Home Trending Latest threads New posts Developer diaries
Jump to latest Follow Reply
  • We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Crusader Kings II 69878 Bug Reports 19710 User Modifications 10589 Suggestions 5969 Tech Support 6365 After Action Reports
Previous dev diary Next dev diary
Show only dev responses

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
 
Sort by date Sort by reaction score
Yammka said:
I look forward to seeing what kinds of books Lunatics and Possessed people can write.
Click to expand...

"We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something like `I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive. . . .' And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, which was going about a hundred miles an hour with the top down to Las Vegas."
 
Is it possible, in very specific circumstances, to become the author of Beowulf, or of the Voynich Manuscript? I think that would be really neat, to be able to become one of history's great unknown authors. Also, I do hope it's possible for Norse characters to write sagas.
 
Sopbucket said:
I think I'm more excited about this than any of the other features mentioned so far...
Click to expand...

Which is quite disappointing really. I don't want to be that guy, but it's quite worrying that they couldn't even get the Chinese invasion right on stream when they're already working on non-DLC features like this.
 
samin said:
Now, if only the hermetics would be available to all religions, I could create my perfect scholastic dynasty in the Himalayas
Click to expand...


In my current Lanka playthrough, I'm getting ridiculous/amazing results from picking younger sons to succeed each ruler, and then joining the Buddhist society...


...by the time each ruler is 60+, they have ridiculous stat bonuses from having all of the virtues, plus every vassal loves the ground they walk on.


Current ruler is 45 or so, been in the Buddhist society since he turned 16, has a learning stat of 30, diplomacy of 25, and every other stat (except for intrigue) above 14.


I never tried the learning-focused route before, so I'm pretty amazed at the results this playthrough.
 
A great and fun addition to the artifact system, now if only we could get some physical aides as well...

Since we can make a religiously inspired text in the vein of "The Confessions of Saint Augustine" it'd be great to tie the books "prefix" of "The Confessions of (Character)" into the characters religion if not in the Christian category since idea of Confession is largely a Christian concept.

Prefixes such as "The Sagas of (Character)" for Norse, or "The Trusts of (Character)" for Suomenusko and so on.
Generic ones would be "The Mysteries of (Character)" or "The Lessons/Teachings of (Character). I wonder what a Zunist one would be...
Technically speaking most of these would not be actual books(though people did write back then, literacy wasn't at all high) but knowledge passed down through oral tradition and old tales. The use of pictographs and other proto-writing would also account for a "book".
It would also make a sort of internal sense that a "book" like that would be lost in inheritance: The knowledge and information was not properly passed on, or at all, and it's no longer understood or is simply forgotten.
 
Last edited:
Here's to hoping that De arte venandi cum avibus, or some such, is included.
 
I was already pretty sure I'd like Jade Dragon, but now I'm sold for sure. I just hope that I can have my badass Viking warrior-king compose the sagas of his rampages across Europe and the Near East.
 
This sounds very good.

But having some books is not enough:) You would like to have a suitable library for them as well! I would like to have all rulers have a "Personal quarters" in their primary holding. This could be upgraded, a bit like MR Mansions but with only personal buffs and great costs that needs to be maintained. And upgrades can not only be bought for gold but more a chanse to buy as a result of a lifestyle success? And obviesly, writing a hight- quality book must be one way to get a chanse to upgrade the "Library" part but also a great help if his library is already in a good shape.

Dedicating your life to the library, which is one part of the Personal Quarters only(There should be several, maybe "Library", "Bedroom", "Social Chamber","Private Chapel" ...? Only suggestions. ), would ofcource outdate other parts requireing focus and maintenance to get up-to-date for next ruler(Who might be a master- seducer letting the "library" collect dust). A highlevel quarter takes a skilled maintainer, ie a charachter with low learning focusing on War or anything but Stewardchip, Scoolery, Theology(examples... ) should have a hard time maintaining a high- tier Libray and would need to take help, a costly and risky path that could downgrade the library or have importent books stolen/ruined...

I would love such a RP feeling :) But a would centainly need help and support to refine/balance it into a suggestion.
 
Tryvenyal said:
This sounds very good.

But having some books is not enough:) You would like to have a suitable library for them as well! I would like to have all rulers have a "Personal quarters" in their primary holding. This could be upgraded, a bit like MR Mansions but with only personal buffs and great costs that needs to be maintained. And upgrades can not only be bought for gold but more a chanse to buy as a result of a lifestyle success? And obviesly, writing a hight- quality book must be one way to get a chanse to upgrade the "Library" part but also a great help if his library is already in a good shape.

Dedicating your life to the library, which is one part of the Personal Quarters only(There should be several, maybe "Library", "Bedroom", "Social Chamber","Private Chapel" ...? Only suggestions. ), would ofcource outdate other parts requireing focus and maintenance to get up-to-date for next ruler(Who might be a master- seducer letting the "library" collect dust). A highlevel quarter takes a skilled maintainer, ie a charachter with low learning focusing on War or anything but Stewardchip, Scoolery, Theology(examples... ) should have a hard time maintaining a high- tier Libray and would need to take help, a costly and risky path that could downgrade the library or have importent books stolen/ruined...

I would love such a RP feeling :) But a would centainly need help and support to refine/balance it into a suggestion.
Click to expand...
Personal libraries? Before 1456? I don't think you realize quite how valuable and fragile books were back then. I mean obviously a library would essentially belong to the ruler but I'm pretty sure Books are important things, realm affairs not personal.
 
TheDungen said:
Personal libraries? Before 1456? I don't think you realize quite how valuable and fragile books were back then. I mean obviously a library would essentially belong to the ruler but I'm pretty sure Books are important things, realm affairs not personal.
Click to expand...

You might be right, and ofc books were very valueable. But I rather mean like your persunal study, well.. That´s a kind of library as well, right? Also if not containing thousands or even hundreds of book?

And if you are particularly good at managing your "Library", your liege might be intrested.... There could be event´s where lieges could turn jelous in all enclaves of you Personal Quarter, at least if it´s matching his focus and your´s are better than his... and ofc other events as well that could trigger when for example a lord with a nice "Social Chamber" hosts a fiest or table boardgame or the ability to invite your seduce-target to your super-bedroom etc.

This all really only me thinking laod. I´d considered such RPG abilities awesome!
 
Rip Off Productions said:
a copy of The Art of War should be a vary rare Chinese artifact, sense it was practically a national secret at this point in history(maybe it can be an unlikely piece of loot during wars with China, or a reward accompanying a successful conquest).
Click to expand...

I like this idea. Maybe tie it to the other features of JD? When you receive an Imperial Princess as a wife she could bring along a copy of the book to show that you are now a trusted ally. This copy is buried/burned with her (via event) when she dies so its a one-character bonus.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back