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CK2 Dev Diary #72 - Reflections of a Dynasty

Hello, everyone!

I'm IsakMiller and I'm a Content Designer on CK2. While I did a brief stint on EU4's Rights of Man, I've been working on CK2 for almost two years now. Also, long time reader, first time poster (after some encouragement from my lovely team) here. Without further ado, I am here to tell you about a feature I'm really excited for you all to get your hands on: the decision to Compose a Book.

Imagine your ruler growing up, educating themselves... Learning the ways of the world, finding their own place in it -- and never being able to tell future generations about it? No more will this plague you, my friend! While it requires something of a scholarly mind, and a character’s skills will affect the topics available, owners of Jade Dragon will soon be able to invest their resources (and time!) in the creation of a literary work.
Initial event.png



Along the path of this endeavor, you might also be faced with a choice, such as this one:
Progress event.png



If all goes well, your scribes will at the end of it all present you with the finished work, which goes straight to your Treasury for safe-keeping -- this way, your descendants might also be able to draw on your experiences. Lucky bastards (maybe literally)!
Final event.png



I recommend choosing a subject worthy of your dedication, as there are different outcomes and works available, depending on where your skills and interests lie -- your scribes will of course strive to meet your vision, but also to emulate your wisdom (or lack thereof). Not to mention how draining it can be to actually compose something of magnitude, and your character is likely to feel "Uninspired" for some time afterwards...
Treasury, two books.png



All in all, there are almost a hundred different books you can produce. The majority of them are intended to blend in with the theme of your character (such as Speculum Regale, or the Confessions of Saint Augustine), while others might make you wonder what goes on in your character's mind when you're not looking...

On a personal note, I always want to give the artifact system more love, so I'm happy I was able to work on this -- my hope is that each book will be something of a family heirloom, for any player, in any play-through. I imagine it should go nicely next to the skull of your rival, and the Magnum Opus on Astrology that your grandfather wrote.


Thank you for your time.

Peony_flower.jpg
 
So, your stats and traits will have an effect on what books you can write? Anything unique for religions or cultures? What about something more out there for someone who might be pursuing the non-heliocentric observatory path?
 
Sounds like a great addition! I recently did a Jewish playthrough where I tried to collect all the magna opera available to Hermetics, so this would allow me to keep that up for another few hundred years.

However, I am curious about the comment that you will be able to write the Confessions of Saint Augustine. Do you mean we will be able to write our own spiritual autobiography as Augustine did? Obviously, his Confessions would already have been written, unless this expansion includes a timeline extension back to the 4th Century.
 
I am curious: Will we be able to write fiction? I see that the options appear to be 'History' or 'Advice', but what of Fiction?

Also, if capturing books from other nations is possible, will we be able to edit them to fit our narrative, like a lot of Literature in the Medieval Era was?
 
Can you buy books from merchants or from other rulers?
Buying books from other rulers seems wrong, perhaps being allowed to copy one for a large sum of gold (some of which is paying for being allowed to copy but just as much to pay someone for painstakingly copying a book by hand).
 
Will they be culture-specific? I've always wanted to write down some sagas about me kicking Karling butts.

I think they certainly should be made culture-specific, at least on the level of titles. It's a matter of immersion.
 
This is really fantastic. I have a draft post for the Suggestions post about adding books as artifacts - it's great to see that it's already been done. This makes me much more likely to buy Jade Dragon.

And the dev diary was put together very well. Thank you, IsakMiller.
 
Are you saying in regards to "the life of x" that x will refer to an actual ancestor in game?
Technically speaking, it's "The Life of [From.OriginalOwner.GetBestName]" which will fetch the name of the character creating the book. This name will stick with the book, however, meaning that for the great-great-great grandchildren of this character, it will refer to an actual ancestor. :)


I love every RPG addition that adds immersion, however small. Good job!

Can we have dynamic Artifact naming in the future? To name our books and weapons would be truly amazing.
Thank you! It was a lot of fun to make. As for your question: modders will be able to rename artifacts and change the descriptions, via script.


I don't seem to fully understand this.

Is this book a simple artifact that provides bonuses, with a flavour of having your character's name as the title?
Or is it something that contains the exploits of your character as description, written in Chronicle-style?

In other words, if I click on the artifact, will it display something like:
"Duke John the Merry had an affair with Glitherhoof."
"Duke John managed to defend his realm in a war against the Welsh menace."

'cause that'd be cool
There is a multitude of effects and bonuses, but the title and description of it will often vary depending on the artifact created: most will mention your ruler by name, or a component such as their culture for instance, while some will be more specific and maybe even mention other characters by name.


Will we be able to capture books like other objects from sieges or inherit them?
Yes.


Can a certain Indian ruler, with certain traits, write a certain book about certain carnal pleasures ?!:D
... Myes.


Can you buy books from merchants or from other rulers?
No, but you can still gift artifacts to other rulers.


I hadn't! Thank you, haha. :D


Sounds like a great addition! I recently did a Jewish playthrough where I tried to collect all the magna opera available to Hermetics, so this would allow me to keep that up for another few hundred years.

However, I am curious about the comment that you will be able to write the Confessions of Saint Augustine. Do you mean we will be able to write our own spiritual autobiography as Augustine did? Obviously, his Confessions would already have been written, unless this expansion includes a timeline extension back to the 4th Century.
It is as you guessed, it's more inspired by the real work, and framed as your own spiritual autobiography, ie "The Confessions of <your ruler>". :)


I am curious: Will we be able to write fiction? I see that the options appear to be 'History' or 'Advice', but what of Fiction?

Also, if capturing books from other nations is possible, will we be able to edit them to fit our narrative, like a lot of Literature in the Medieval Era was?
Yes, there are a few different categories to choose between, depending on your skills and path of education.
And not currently, but that would've been cool. :O



Finally, thank you all for your thoughts!
 
This is a very neat addition ^^

is there an interaction with the traits gained after studying the stars (observatory event chain)?
For instance, writing an occultism book about Lovecraftian deities after gaining either weird scholar or Mystic by reading the Necronomicon

And this may not be directly covered by this DD, but is it already possible, or will it be possible, to get a copy of the Necronomicon (or other famous books such as The Art of War) in our characters possessions?
 
I don't really understand the choice being presented by the event about the letters. Am I staying up all night reading the letters, or using them to work on my book? What does the "sleep on it" option mean - normally one sleeps on a difficult decision, but that doesn't seem to apply here.
 
This is awesome, indeed. I love the artifact mechanic and this will come in handy. I can't wait to see what my eunuch possessed lunatic dwarf can produce with 35 Learning skill.
 
There is a multitude of effects and bonuses, but the title and description of it will often vary depending on the artifact created: most will mention your ruler by name, or a component such as their culture for instance, while some will be more specific and maybe even mention other characters by name.
Good for me!