Nov 13, 2018
Crusader Kings II: 3.0 Update is live! (PXTU)
Crusader Kings II - BjornB
IMPORTANT! Do not attempt to play an older save from an earlier version of the game in 3.0. If you want to finish an old game, please go here to learn how to play on a previous version of the game!



**************************
***** 3.0 Holy Fury ****
**************************

Free Features
- Added army movement lock system. When a unit has progressed 50% with its movement into a County, the order cannot be canceled. While movement locked, further moves may be canceled or queued up. Army movement lock can be disabled via the game rules
- Redesigned the character screen to provide more space for traits and modifiers, as well as opening up space for a handful of new interface elements, including personal combat skill and a more distinct artifact modifier entry
- Elector window added to the law view for elective succession laws
- Added artifact history, keeping track of who has owned any given artifact
- Added region-based pilgrimage event pictures on old pilgrimage events.
- Added Religion Head Actions, letting you easily interact with the Religious Head to Request Claims, Request
Money, Request Divorce, Request Invasions, and Request Excommunications. Which of these are available depends on your religion
- Scripted granular AI behavior for religious heads when determining willingness to engage in special actions such as Request Claim, Request Money, Request Divorce, Request Invasion, Request Excommunication, and Lift Excommunication.
- Most organized religions will now attempt to defend their religious head if attacked by someone of a different religion
- Added Groomed/Uncouth traits to work as non-inheritable equivalents of Fair/Ugly.
- Added Harelip portrait effect.
- Added special crown artifacts tied to famous titles (Persia, Roman Empire, Holy Roman Empire) that show on portrait when worn.
- Added genetic lefthanded trait, increasing character's combat_rating.
- Added genetic freckles portrait effect (with variations) for some graphical_cultures (Norse, Celtic, Saxon and Uyghur)
- Added non-genetic sturdy trait (opposite of Robust and Frail), giving special portrait visual.
- Added fat and malnourished traits (with portrait graphics), that can be gained or lost depending on a character's lifestyle.
- Added extensive flavor events tied to pregnancy and pregnancy complications (mothers no longer suddenly die of childbirth out of nowhere), as well as some post-birth flavor.
- Revamped Issue Declaration of Repentance decision, resulting in the Pope asking one of several possible requests in exchange for lifting a ruler's excommunication.
- Desert portrait background frame tied to location rather than religion. Martial headgear visual tied to in_command status.
- All elective successions (Feudal Elective, Elective Gavelkind, Tanistry) have been unhardcoded and the AI behavior for them has been completely revamped, allowing electors to select their candidate in a clearer and more rational fashion.
- Added Imperial elective succession and government for the Byzantines and Romans. The Imperial Court and Commanders receive a variable voter strength, with the Emperor's close relatives and Commanders being all potential candidates.
- Added more mercenary bands for Africa
- Updated Game Rules:
- Split the 'Supernatural' game rule into two: 'Supernatural' which controls events such as the Demon Child, and 'Absurd' which controls events such as Chancellor Glitterhoof
- Added the 'Generate Families' Game Rule, with the purpose of filling in historical blanks when it comes to historical families. When set to 'on' (default) most characters who start without any recorded historical family will have a spouse and a few kids generated. This prevents early game-overs and kickstarts the marriage game to initiate earlier.
- Added an extra setting to the 'Chinese Interactions' game rule: Restricted, which restricts the diplomatic range of China to the eastern portion of the map permanently.
- Removed the "Restricted" setting from the 'Dueling' game rule, so it now only has two modes:
- "Default", requiring your target to be a logical one, and penalties are applied for dueling "unsuitable" targets (such as priests or non-warrior women).
- "Unrestriced", allowing you to duel almost anyone, while the heavier penalties for unsuitable targets are removed.
- Added the ‘Exclave Independence’ Game Rule, with the purpose of eliminating disconnected land on succession. As long as the new ruler during a succession isn’t at war, their exclaves should be set independent according to the setting. If the AI is at war during succession, they will try to remove exclaves once every year until such a time they are no longer at war (does not apply to Players). Settings:
