season is based on their aptitude.



However, if the Stargazer’s aptitude is poor, there's a chance that they will predict two entirely wrong seasons, or one right and one wrong. Their reasoning is unpredictable.

They come with two Court Position Tasks: Oversee Preparations and Guide Shepherds.

Oversee Preparations is a bit of a special one, and its effects change based on seasons, as they're trying to ensure the best possible outcome. Therefore, they may help manage fertility during a Cold Zud, or increase piety gain during a Blessing.



The Guide Shepherds task helps Herder subjects gain the Seasoned Pastoralist trait, which increases the rate at which they replenish fertility of their held counties.




All nomads have a unique and new succession law: the Kurultai Succession.

During a Kurultai Succession, your two oldest children of eligible gender and the four members of your Kurultai will either approve or disapprove of your choice of heir. Their approval depends on whether they are Obedient or not, so ensuring an obedient kurultai should be among your highest priorities if you are aiming for a smooth succession.

During a Stable Succession, all of your titles go to your preferred heir, with no partition or harsh consequences.



If one or more members of your Kurultai are not obedient, you will be facing a Chaotic Succession instead. The consequences are unpredictable, but they go from losing some Legitimacy or Prestige, to one of your vassals stealing part of your herd, to even facing a realm fractioning disaster like the splitting of the great Mongol Empire.



The consequences are not completely arbitrary, though, and they scale with your title tier, realm size and the number of your disobedient Kurultai members. So if you are a Duke with only one disobedient member, you will not be punished as severely as a hated Emperor.



If the season is a Havsarsan Zud, the realm stability is shaken and the succession will always be chaotic!

[Example of some medium consequences.]

[Example of some harsher consequences.]


Some changes were done to the Lifestyle Trees to make sure the perks would be adapted to the Nomadic government and its needs. I apologise in advance for the ugly changelog, but this is easier and more to the point than me writing complicated explanations for all.

Diplomacy:

• Added Fellow Tributary Opinion and Fellow Confederation Member opinion to Defensive Negotiations
  
• Added increased aptitude to Boyan/Cherbi Court Positions in Praetorian Guard
  
• Added Renown if you have a Blood Brother to Inspiring Rule
  
• Added increased acceptance to Demand as Tributary and Offer Confederation to True Ruler
  
• Added Monthly Prestige per Blood Brother to Bound by Blood
  
• If you have a Blood Brother you get one extra random skill point from Friendly Counsel
  

Martial:

• Added Horde Riders bonuses for Organized Retreat for Nomads
  
• Added Horde Riders bonuses for Hit and Run for Nomads
  
• Made Nomads able to duel rivals from the get-go
  
• Changed Stalwart Leader so it allows nomads to duel any non close family member martial gender character
  
• Made Loyalty and Respect increase Obedience of Spouse and Vizier
  
• Added a discount to converting Horde Riders into MAAs for Prepared Conscription
  

Stewardship:

• Added Tributary taxes to Heregeld
  
• Added Domicile herd gain to Detailed Ledgers
  
• Changed Cutting Cornerstones to Cutting Wood and added extra 10% discount for Domicile Buildings for Nomads
  
• Added Domicile building speed bonus to Professional Workforce
  
• Added Herd gain to Centralization
  
• Added Herd to Horde conversion to Organized Muster Rolls
  
• Changed Large Levies to Planned Herd and added income from Herd and Herd from vassals
  
• Added Tributary Opinion to Likable
  
• Added happy powerful vassal Herd contribution to Honored to Serve
  
• Added higher Obedience from Councilors from Honored to Serve
  
• Added Tributary Opinion to the Administrator trait
  

Intrigue:

• Added bonus to the Capture raid intent for Kidnapper
  
• Added Herd gain from Intimidated/Cowed vassals to Fear Tax
  

Learning:

• Made Religious Icon make obedient characters converted via the Inspire Conversion interaction
  
• Zealous Proselytizer increases the acceptance for the Inspire Conversion interaction
  
• It also increases the piety gain from the Aid Stargazer task by 10%
  
• Planned Cultivation increases Fertility Growth
  

Wandering:

• Changed Development for County Fertility gain when hosting activities in No Stone Unturned
  
• Changed Souvenirs Aplenty for Changing of the Seasons and added Fertility and Control bonuses whenever the seasons change
  
• The Of the People perk increases the speed of the Explore Cultures Kurultai task
  

Nomads have a new Legitimacy type, which differs in some ways from the settled one.

