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CK3 - Dev Diary #22 - A Medieval Tapestry

Hello everyone! Today Virvatuli and I are bringing you a Development Diary about how we’re catering to different player fantasies in CK3. We will also showcase some of the content and gameplay you’ll encounter!

We are huge believers in allowing players as much freedom as possible to shape the game world in their image, which is reflected in the Paradox slogan “We make the games, you create the stories.” Of course, when trying to model history reasonably accurately as we do in CK3, your starting environment might be a far cry from the just and equal Realm you wish to rule, but determined players should be able to change the mores of their society over time - if that is their fantasy.

As you might suspect, the CK3 team consists of some very nerdy, passionate and compassionate people. Some of the things we’re outlining in this Dev Diary were part of the regular development process, and some have been passion projects. It has been very important for us to represent our players, the team behind the game, and the people who don’t feature heavily in most history books and media. We want everyone to feel welcome and to empower you to play your fantasy.

CK3 truly is a diverse game; it spans a map of nearly half the world and almost six centuries of history. This world is inhabited by a myriad of titles, cultures, faiths, and characters. It’s been our goal to represent all of these things with a great level of detail and accuracy to give you all a deeply immersive experience with more dynamic elements and player choice than ever before. Will you recreate history, build a brand new world, or something in between? It is all in your hands.

But we haven’t just added more diversity; that variety is also much more readily available than it was in CK2. For example, all Faiths and Cultures on the map are playable on release, and the dynamic Faith system will give you much greater power to change the world. We’ve also added many different Game Rules which allow you to tailor your CK3 experience. If you would rather play as a Queen than a King from day one, the Game Rules let you do that, without having to create a custom Faith during your campaign. There are other challenges out there to conquer and stories to explore!

We are incredibly proud of all the stuff we’ve made for you, so without any further ado, let’s jump into the juicy, juicy details!


Gender Options

All gender-related restrictions in CK3 are controlled by the Faiths, either directly or indirectly. As we have an awesome dynamic Faith system, all such restrictions can be changed during a playthrough. Our design philosophy for Faith Tenets related to gender has been to have the exact same options available for men and women. For example, the “View on Gender” Tenet has the settings “Male Dominated”, “Equal” and “Female Dominated”. All the restrictions for women in Male Dominated Faiths are applied to men instead in Female Dominated Faiths.

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Even when men historically held the highest titles and womens’ rights were limited, women still had a vital impact on the world around them. In many parts of the medieval world, it was not uncommon for women to rule in their husbands’ absence, they were often advisors and took care of estates. We have chosen to represent this with the Spouse Council Position. Your Spouse’s skills have a direct impact on your realm and you will see events about your Spouse handling all sorts of duties, from negotiating with factions to raising additional troops.

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Like in CK2, we have a Gender Equality Game Rule, but with some improvements and added variation. The “Equal” setting (corresponding to “All” in CK2) covers more areas and has fewer exceptions than it did in CK2, largely thanks to our dynamic Faith system and the design philosophy mentioned above. It also comes with an “Inverted” setting where the historical gender statuses are turned on their head and women become the dominant gender in most religions.

Diversity_female_rules.png


Women are also more visually present in Crusader Kings than ever before. We have some awesome loading screens with a diverse bunch of characters, for example, but the biggest impact comes from the new event window. In CK2 we had lovely event illustrations, but the drawback was the lack of variation when it came to characters. In CK3 we use our gorgeous character models to bring the events to life, which will showcase the rich diversity of the cast of your playthrough in the event windows.

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Sexuality

Sexuality provides added spice to character behavior and motivations, both in real life and in CK3, and it will also affect what is considered sinful or even criminal in a Faith in the game. It’s great for drama and intrigue, and in CK3 we’ve given sexualities more granularity. In addition to heterosexuality and homosexuality from CK2, characters can also be bisexual and asexual. Sexuality is no longer defined by a trait, but has its own system, which makes it easier to handle for us and more visible in the interface for you. It also means that we do not frame heterosexuality as the default in CK3, which was also important for us.