- Off - The default option, no removal.
- Limited - Exclaves of Independent Rulers at peace will be removed on succession unless they are connected to the Capital area with gaps no larger than one County, via a naval path or part of the characters primary De Jure territory.
- Limited (Naval) - Exclaves of Independent Rulers at peace will be removed on succession unless they are connected to the Capital area with gaps no larger than one County, via a limited naval path (1000 distance units) or part of the characters primary De Jure territory.
- Significant - Exclaves of Independent Rulers at peace will be removed on succession unless they are connected via a naval path or part of the characters primary De Jure territory.
- Harsh - Exclaves of Independent Rulers at peace will be removed on succession unless as they are connected via a limited naval path (1000 distance units) or part of the characters primary De Jure.
- Total - Exclaves of Independent Rulers at peace will be removed on succession unless as they are connected via a limited naval path (1000 distance units). Disables Achievements.
- Revamped Crusades for Catholics and Fraticelli
- A new preparation phase added before the Crusades launch, where characters pledge to join the Crusade and the Pope try to gather as many Catholics/Fraticellis as possible to support the Crusade
- Added a new "pot" mechanic to the Crusades, which will spread out prestige, piety, gold and artifacts after a successful campaign, to all the most participating members of the Crusade
- A player can now have a dynasty member as their Beneficiary for the Crusades, which will be their recipient if the Crusade is successful
- The Crusade Titles will be split between the beneficiaries of all the most participating members of the Crusade, and the "Crusader King/Queen"
- The Crusader King/Queen is decided by the most participating member of the Crusade, it can either be the participating Crusader, their beneficiary or the official papal Crusade recipient
- If the player is the most participating Crusader and give away the titles to their Beneficiary, they get an event which will let them start playing as their Beneficiary, the new Crusader King/Queen
- Added new Crusade events
- A chance for Crusader States to appear
- The Shepherds Crusade has been reworked
- Holy Orders
- Holy Orders have their own government form to make them more distinct from normal Feudal characters
- Holy Orders will no longer stick around if they feel their liege is unfit to rule
- The Knights Hospitaller really wants an island
- Rebalanced the money borrowing from Holy Orders
- Revamped Dueling
- Personal Combat Rating now ranges roughly between 1-100 instead of the old 1-5.
- The outcomes of duels are calculated more carefully.
- Duel events have been completely rewritten.
- High enough Intrigue unlocks a special option that can be used to affect the outcome.
- Revamped Battle events
- Personally leading a flank of your army now gives the army a 10% morale boost
- Old battle events have been remade and rewritten.
- New battle events have been added, often to allow dueling on the battlefield.
- Outcomes are better calculated.
- Added blood and mud splatter portrait effects.
- Map Update to Africa
- 63 new provinces spread across the continent
- Reshaped all existing provinces for increased geographical and historical accuracy
- Updated the names of a large number of provinces and titles for increased historical accuracy
- 6 new cultures: Daju, Kanuri, Zaghawa, Hausa, Songhay, and Soninke
- Reworked North Africa
- New empire of Maghreb, consisting of the kingdoms of Maghreb (Mauretania) and Africa
- 5 new duchies
- Reworked West Africa
- 2 new kingdoms, Ghana and Songhay
- 4 new duchies
- Added the region of Central Africa
- New empire of Kanem-Bornu
- 2 new kingdoms, Kanem and Hausaland
- 7 new duchies
- Adjusted rivers to accomodate for the newly added Lake Chad
- Map Update to Poland
- General overhaul to the DeJure territory of the Kingdom of Poland
- Vistula (major) river tweaked to be more geographically accurate
- (Minor) river Oder tweaked for more geographical accuracy. (Minor) rivers Warta and Bug added
- 6 new provinces, mostly improving granularity in Mazovia and Lesser Poland
- All old provinces moved and reshaped for more consistency
- Some updated provincial Coats of Arms
- Map Update to Pomerania & Eastern Germany