The first big difference is that, while settled Legitimacy is much nicer to lower tiers (allowing Count and Dukes to get bonuses in the first levels), Nomadic Legitimacy is the same for all tiers, representing the harsher judgments of the steppe.



However, we have made the way of obtaining and losing it be also in accordance with the nomadic way of life. Nomadic rulers gain double Legitimacy from winning wars, but they also lose double on defeat. They will also gain Legitimacy from Duels and marrying noble-born Courtiers of someone of equal or Higher Dominance.

Nomadic Legitimacy also affects Tributary and Confederation acceptance, as well as Herd gain and Tributary opinion. The effects on Casus Belli costs and creating new Titles have been removed, as Nomads get CB discounts from Seasons, and they do not create higher tier titles the usual way, but through the Dominate Title decision.




Peasant and Populist factions do not make much sense within the steppe, instead there will be Nomadic factions.

These factions can happen for any type of ruler, settled or nomad, but are more likely for settled rulers. They are very powerful, comparable to Populist armies, composed of nomadic riders, horse archers, and other nomadic Men-at-Arms. Similarly to Peasant factions their discontent will always rise, and it'll rise fast. The goal is to make it unattractive for settled rulers to hold nomad lands, as they will be attacked by revolting nomads on a semi-regular interval - feudalizing the holdings will be crucial to stop this. Of course, defeating them will pacify their lands for a while.

If a Nomadic faction is successful, they will rip any duchy that had a county part of the faction out from your realm, and each of them will get a new nomadic ruler generated.


We decided that most vassal stances made little sense for nomadic people, so we have added a new one called Belligerent, more commonly found within the steppe.

Belligerent vassals want to see their liege as a powerful and strong leader, and enjoy shows of both physical and military might.



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Thanks for reading and getting into the depths of the steppe with us! Next DD will go over the flavour and warfare of the Great Steppe.

Hello there!

Welcome back to the first official dev diary for our Core Expansion this year, Khans of the Steppe. For those who did not see it, we first talked about the DLC back last month with Dev Diary #162 - Steppe by Steppe, so I recommend reading that first.

Today we will discuss Tributaries, Confederations, and Raid Intents. All three topics were mentioned in the previous Dev Diary, but we will discuss them at length in this one, so let’s settle in like a migrating nomad and get started.


The team has gone through an intense iteration period based on both feedback collected internally and the comments received from our previous Dev Diary. Many changes have been thus made, and we are sure we are not done with it yet. However, here's a small list of some of the most significant tweaks done based on your feedback:

• A new, "base" Tributary type has been made available for non-Nomads.
  
• Concerns about the Nomadic economy have been addressed by adding a monthly income for nomads based on their Herd size (symbolizing the trade of meat, hides, etc.)
  
• A game rule has been added to include Nomadic governments in the Sahel, Arabia, the horn of Africa, Sami and Karelia regions
  
• Tweaked the borders of the Steppe and characters who should be nomadic in all bookmarks (more than I can list here, screenshots will be shared in following Diaries)
  
• We've added a Culture and Faith specific to your Nomadic Capital, different than your own
  
• Adventurers can now become Nomads if they move into a Herder holding
  
• We have expanded what we originally scoped for razing
  
• We've extended and altered the effects of some Seasons
  
• We have made it possible to grow your herd if you hold lands outside of the Steppe, giving those counties Fertility if held by a nomad
  

One of the new features we’re introducing with Khans of the Steppe, and the free update that goes along with it, are Tributaries. Vast nomadic realms like the Cumans, Khitans, and Khazars were not kept together by a tiered system of formal vassalage and pledges of fealty, nor were they delineated by culture or religion. Instead, the harsh realpolitik of the steppe applied - whoever could muster the greatest capacity for destruction on their neighbors proved themselves worthy of tribute, in exchange for the privilege of not being trampled underhoof. Modeling this type of subject relationship properly was the impetus for the Tributary feature.