Children develop their sexualities around the age of 10 and once set, it will not change. It’s worth noting that we don’t model sexual and romantic attraction separately in the game, so a character’s sexuality sets both their sexual and romantic preferences.

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We do however differentiate between sexual preference and sexual behavior in-game. A character’s sexuality in and of itself can never be criminal, but certain sexual acts can be. For example, if a Faith’s “View on Same-Sex Relations” is not set to “Accepted”, two men who have sex will get the “Sodomite” Secret (no matter their sexuality). While the AI doesn’t pursue romance or sex with someone they’re not attracted to, the player can sometimes choose to act against their sexual preference (albeit with a penalty, and it can never lead to a lover relationship). This means a player’s heterosexual male character could get the “Sodomite” Secret if they seduce a homosexual or bisexual man.

We have two Game Rules related to sexuality: “View on Same-Sex Relations” and “Sexuality Distribution”. The former is very similar to the “View on Gender” rule I mentioned above; it can change all Faith’s “View on Same-Sex Relations” from their historical defaults to “Accepted”. The latter can change how common each sexuality is. The settings are “Default” which means Heterosexuality is the most common sexuality, “Equal” which makes all four sexualities equally common, and one setting each for Homosexuality, Bisexuality, and Asexuality which makes them the most common sexuality instead of Heterosexuality.

accepted_same_sex_relationships.png



Faiths

As the dev diaries of the last couple of weeks have shown we have given Faiths a lot of attention, and as you might already know, all Faiths will be unlocked at game start. The dynamic Faith system has allowed us to add plenty of variation at release; we hope you’ll find that each Faith has its own flavor and quirks.

Even better, we now have more distinctions between different non-Christian Faiths, especially in Africa and India! African Paganism from CK2 has been replaced with at least six new Faiths; Roog, Bori, Siguism, Akom, Waaqism, and Kushitism, all with their own Tenets and flavor. For example, the Bori have a long history of matriarchs and worship the spirits. As they believe in spirit possession and that spirits can be either feminine or masculine, they are accepting of same-sex relations. The Siguics, on the other hand, worship their ancestors and believe that twins are blessed.

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Hinduism has been split into seven different Faiths. In addition to expanding upon and fleshing out the four main traditions of Hinduism (Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Smartism), CK3 also sees the addition of less well-known Hindu traditions such as Krishnaism and Advaitism. Buddhism has five Faiths, Jainism three, and many Religions across the map have received similar diversification. We have also added a Dualism Religion with seven different Faiths, for example Manicheanism, Mandeanism, and Sabianism.

india.png


And as you can create your own Faiths, you will be able to create the kind of society you want to play in. As I have mentioned, some things can be preset through Game Rules, but the challenge of changing the world to your liking can be a really satisfying experience.

For example, we have the Game Rules “Faith Acceptance” which makes religious wars and disagreements a thing of the past, and “Randomized Faiths” which gives everyone in the world a random Faith. For those of you who are sensitive to border gore, please proceed with caution as the following screenshot contains graphic imagery. For the rest, how many Faiths can you spot in the screenshot?

how_many_faiths.png



Ethnicities and Cultures

We have expanded the amount of portrait asset sets from the two in the CK2 base game to a grand total of seven in CK3! On release, there will be a visual distinction between Western Europe, Northern Pagans, the Middle East/North Africa, Byzantium, the Steppe, Sub-Saharan Africa, and India. We will also have an even greater number of ethnicities, so you will see variations within these seven groups.

Thanks to the new portrait system, ethnicities now blend seamlessly. When two characters of different ethnicities have a child, the children will look a bit like both parents. More on this in a later Development Diary!


The End

That’s all for this week, friends! Unfortunately, Virvatuli will not be around to answer your questions this time, as she has set out on a new adventure after four years at Paradox. But the rest of the team will be around, of course, so ask away!

Take care of yourselves and each other <3
 
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If the world is set to asexuality, how does this affect overall world reproduction? Is there a signifigant larger share of families who fail to reproduce / produce heirs and more characters who the game generates to fill the empty title?
Yeah, homosexuality and asexuality settings would cause enormous chaos. Of course, it doesn't really make sense: unless somehow only nobility were like that, humanity would die out before long. Those are just there for the lulz.

