Crusader Kings 3 - Paradox Interactive

[HungryHippos]

Well as simply as I can:

A empire is a collection of kingdoms.
A kingdom is a collection of duchies.
A duchy is a collection of counties (usually 2-4).
County is the lowest title you can have, but it can also contain bishoprics, castles, towns.

Vassals work up the chain in reverse order usually, so the holder of the town will be vassal to the county holder, the county holder to the Duke, then the Duke to the king etc.

These are de-jure titles but at the earlier start a lot of Duke titles don't exist. If you own more than 50% of the counties in a dukedom you can make the Duke title for a price if it doesn't exist.

 

[philstanbridge]

I started an Alba save from 867, and it plays quite differently to Ireland. Obviously a lot earlier, and tribal. I'm understanding it a little better but its still deep. I've got 5/5 domains now, but when I go over I have to give a county or whatever to a vassal. I think my aim is to turn feudal as fast as I can? But looking at the goals I'm at least a hundred years from being able to do it.

I'm not really understanding the titles side of things. For instance, my king died and my heir became the King of Alba, but he lost a title to his half brother. But it's still part of Alba, so does it really matter?

 

[JeditOjanen]

I'm not really understanding the titles side of things. For instance, my king died and my heir became the King of Alba, but he lost a title to his half brother. But it's still part of Alba, so does it really matter?

Sort of. His half-brother, who presumably got a duchy, is now vassal to your king rather than you directly holding the title yourself. But as your brother he also has a claim on the entire kingdom, which he may or may not choose to press. This is the balancing act of feudalism: if you hold too many titles then everyone in your court hates you because they want some of the pie and you're likely to get stabbed, but if you give too many away then you aren't strong enough to resist if some ambitious vassal wants your top level title.

My advice is to consolidate in one duchy as much as you can. You want to personally hold the duchy containing the capital, as it will be the strongest and most advanced, and as many of the counties within that duchy as possible. All duchies outside the capital duchy should be given to vassals who are preferably not of your own family and do not have the Ambitious trait - and never give two duchies to the same person, double-dukes are nightmares to deal with. Your family members should be given counties in your vassal dukes' duchies; this reduces their direct strength and also gives them vassals who are more loyal to you. However, you should never land your heir because you want him in your court where you can control his marriages.

If you do this, then when you die your heir will inherit the kingdom, your one duchy and the capital county for sure. If his brothers are landed he may also inherit some or all of the other counties in the duchy. Worst case, though, your rivals are only double-counts rather than dukes and much easier to control.

 

[philstanbridge]

Ah!!!!!! Bum! When my player dies all hell will break out lol...

 

[philstanbridge]

So... My king died and my heir was from a different line. I lost all but one of my domains. But I still hold Alba. I don't understand it at all to be honest. Why would I lose all my domains?

 

[HungryHippos]

Did you take the decision at all to use the tanist elective thing? that royally messed up my succession one game (pun intended).

The kingdom, duchy succession laws then wound up being different, so with tanistry on my kingdom title it became a vote of popularity instead.

 

[philstanbridge]

I've no idea lol... I vaguely recall something popping up but I'm still finding my way around all the different game mechanics. Steep learning curve and all that but quite intuitive, to a point.

I'm still tribal (it's 967) - and now have just the one domain, which is my capital. But I still "own" Alba, but there seems to be lots of infighting going on. On the plus side I've just had a son, and he is the heir (for now!). So when my old dude passes I'm hopeful for some clarity.

My succession seems to be vote rigged.

 

[philstanbridge]

I just formed the Kingdom of Ireland and still own Alba. and I had that tanistry succession pop up. I selected it, paid 300 prestige and its in essence done nothing for me, except wasted 300 prestige. Ive been reading up a bit and it might not be working properly, so I'm stuck with the partition succession still.

 

[HungryHippos]

I am not 100% sure but I don't think you want tanistry. Someone who is more expert level than me may say otherwise, but it really did nothing good when I used it before.

You also won't inherit 2 Kingdom titles I don't think, the only way of keeping the territory would likely be to form the empire of Britannia. When you die I reckon your new ruler will only keep 1 of them.