Let's back up a bit and discuss some fundamentals first though, because tributaries aren't just a nomad thing. While Tributaries are similar to vassals in some respects, they represent a whole new type of unequal diplomatic relationship in the game. As a result, many game elements that formerly referred to "vassals" now refer to "subjects" instead. Subjects can be either vassals or tributaries, and these sub-types adhere to different rules. As with vassal contracts, there can be different types of tributary contracts with varying degrees of obligations. In most cases, these terms can be renegotiated.

Tributaries can be seen as a more independent subject type compared to vassals. While in most cases they share the map color and realm name with their suzerain, they can act and be interacted with independently, even when it comes to warfare. Most tributary types can also be created through peaceful means, by a sovereign ruler pledging tribute to a nomadic realm in exchange for a guarantee to not be attacked by them, or through a nomadic ruler demanding tribute from a neighboring realm. Agreements of tribute are (usually) perpetuated across generations, but may change in nature over time or be more easily broken when the contract changes hands.

[Marzoban Tokku and his weak backbone stands little chance against the persuasive might of the Cumanian horde]

[If some scary nomadic realm is on your border and you'd like to remain as independent as possible, you can proactively choose to pay them tribute to avoid outright conquest]

[Existing vassals can be released as tributaries, and in some cases you can even vassalize an existing tributary]

Nomadic Tributaries are what you will encounter most frequently in Khans of the Steppe. These consist of nomadic realms (or spineless herders) who have pledged tribute to a stronger nomadic ruler on their border. They will pay a part of their herd in tribute on a regular basis, and some of the prestige they gain will also be conferred upon their suzerain. In exchange for tribute, they enjoy a great deal of independence from their suzerain and will not be outright attacked or raided by them. They can even have tributaries of their own!

Settled Tributaries are non-nomadic realms (such as feudal princes, tribes, or clans) who have yielded to a bordering nomadic ruler. Like their nomadic tributary counterparts, they will pay tribute on a regular basis, but instead of herd they will provide gold and levies.

Both these types of tributary contracts are inherited across generations, but they also have quite a bit of leeway in simply ceasing payments (if they are ready to face the consequences of insulting their suzerain, that is). This is most likely to happen if a nomadic suzerain prove themselves weak in some way (and therefore unworthy of tribute, by the laws of the steppe), like losing a war or suffering a chaotic Kurultai succession. Once tributaries opt to stop sending gifts to their suzerain the suzerain can choose to attack them to recover control, or let them go try to make their own destiny without their protection. To try to keep this from happening, nomadic suzerains can either be lenient with their contract conditions, or leverage their Dread to demand Obedience of their tributaries.

[Your subject view will display if any of your tributaries are likely to stop paying you and why. Obedience plays a strong role in keeping your subjects in line, but even disobedient ones will be reluctant to stop paying off much stronger suzerains. More factors will be added before launch, such as losing a war or having chaotic Kurultai successions.]

A third type of subjugated tributary has also been added, which has no direct relation to nomads. This is a tributary type obliged to pay a lot of gold and a small amount of prestige to their suzerain in exchange for their suzerain's protection from outside invasion. If attacked, a subjugated tributary can call their suzerain in to defend them, and if they refuse their tributary obligations are annulled. Any non-nomadic realm can create this type of tributary through the Bring Under Tribute casus belli, enabling the extortion of neighboring protectorates through sheer military might.

