Announcing....:
SELIN
Spirituality Enhanced for Lux Invicta by Numahr
Note: I need to update this page. It still acts as a good general presentation of what SELIN is. List of features, however, is rather outdated. Basically it predates the release of the Old Gods and does not yet explain how SELIN evolved (or, is evolving) to take into account all the great features brought by this expansion.
Goal
SELIN aims to bring strategic depth and reinforced immersion to Lux Invicta's religions
Instructions
- Generally, SELIN gets integrated in the game files, so there is no need to make a separate download.
- The latest official releases of SELIN get integrated in
Lux Invicta 0.6x released by riknap (see original post).
- In addition, more recent tweaks and bugfixes are included in beta files to be found at the end of the thread. In particular, look for LIBERT3 files by Riknap.
- If you want to play the legacy version corresponding to the latest official release by Shaytana, download the file at the bottom of this post for a version compatible with
Lux Invicta 0.6a as released by Shaytana for CK 1.6b, and unzip it in your Lux Invicta folder, making sure to replace files when prompted. Note that this version is not supported anymore. Practically it is functional but does not include the latest features.
Why?
Lux Invicta includes no less than
156 religions. This mad religious set up has something epic in that it mixes well documented historical developments with crazy creativity in an unique blend.
Clearly the presence of so many spiritual constructs shows a world deeply infused by religion. However, with the present system, it makes no big difference to belong to one or another of these diverse religions. This was my immediate frustration when I played the mod, as I wanted to "feel" the game differently depending on the faith of my character and of my empire.
So I started thinking, asked Shaytana permission, and set up to work...
New spiritual challenges!
In the Levant...
- As Prince of Sabaa, give back to the Old Gods
Almaqah and
Ash-Shams their due; the Empire of Arabia!
- You worship the Kaaba in Mecca... as it is the siege of your God's presence on Earth,
Hubal. Drive the heretical Mahometans far away from your holy place!
- True Islam has been distorted by the foul practices of the Sunni Caliph... Preserve Mahomet's authentic message, battle the Caliph over it and restore Islam to its original purity, as the leader of the
Zahiri,
Haruriyyah or
Ash'ari sect! (all coming with different modifiers justified by the specificities of each madhhab)
- Lead the Hashashins in battle and in covert actions! Your heretical messianic
Qarmatian sect, infused with strong Persian influences, gives you the best assassins of the Levant, impregnable forts, a good recruitment system and fanatical soldiers who will happily die for you on your order. Your faith also gives you a taste for learning and a remarkable piety. Your neighbors fear and hate you... What are you waiting to strike first?!
- As a
Yahianist Leader, will you be able to unite all these quarreling religions through your messianic message? Your gnostic heretical messianic religion provides you with a steady supply of fanatical martyrs-to-be and an unrivaled piety...
- As ruler of the rationalist
'Ilm Islam, will you survive more militarist neighbors to become a beacon of enlightenment to the world, bringing forth a real "Renaissance" of the classical values when the prophet was discussing about the Love of Reason in passionate debates?
- As King of the last bastion of the
Luwian religion, will you be able to keep alive and make prosper again the 2 millenia-old Hittite faith? Most call your religion archaic, but you only know what the true meaning of civilization is...
In the Orient...
- As a follower of
Mazdak, will you be able to conduct your populist revolution and force true equality on this world? Petty or Grand rulers tend to hate you because of your revolutionary message, your provinces are self-ruled and you'd rather share the commoners' poverty, but your people is ready to die en masse for their precious liberty...
- As the leader of one of the
Hindo-Hellen faiths, prove to the others that your own religious synthesis, created by your forefathers, is the superior one! All of them are close to each other, well suited for patient empire-building and cultural development, with slight differences in style depending on their Ascendants...
- As a Parthian worshiper of
Angra Mainyu/Ahriman, you swore to release the Destructive Spirit on the lands of the meek worshipers of Ahura Mazda. Burn all the Zorostrian clergy and the wicked heirs of the doomed Sassan clan in one holy Fire of Vengeance and Salvation!
- As a follower of the true Zoroastrian religion... your faith is your ally in re-building the empire. The clergy can provide you the necessary legitimacy to your ambitions. Will Cyrus the Great and Shapur II the Great recognize you as the restorer of the Persian Empire?
How?
The basic mechanic I use is modifiers. There may be more coming in a distant future. But for now SELIN is a system where each religion is characterized with modifiers impacting those who follow it: characters and provinces.
There are 156 religions, each with a peculiar historical background, spiritual doctrine and intermixed influences. As "researching" in-depth all 156 religions to come up with tailored modifiers would have been just too much, I decided to go with a systemic approach. This is how the Matrix of Religions came to be.
The Matrix of Religions
This is a way to design unique modifiers for each and any religion present in Lux Invicta in a manageable and understandable manner. Basically each religion is defined by three mandatory characteristics + an optional one:
- It belongs to a
Civilization;
- Its doctrine has a
Status;
- It has a
Soul.