- (Major) river Elbe tweaked to be more geographically accurate
- Province of Bytow added to the Duchy of Pomeralia and province of Neumark added to the Duchy of Pomerania (both now at 3 provinces each)
- Bohemian / Czech provinces moved down south a bit to be more geographically accurate
- New province of Lausitz in the Duchy of Meissen
- Reshaping of provinces neighbouring reshaped Elbe (especially Brandenbourg which is a bit less blobby now)
- Map Update to the Baltics
- Major overhaul to the Baltic region (mostly encompassing the Kingdom of Lithuania's DeJure territory)
- (Major) river Daugava moved and reshaped a bit for more accuracy
- Minor river crossings in Lithuania reshaped for more accuracy
- 7 provinces added to enhance pre-Livonian Order flavour
- New duchy of Latgale added
- All old provinces in the DeJure Lithuanian Kingdom's territory have been reshaped for more historical & cultural accuracy
- New kingdom of Estonia, formable by holding the duchies of Estonia and the new duchy of Kalava
- Map Update to Finland
- 8 new provinces in Finland, improving mobility and spread noticeably in the area
- 2 new duchies in Finland (Ostrobothnia and Savonia)
- 1 new province in Lapland, in the duchy of Kola
- Map Update to Upper Burgundy and the Swiss area
- 7 New Provinces added
- 2 New Duchies added
- County of Bourgogne split into 5 parts (Varais, Portois, Amous, Escuens and Montbeliard), all five moved into the new Duchy of Franche Comté
- Schwyz (old Grisons), Zurichgau (old Schwyz) and Thurgau (old St. Gallen) moved into new Duchy of Upper Swabia
- A part of the County of Lombardia has been cut off to make the new province Bellinzona
- A part of Montferrat and Savoy has been cut off to make the new province Aosta
- Map Update to Norway
- 6 New Provinces added
- 2 New Duchies added
- The new province Gudbrandsdal opens up a new pathway across the mountains to make it easier to get between the western and eastern parts of the country
- Map Update to Denmark
- 5 New Provinces added
- 2 New Duchies added
- New pathways across the Duchy of Sjælland
- Map Update to Sweden
- 6 New Provinces added
- 1 New Duchy added
- Map Update to Bavaria/Austria/Carinthia
- 13 New Provinces added
- 5 New Duchies added
- 1 New Kingdom added
- Brenner's Pass opened between Trent and Tyrol
- Map Update to Wallachia
- Overhaul to the Wallachian/Moldovian region
- Dniester major river moved to a more geographically accurate location
- 7 new provinces added to the DeJure kingdom of Wallachia
- 2 new duchies added to the DuJure kingdom of Wallachia (Oltenia & Bessarabia)
- Duchy of Wallachia renamed to "Muntenia"
- Duchy of Moldau renameed to "Moldovia"
- Map Update to the Pontic Steppe
- New empire of "Pontic Steppe" added in the eponymous geographical region
- Kingdoms of Khazaria, Alania and the new kingdom of Crimea make this DeJure empire
- New duchy (Wild Fields) added to k_crimea
- 3 new provinces added to the region
- Map Update to Russia
- Major overhaul of the whole russian sphere
- All major & minor rivers reshaped
- e_russia is now created through 5 kingdoms (Ruthenia, Novgorod, Vladimir, Chernigov & Galicia-Volhynia)
- 3 new kingdoms : Vladimir, Chernigov, Galicia-Volhynia
- k_rus renamed from "Rus" to "Novgorod"
- 4 new duchies (Cherven Cities, Karachev, Novosil, Murom)
- 37 new provinces added to the general area
- A few titular russian-tribes-themed duchies added for earlier startdates
- Map Update to Italy
- 9 New Provinces Added
- 1 New Duchy Added
- 1 New Kingdom Added
- Map Update to Volga Bulgaria
- 6 New Provinces Added
- 1 New Duchy Added
- Map Update to Iceland
- 2 New Provinces Added
- In 769 Iceland now starts populated by Irish theocracies, representing the papars. Norse characters will during the Viking Age get the opportunity to take it over.
- Map Update to the Steppes
- Major Overhaul of the Steppes and Permya
- 112 New Provinces Added
- 38 New Duchies Added
- 2 New Kingdoms Added
- 2 New Empires Added
- Map Update Anatolia & Georgia
- 11 New Provinces Added
- 5 New Duchies Added
- Map Update British Isles
- 18 New Provinces Added
- 3 New Duchies Added
- Map Update France
- 13 New Provinces Added
- 2 New Duchies Added
- Reworked Major Rivers in France
- Map Update to Iceland
- 2 new provinces
- Reworked the sea zones around iceland
- Updates to Icelandic history
- New titles
- Principality of Antioch, available for Catholic rulers in charge of Antioch
- The Hansa is now available for players through a decision
- A kingdom tier Swiss Confederacy is available through a decision
- New cultures
- Crimean Gothic
- Dalmatian
- Carantanian
- Coptic