This contract does not get inherited by the suzerain's heir upon their death, but also cannot be voluntarily broken. If the tributary wishes to break free of their obligations prior to their suzerain's death, they will have to fight them for independence.

[Even feudal realms can subjugate neighboring kingdoms to make them pay tribute, if their Crown Authority is high enough]

It's important to note that it's possible to modify the terms of a tributary contract, just like a vassal contract. For example, nomads can negotiate for protection by their suzerains in exchange for higher tribute payments. If you and your tributary are Blood Brothers, you can even negotiate a guarantee that they will follow you on all military adventures, offensive as well as defensive.

[Even the tributary can try to renegotiate the terms, but without a good relationship with (or a hook on) your suzerain this might be met with limited success]

Another aspect of tributaries of nomadic realms is that they can provide new Men-at-Arms types to their suzerain. In keeping with the flexible and heterogenous nature of steppe warfare, nomad rulers are able to recruit Men-at-Arms from both tributaries and vassals as if they were their own. Since the Men-at-Arms are recruited from other realms, rather than an additional cost of herd (to represent the development of more advanced mounted units) this costs a premium in gold to entice the foreigners to join up with the Khan's formidable horde.

[If you don’t have any subjects with access to some of the basic Men-at-Arms types, you get a little hint suggesting who might give you access to them…]

Visually, tributary realms will typically adopt the map color and name of their suzerain to clarify the relationship between them. Modders might be interested to know that this behavior can be changed in script depending on the subject contract: you can make tributary types that do not inherit the suzerain's color or name, or just one of them, as well!

[In 867, the Khazars dominate the Western Steppe while the Kirghiz control the Eastern parts. The Karluks and Ohguz are powerful nomadic realms in the central steppe region and have a lot of opportunity to compete for the smaller nomadic and tribal realms towards the northern parts.]

[In 1066 the western and central steppe regions are dominated by the Cumans in the south, with a considerable tributary network maintaining their control of the center and maintaining their power against the Karluks and Khitans. The Pechenegs have migrated west and act as a buffer zone between the steppe and the Byzantine Empire - will they manage to become their own nomadic powerhouse, or fall to either of their titanic neighbors?]

[In 1178, the Cumans remain the most powerful nomadic realm on the steppe, but for how long? The Khitans are migrating south into East Asia, leaving their old lands to the fractured Mongols to thrive.]

Since tributaries inherit all of the functionality of the vassal contract system, with a few extensions, they are very flexible and capable of modeling a great deal of unequal relationships between realms and rulers. There's a fair chance you will see more tributary types and dynamics added to the game in the future, and the system is fully available to modders to play with as well!

But how would you deal with these massive, aggressive nomadic realms as a smaller nomad who just wants to live a laid-back, peaceful nomadic lifestyle? One avenue to that is what we'll discuss next.


Brothers and sisters, do you ever tire of lusting after power? When you jump into a game as a meek little Count, do you wish friends and neighbors would stand together with you against the masters of the world? Do you want something new to do as a tribal? Say no more, my brothers and sisters - but the sacred words, the oath of confederation!

In short, Confederations are a new way for nomads and tribals to feel safe while initially building their power, playing tall, etc. It’s also a bit of an extra challenge for those looking to easily gobble up areas of the map that lack a mighty King or Emperor.

[12th c. Estonia mightn’t have looked quite like this, but hopefully this captures some of its spirit]

The inspiration for Confederations came from a visit to beautiful Tallinn, Estonia (which I very highly recommend), a fascinating conversation with a very learned scholar in medieval Baltic history, and a visit to the Great Guild Hall Museum. Therein, an exhibit asked the question — “Why did Estonia not become a Kingdom?”