- Optionally, it may have an
Ascendant, which is basically another Civilization with only 50% influence.
Typology of Religions
Each characteristic is given modifiers. These may change and get tweaked over time. Anyway, below are the basics of my typology of religions.
Civilizations:
-
Christian: Focus on strong rural fortified holdings and special privileges to the clergy.
Castles provide more income, churches less. Above average fortifications. +1 diplo / -1 fertility
-
Islamic: Efficient tax systems, great cities but dynastic distrust.
City-focused government styles. Distrust within the same dynasty. Tax bonus. +1 martial / -1 diplo
-
Persian: Strong dynastic feeling and good statesmen and administrators, capable of mustering large armies through a forced conscription system.
Good quantitative administration style results in more levy and better taxes but less land morale. Strong dynastic culture. +1 stewardship / -1 martial.
-
Jewish: Sectarian tendencies and a strong focus on commercial matters.
Strong inter-community solidarity but despised by other religions. +2 STE / -1 DIPL / -1 MAR. Economic research bonus
-
Greek-Roman: Strong interest in civic matters and well organized military.
Well drilled armies, heirs of centuries of martial traditions, with excellent system to bring reinforcements. Rely more on contributions of the citizens of great cities for the economy and war. Research bonus on culture. Heirs of a glorious classical civilization recognized by every one: monthly prestige bonus.
-
Gnostic: sectarian tendencies, devoted warriors and an emphasis on temples.
A bit "sectarian": bonus influence on same religion vs malus on infidels, small morale bonus, slightly less tax and levy except in temples but monthly piety bonus and faster reinforcements rates. +1 LEA / -1 DIP
-
Buddhist: pacifist stance except for monasteries' warrior monks, and a strong interest for art and culture.
Pacifist civilization, with a tradition of warrior monks (strong bonus of temple levy). Strong cultural research bonus for each Buddhist province. -2 MAR/ +1 LEA / +1 STE
-
Steppe / Tengri: strong emphasis on military prowess, reliance on rural areas and low division of labor.
Gengis Khan. Less tax income but more levies from rural areas. Rulers rely more on castles (steppe) and less on cities (sedentarians). Fort level reduced. Strong bonus in military tech but malus in economic and cultural. Revolt risk. +3 MAR / -1 in STE, LEA and DIP.
-
Norse: strong emphasis on martial prowess and a focus on small holdings.
Vikings. A bit like Tengri but less extreme.
-
Celtic: key role of the clergy in administrating daily life, a focus on small holdings and individual martial prowess.
Feudal links weaker. Slight income malus. Morale bonus. Relies more on castles than on cities. -1 INT / +1 MAR
-
Indian: weak feudal links, influential temples and a mysterious sensuality.
Weak feudal links. Larger armies with less morale. Strong bonus for temples. -2 DIP / +2 INT. Kama Sutra sensuality: sex appeal and fertility bonus
-
Archaic: spiritual heir of the first religions born in the cradle of empires, Mesopotamia.
Old religions still alive in the fertile crescent and Mesopotamia. Opinion malus, tech malus except in culture, poor mobilization of castles, lower fertility. But good tax systems, strong fortifications, only civilization with build rate bonus and believers are good administrators.
-
Barbarian: emphasis on rural areas, individual martial prowess and low division of labor.
Like celtic but a bit more extreme, no such importance of druids, research malus in culture and economy but bonus on military.
Doctrinal status:
-
Mainstream doctrine: Its doctrine is mainstream: it is recognized as one of the main doctrinal systems in its most legitimate form.
Characters of mainstream religions gain prestige and are generally well considered. Temples enjoy tax privileges (tax malus for rulers).
-
Local Variation: Local Variation of a mainstream religious current, favoring social harmony over doctrinal purity.
Church does not like it but vassals do. More pragmatical (stewardship) but cynical characters.
-
Heretical doctrine: Its doctrine is Heretical, openly challenging the supremacy of a mainstream doctrine, either through the pen or the sword.
Politics and economics are more challenging but the believers have overall personal bonii. These religions rely more on communities around temples and castles where heresies tend to flourish, and less so on cityfolk. They improve defenses and fortifications. Levy growth bonus. Better military research.
Soul:
This is the most influential characteristic
-
Statist: the faith is strongly infused with legitimation rethorics supporting political power, as the religion is instrumentalized by the Prince to strengthen its hold on society.
Religion instrumentalized by the ruler. Reduces RR but decreased opinion of vassals and church. Increased tax, especially of church. Armies better organized and reinforced quicker. Culture tech bonus but malus on economy. Prestige bonus. +1 STE / +1 DIP / -2 LEA
-
Martial: heroic deeds on the battlefield are glorified as the finest sign of holiness.
Straightforward bonus on military balanced by malus in other areas
-
Populist: strives to achieve equality in this world, supporting the commoners against the privileged classes and doctrinal formalism.