Conclave:
- Added call in favor for succession support character interaction for elective succession laws.

Due to limitations in how long you can make Steam announcements I must ask you to go to our official forum for a full changelog including bug fixes, balance changes and more - Full changelog here!

Please post any issues with this update in our bug report forum! We will not be able to collect bug reports from Steam. Thank you and apologies for any inconvenience caused! Go to bug report forum!
Nov 12, 2018
Crusader Kings 2: Holy Fury can randomly generate a world of talking animals
Crusader Kings II - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Dominic Tarason)

Credit to “quill18” for the image.>

Crusader Kings 2 has always played fast and loose with historical accuracy, but the random world generator in its next expansion, Holy Fury (due tomorrow) lets Paradox really get wild>. Covered over on PC Gamer by the familiar-sounding Fraser Brown, poking around in the world generation settings can reveal the hidden ‘Animal Kingdom’ option. It replaces most (if not all) humans with talking animals great, small and mythological. Elephant empires, dragon duchies and cat caliphates, oh my. Check out a feature roundup and a YouTuber’s peek at this mode below.

(more…)

Nov 12, 2018
Crusader Kings 2 easter egg lets you rule an animal kingdom
Crusader Kings II

Finally, after years of waiting, you’ll soon be able to conquer Crusader Kings 2’s medieval world as a duck. This might be the Holy Fury expansion’s single greatest feature, but you probably wouldn’t find it unless you were looking. Not into fowl? You can play as a dynasty of hedgehogs, cats, elephants and even dragons. One of my neighbouring counts is an egg. 

‘Animal Kingdom’ is a hidden setting for Holy Fury’s random maps. Instead of playing on the historical map, you can play around with a list of settings and have the game generate something new. The geography stays the same, but entirely new kingdoms, religions and characters are summoned into existence. They’re all human, however. 

When you’re putting together your new world, you can pick between historical or random cultures, and it looks like that’s all. Keep clicking, however, even if it looks like you’re just seeing the same two options, and eventually you’ll find the easter egg. I say eventually, but really it’s just a few more clicks. Et voila! A world populated by aristocratic beasites, as well as humans living alongside them. 

As King Darkwing, I ruled a large—but not the largest—kingdom of waterfowl in what is, in our reality, Central Europe. Things were a little tense for a while since my neighbour was a Holy Roman Empire analogue that was ruled by dragons. I didn’t fancy my chances in a war, so I married off my daughter, also a duck, to a scaly duke. There was a bit of strife within the kingdom itself, too, because it turns out that not all ducks follow the same religion.

Most the ducks, myself included, logically worshipped The Sky and followed the rules from The Books of Blessed Virtues, but there were also some loons who worshipped The Moon, of all things, and had their own holy text, The Hallowed Manuscript. I’m in the process of explaining why they are wrong and we are right. Mostly with swords. All of these religions are randomly generated. 

So Crusader Kings 2 is Redwall now, I guess. I love it. 

Holy Fury is due out on November 13. 

Nov 9, 2018
Pagan Fury EP release!
Crusader Kings II - BjornB
Today we celebrate the first EP from Pagan Fury! Please follow them on Spotify and check out the bio page for a special surprise!



Go here to listen and collect your gift: https://pdxint.at/2Fbl7NN
Nov 9, 2018
Achievements & Appearances
Crusader Kings II - BjornB
In this, the last Development Diary before the release of our next Crusader Kings II expansion: Holy Fury we'll go along the traditional route and post the achievements being added, as well as some other cosmetic things



Click to read the full Dev Diary


Useful links
Crusader Kings Wiki
Crusader Kings Development Diary Archive
Nov 7, 2018
Here's a feature breakdown for Crusader Kings 2's biggest expansion
Crusader Kings II

Crusader Kings 2’s largest expansion, Holy Fury, is due out next week, but in the meantime you can wet your whistle on this feature breakdown from Paradox. There’s quite a lot, and while the focus is on Christian and pagan shenanigans, there’s also plenty beyond that.