It’s an interesting question, with at least a few answers. In a sense, the Estonian tribes did actually have kings, but these were temporary war-leaders or spiritual figures, and they did not serve to unite all the tribes together into one lasting polity. They are mentioned, as stubborn figures of resistance, in the Christian chronicles of conquest. This kind of defensive decentralization seemed new for CK3; I immediately wanted to represent it in our game. And, of course, there are the steppe confederations of history — the Khamag Mongol, the Kimek-Kipchaks, the Mogyërs, and so on — to consider and draw from as well. I’m also a Canadian btw, and Confederation has been a force of history around the Great Lakes for quite a while.

Let’s go through the confederating process, and discuss.

[The Decision that lays the path to Confederation]

The first step is a Decision that enables you to offer Confederation to other rulers. Its warnings are to be taken seriously — you will likely have to leave your Confederation if you want to increase your station in the world (through means like title creation, migration, Dominance) or enrich yourself by raiding/attacking your fellow weaklings.

[The requirements for starting a Confederation; you have to be something of a small fish]

Who can make a Confederation? Well, you have to be standing on your own, and you can’t be standing very tall. These same restrictions apply to all prospective Confederates.

[Additional Confederation triggers. Most of the time, you’ll need a big, scary common foe]

Confederations in Crusader Kings III will be fleeting, ephemeral things, and focused largely on deterring the depredations of powerful neighbors. Thus, they will almost always be created in response to major powers being at their borders. It’s been really cool to watch Conquerors and great kings arise and, as they do, Confederations spring up all along their underbellies like nests of rats or colonies of fire ants. There is now a third, sometimes-viable alternative to “submit or die.”

The possible faith hostility trigger also works really nicely along the borderlands between pagan tribals and reformed faiths: it means the former can often be seen making the Confederation defensive arrangement to resist the brutal tide of history.

[You’re ready for Confederation… you just need a buddy to join you]

Given Confederations are available across the map, to both nomads and tribals, related content is laced with conditional loc and effects to keep things from feeling too inappropriate. That said, this isn’t a content-heavy feature; development on Confederations instead focused on making it an effective new mechanic.

[The interaction used to create a Confederation, and also to add new members]

The character interaction Offer Confederation (unlocked by the Call for Confederation decision or by Confederation membership) is how this brothers-in-arms, last stand-style shit comes to pass. Notice that, because migration removes members from the Confederation, there are incentives to stay put for a bit longer (a positive County Fertility modifier and an immediate County Fertility boost). AI should also be more reluctant to migrate than usual, at least for a few years.

[Weights are pretty comprehensive and pretty make-or-break]

Your level of investment in your confederation can make a big difference in its strength: herd, prestige and hooks can be sacrificed to make valid members more willing to join.

[Well isn’t that nice - he accepts!]

[Note the Confederation icon and breakdown]

Confederations aren’t a title. Their closest equivalent is an alliance or truce, thus they live in the Diplomacy space of the Character view. Here, you can see all members of the Confederation.

The Kimek Confederation is a culture-based name, which happens when both the first members are of the same culture. When they aren’t, the Confederation will be named after the founder’s de jure duchy (ex. the Semey Confederation, the Kargassia Confederation).

[A handful of Kimeks have joined the Confederation (squint, it’s on the left)]

On the map, Confederations will look similar to the new Tributaries: their individual realm names are replaced by the overall Confederation and their map colors are blended towards the main Confederation color (which is based on the founder’s capital).

You may notice that the members remain rather unevenly-sized. That’s because only independent top rulers are members of the Confederation, and their vassals (if they have any) are not.

[The Confederation is attacked!]

When a Confederation member is attacked is when the organization really comes into its own. All members are automatically added as Defenders. This can result in a pretty potent nest of bees that the aggressor has just poked. Accordingly, the combined strength of a Confederation is shown when opening the Declare War screen on one of its members, and AI should be appropriately hesitant to attack strong Confederations.

Note that this applies only to members’ defensive wars. They cannot call on the Confederation when they themselves declare offensive wars.