Strong political malus, average economic malus but large number of fanatical, if unorganized levies.
-
Scholarly: encourages critical study or creative interpretation of holy scriptures, natural and social phenoma to reach the Truth. Key doctrinal questions are open to contradictory debates among the clergy and believers.
Significant martial malus and limited political malus for strong research bonus and limited administrative bonus.
-
Messianic: believers see the state of the world as hopelessly flawed, but their divine-inspired deeds shall bring forth salvation in our time, against all odds!
Excellent morale and fast reinforce rate, strong piety bonus, focus on temples at the detriment of cities, focus on military techs at the detriment of others, strong fort bonus, tax malus
-
Traditional: the faith follows the ancient traditions of the commoners and local notables, and it has slowly evolved, if at all, throughout the recent era of troubles and turmoils.
Vassals are happy and soldiers have a good morale, but low tax and research. Larger levies, but it takes time to replace losses.
-
Clerical: the religion revolves around the many rules and rites set up by the clergy, which enjoys a privileged status in society and a large degree of autonomy from the Prince.
Mild modifiers. Slight income malus, especially on temples, but less revolt risk, good church relation and piety bonus.
Definition of Religions
This is the fun part! I defined the above-described characteristics for each and every religion. A few examples:
- Yahyanism:
Gnostic heretical messianic religion
- Zoroastrianism:
Persian mainstream clerical religion
- Hindo-Hellenic Buddhist:
Greaco-Roman local statist religion with
Buddhist ascendant
The Matrix then computes automatically the modifiers for each religion, based on the Typology. And all is left is to code it!
Legacy of Rome Orthodox mechanics imported and adapted
SELIN integrates the mechanics for the Orthodox religion introduced by the Legacy of Rome to the world of Lux Invicta, taking into account the specific background of the alternate history. The following religions benefit from mechanics developed for Orthodox religions in the
Legacy or Rome DLC:
- 12
Christian religions: Adoptionist, Apollinarist, Arian, Audianist, Docetist, Melkite, Monophysite, Monothelitist, Orthodox, Pelagian, Sabellianist and Semipelagian;
- The 5
Neo-Platonic: Neoplatonic, Porphyryan, Platonic Pythagorean, Platonic Islam and Platonic Christian;
- The 5
Classical Graeco-Roman : Graeco-Roman, Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Alexandros-Ammon, Cybele, Imperial Cult;
- The 3
Mithraic religions: Mithraic, Mithraic-Christian, Eosphorist.
- The 9
Solar religions benefit from it: Apollo-Heliosean, Apollo-Boreasean, Solar-Christian, Al-Shams Islamic, Solar-Manichean, Ódinn-Sólar, Horsic and Ts'ähäy Mahremite. These religions, which are often syncretic ones mixed with "barbarian" cults, are now differentiated from more traditional neighboring religions, due to their strong affiliation to the "Imperial" Solar religion.
These religions can nominate an Autocephale Patriarch if rulers following them has a King tier title, and compete for complementary "Pentarchies", the four holiest sites of Lux Invicta's Greek-Roman world, together with the seat of their own respective patriarchates.
As per design decision of Shaytana, out of these religions, only a few (e.g. Arianism, Monophysitism and Neoplatonism) have a permanent, universal Head. All others will need to either create an Autocephale Patriarch by reaching the King tier, or by taking control of one of the four seats of complementary "pentarchies" to create a local Pentarch.
- The four "complementary" pentarchies shared between these religions are Rome, Jerusalem, Carthage and Alexandria.
Current Status and Next Steps
See work plan in my signature.
Finally, longer term goals include:
- decision/event system related to the religions' souls
- optional modules to adapt the pentarchy system to other religious groups
- adapt the "mending the schism" mechanic or finding a way to give a reward to a religion controlling the four complementary pentarchies
- deepen the military aspects with combat modifiers (ex.: making heretical light infantry more difficult to rout, they would rather die)
Here is a snapshot at the future soul-based decision/event system:
If you want to help, please let me know! See the section below.
Access to the Matrix and contributions
You can access the matrix
here (version 07/10/2013). That will let you see how modifiers work.
View attachment SELIN-HowTo.txt
View attachment SELIN-Templates-2012-10-19.txt
Thanks
Thanks go to:
- Futuregary for maintaining the module in my absence
- ColonelWright for coding 48 religions and drafting tailored descriptions (
Pontifex Maximus of SELIN)
- david3k for partially coding 19 religions (
Priest of SELIN)
- Jedrek for drafting tailored descriptions (
Novice Priest of SELIN)
- Sernista for coding 1 religion (
Disciple of SELIN)
- ShadowGamer for coding 1 religion (
Disciple of SELIN)
- conqueror for his research on religions definition (
Disciple of SELIN)
- and of course Shaytana for creating this incredible mod and for the many discussions on the religions' background (the
CREATOR)