Pagans can join warrior lodges and work their way up the ladder to become top dog, gaining new skills and pals along the way. Pious Catholics, on the other hand, can be given sainthoods, passing along perks to their descendants. There are legendary bloodlines, new crusading events, coronations, new succession laws and dozens of other things, but it’s the additional modes that I’ve got my eye on. 

By starting a new game with a ‘shattered world’, you’ll experience a more balanced version of Crusader Kings 2, where all the big kingdoms and empires have been broken apart. Everyone starts out as either a count or a duke. Its customisable, too, so you can choose whether you want to play a more historical version or make balance the priority. 

The asymmetry is one of my favourite parts of CK2, but it would be fascinating to start on a world where everyone’s in a similar, though obviously not identical, footing. It sets up some potentially bizarre alternate histories. 

Picking a ‘randomise world’ feature keeps the geography the same, but changes everything else, transforming the medieval world into a fictional realm that's full of new religions, cultures and characters. Paradox says that these random worlds will still try to emulate history, however, mimicking great empires and the like. The world it creates will be fictional, but hopefully logical. 

Crusader Kings 2: Holy Fury is due out on Steam on November 13.

Oct 26, 2018
New Succession Laws Extravaganza
Crusader Kings II - Para_Rod
As we move closer to the release of Holy Fury the development diaries become longer and longer! Today we will discuss the rework of elective succession system!



Click here to read the development diary by Silfae


Useful links
Official Website
Crusader Kings Wiki
Crusader Kings Development Diary Archive
Oct 22, 2018
Clergy Interactions Revamp
Crusader Kings II - Para_Rod
Delayed development diary! Friday, we talked about a nice quality of life update to the interface, AI behavior and some new additional flavor regarding the Papacy!



Click the image to read the development diary by Silfae


Useful links
Official Website
Crusader Kings Wiki
Crusader Kings Development Diary Archive
Oct 13, 2018
Crusader Kings 2's Holy Fury DLC release date announced
Crusader Kings II

Crusader Kings 2's Pagan-themed Holy Fury DLC will be out on November 13, Paradox has announced.

The expansion, first revealed back in May, is beefier than past DLCs, and covers a range of systems. The biggest changes are reserved for Paganism: Pagan leaders that don't convert can instead reform their religion, leading it down a path of either destruction and war or peace and tranquility. 

You can join a Pagan "warrior lodge" and raid your way to higher ranks, unlocking more powerful allies and gaining military skill, while Pagan successions will now be referred to an Elder Council who decide how to divvy up a realm among heirs. Alternatively—and this sounds far more fun—a ruler may challenge his brother to combat to unify a realm.

There are changes to other religions, too: Catholic leaders can become saints, granting benefits to their descendants, and the clergy now has to bless coronations of Kings and Emperors. 

Away from religion, Holy Fury will add new randomly-generated starter maps that are small and fractured, with lots of factions vying for control—you'll start as a small realm fighting for space. 

It will also add diplomatic options, letting you charm or provoke neighbours, as well as new "legendary bloodlines", which means that descendants of warriors like Charlemagne and Genghis Khan will carry traits that match the accomplishments of their forefathers. 

The Steam page gives a good overview of the rest of the changes, if you're after more information. It'll cost £15.49/$19.99.

Thanks, RPS.

Oct 12, 2018
Crusader Kings 2 expansion Holy Fury makes religion even messier on November 13th
Crusader Kings II - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Dominic Tarason)

As if holy wars weren’t bad enough, Paradox are making them more complicated than ever before in their expansion, Holy Fury, for historical political life-sim Crusader Kings 2. Announced back in May, the expansion now has a release date – November 13th, just one month away. Leaders can become saints, successions are to become thornier, and pagans can forge their own custom path instead of bowing to one of the other trendier religions. This one’s going to be bigger than past expansions, and include random world generation too. Below, a new story trailer.

(more…)

...