[The Decision for when a Confederate decides it’s time to go…]

While AI will usually give the Confederation at least a few years of their time, players are quite free to strike off on their own whenever. Albeit… for a higher Prestige cost during the first couple years.

The AI weighting for this Decision is heavily dependent on circumstances. Chief among these is the presence of big nearby threats that necessitate confederation. The result is that, where confederations are needed, they should prove much more lasting and resilient. And when they are no longer needed, they should often quickly disband.

[BROTRAYAL]

And there it is, Confederations! I hope this run-through has cleared up the feature. And remember — the CK player who stands alone, dies alone. Call up a friend right now and ask if they’d FUCKING DIE for you. Post results in the comments.


We discussed raid intents in the previous dev diary, with a small WIP screenshot. It’s time to expand on what we said then.

First of all, we should talk about loot. As you all know, we’ve had loot in the game for quite a while. Gold you can take from a settlement as you raid them as a tribal ruler or a pagan, which you then bring back home to turn into gold and prestige. We haven’t changed the core mechanic of loot, but we have disconnected it slightly from purely being gold, now that you have more ways of using it. With Raid Intents, we now have ways of turning that loot into other things, to symbolize your aims as you are raiding foreign lands.



Here is the new raid intent screen (for nomads), after a small art pass and after we added some proper names. Now, let’s look at the default raid intent for nomadic rulers, Pillage.

[Note that none of the numbers are final, so they might change before the release]

It’s a fairly straightforward calculation. If you bring home 100 loot, you will get 100 gold and 150 herd out of it when you return to your borders.

Most of the other raid intents have some kind of separate side effects in addition to their base calculation, so let’s look at some of them.



Nomads were known for raiding far and wide, with the Hungarian raiders, for example, bringing home loot from all across Europe. With the Adventure raid intent, it will take a bit longer to raid each settlement, but you can carry a significantly larger amount of loot with you, and you will take no hostile county attrition.

It should be noted that within the steppe, nomad raiders will not take any hostile county attrition, regardless of raid intent, but they will regularly take attrition outside of it.



Plunder symbolizes that you aren’t necessarily just taking anything but trying to find the most valuable things to take. It will take significantly longer to raid every single settlement. Still, the loot conversion as you get home is considerably better, and you have a chance to learn innovations of a culture as you raid a settlement if they know about something you do not (though the chances are quite low).



For those less interested in the loot itself but rather other side effects, you might want to take the capture raid intent to significantly increase the chance of capturing someone as you raid a settlement. It’s great if you are looking to ransom someone.



And last but not least, you have the opportunity to destroy. It’s an opportunity for nomads to increase their prestige (as they don’t get any prestige from other raid intents) and their dread (which is more important for nomads). It also destroys buildings and development in settlements they raid.

Now, one thing to mention is that we don’t only have raid intents for nomads but for other raiders as well. Regular raiders also have access to the Terrorize raid intent, so feel free to bring destruction to your enemies no matter which flavor of uncivilized you are. They also have access to Pillage, but in a slightly different form:



Like current functionality, you simply change your loot to gold and prestige. And for Vikings, they have access to a slightly modified version of the Adventure intent.



If you want to raid your way down to Constantinople and then home again, feel free to take this to bring all that loot back home.

Now for the other side, you can destroy the raiders as they enter your lands, but we have also made one small adjustment so you can protect yourself a bit against any incoming threat.



We have increased the hostile raid time reduction in the building, so you have more time to respond to incoming threats. It now also reduces the chances of special raid intents. In other words, it reduces the improvements from the Capture raid intent, minimizes the chance of Terrorize ruining your lands, and for Plunder to find any innovation.

Upgrading the building will improve the effect and block raid intent special effects from happening outright. In other words, something to keep in mind if you experience a lot of raids in your lands.


That’s it for this week. Next week, we plan to revisit migrations and the nomadic government, so we hope to see you again then. Go forth and conquer, my blood brothers.