 

[philstanbridge]

Well, I kept my succession laws as they were, and when my new heir came along I was in for a rough ride. I did manage to keep all my territoty but my vassals weren't happy and declared on me. What followed was a catastrophic war that lasted 15 years. I was almost bankrupt by the time it finished but, importantly, I managed to fend them off with my powerful allies. I had about 20 prisoners at the end of it, and most of our champions and knights were dead or maimed It was great fun actually.

So I've got my realm, I'm a young 25 year old king, who is excellent at stewardship and has a bright future. I've got about 10,000 levies now too. But I still havent reached feudalism.. Those innovations are taking forever. I've sort of got where I am through trial and error. It is incredibly complex and deep. But I really want to learn, so I will keep on and see where I end up. Out of interest, when does the game end? Year wise I mean.

 

[JeditOjanen]

I am not 100% sure but I don't think you want tanistry. Someone who is more expert level than me may say otherwise, but it really did nothing good when I used it before.

Tanistry is actually a really good succession mode, because while you can't guarantee who your heir is, it will always be a member of your family. This prevents you getting a Game Over by becoming unlanded.

Regarding Feudalism - you can't become fully feudal before I think it's 1200 as the required innovations aren't unlocked. You can make the process of discovery faster if you are the highest ranking member of your culture (the Culture Head) by choosing an innovation to focus on.

The game will end on 1st January 1453.

 

[philstanbridge]

The game will end on 1st January 1453.

Just wow! Incredible. Thanks also for the above info.

 

[bakes0310]

First Flavour pack out tomorrow along with patch 1.03. Will be free to people who bought the CE like me. Dont know much about vikings but should be good fun, probably more excited about the patch which adds winter and duels.

 

[philstanbridge]

yeah i'll be having some of that. I have to say though, i''m quite concerned there is absolutely no news on HOI IV. It's their only title with nothing apparent in the pipeline even though a major DLC is expected. It's just.. odd .

 

[JRed]

Just started playing this game and already my mind is melting at the sheer depth of it. A couple of friends want to do some multiplayer with custom characters - what is a good build for a custom character - I am more inclined to get a load of gold and go on the war path than doing things behind the scenes if that helps.

 

[dpbadger]

I've just started playing a few games of this. I think I need some pointers. My succession never works I always end up splitting my holdings, the reinforce levies keeps breaking (I think I have found a fix for this) and I started on 867 Halfdan in Ironman mode maybe I should start on easy next time. Any good beginners guides around?

 

[dirtybeatfreak]

Just started playing this game and already my mind is melting at the sheer depth of it. A couple of friends want to do some multiplayer with custom characters - what is a good build for a custom character - I am more inclined to get a load of gold and go on the war path than doing things behind the scenes if that helps.

I've just started playing a few games of this. I think I need some pointers. My succession never works I always end up splitting my holdings, the reinforce levies keeps breaking (I think I have found a fix for this) and I started on 867 Halfdan in Ironman mode maybe I should start on easy next time. Any good beginners guides around?

ItalianSpartacus and Party elite are great for video tutorials and learning the mechanics etc. I also went full geek and made notes in a google spreadsheet of 'tips' and pointers while I watched them (I would share it but it's probably not readable to someone else lol).

The thing that made it all click for me though (after watching the tutorials) was following a guide for how to get an achievement. It walks you through the game and after a while it clicked and I didn't need it anymore. I then was able to go onto other rules etc on my own.

https://ck3.paradoxwikis.com/Mother_of_Us_All - this is the guide for any interest. About a 15min read and well worth it imo.

 

[Darujhistan]

I think the succession system puts a lot of people off.

 

[Witto]

You can always disinherit children to stop the realm splitting, but not being able to change to a better inheritance law until at least the year 1200 is a pain.

 

[HungryHippos]

As long as you only have one top tier title and don't have the land to create others, realm split isn't a huge deal.

It's an annoyance for sure, but not usually the end of the world.

Focus on placing capital in a good location (ideally one where you can add another castle or two) and then even if you have a succession, you'll automatically start with a county and 2-3 castles minimum, this means you'll never be too weak to do anything.