The background scenery for the characters look gorgeous!

I do have one question about the DD, though. In the Male-Dominated tenet screenshot, we can see the item "Women do not get Claims on their parents' titles". How will this affect CK3's core gameplay? I ask this because much of the (Christian) gameplay in CK2 consisted of looking for unwed daughters of powerful lords, so that you would marry them and your children would inherit their claims and open up a new avenue for expansion.

However, if women no longer get claims from their parents (in the default settings), how is this going to play out?
I interpreted that as "women don't get claims while their parents are alive" and/or "the eldest daughter can inherit if there aren't any sons, but her sisters don't get claims". I would also like some clarification of this though, as both of those seem odd.
 
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Yeah, homosexuality and asexuality settings would cause enormous chaos. Of course, it doesn't really make sense: unless somehow only nobility were like that, humanity would die out before long. Those are just there for the lulz.

You are working under the impression everyone has sex for pleasure. Even today, a lot of asexuals have sex because that's what thr person they are with want.

I would guess that a world of 100% asexuals would be one where sex would be done only for procreation.

In terms of mechanics, the only difference I can think of is that, probably, there would be absolutely no love affairs.
 
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Regarding gender view in faiths, I see that the dominated versions are very rigid. You already answered a question about making exceptions for knights, but I'm more interested in claim inheritance.

I don't think there's any argument that actual Medieval Catholicism was "Male Dominated," but AFAIK there were still cases of pressing cognatically inherited claims. First example that springs to my mind is Svend II of Denmark who fought for the throne based on a claim inherited through his maternal uncle and grandfather. Will something like that even be possible in CK3's historical faiths if women do not inherit claims?
 
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I have to say, it is a bit disorienting to see you move to be more inclusive with the sexuality stuff, then turn around and use a slur as one of the religion names. (Marrano, specifically. Besides, wouldn't he secrets system be better for handling crypto-Judaism and pushing back against forced conversions than having it explicitly shown on the map and presumably the character screens?)
Yeah. Like, I think conversos (a term that I think may be better than the use of that slur) for inspiration to flesh out the current secret systems (and/or CK2's secret religion system depending on how much of it is ported into ck3) would be great, but as a faith (the way they work in Paradox games) it fundamentally makes little sense, because there can't be such a thing as an independent "marrano" realm, as it would simply be an openly Jewish realm (or however the mainstream Jewish faith in the game is called).
 
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Regarding gender view in faiths, I see that the dominated versions are very rigid. You already answered a question about making exceptions for knights, but I'm more interested in claim inheritance.

I don't think there's any argument that actual Medieval Catholicism was "Male Dominated," but AFAIK there were still cases of pressing cognatically inherited claims. First example that springs to my mind is Svend II of Denmark who fought for the throne based on a claim inherited through his maternal uncle and grandfather. Will something like that even be possible in CK3's historical faiths if women do not inherit claims?
This version of "Male Dominated" would seem to also make the Anarchy impossible for England.

Henry I's daughter Matilda/Maud claimed the throne as Queen Regnant; however a large number, possibly a majority, of the English lords supported her relative Stephen of Blois as King. A massive civil war ensued, with Stephen being considered (historically) the legitimate claimant, and eventual winner, although the peace terms settled the succession of the Crown onto Matilda's son (Henry II Plantagenet) rather than on Stephen's heir.
This looks like it would be impossible in Male Dominated *and* Equal settings, as in an equal setting Matilda would just have inherited the throne quietly.
 
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When I read the first quote, I was a little hesitant wether or not you guys would decide to a-historically make all sexualities equally distributed, but then I came to the second quote and was calmed. It's okay to give the players more freedom, no questions asked, but I'm glad that when it comes to the historical options, it actually stays historical. Glad to hear that!

I'm also happy to see the randomized faith game set-up rule. I can tell this is gonna be so much fun :D
Thank God, imagine playing ck3 with an equal chance of your character being bi, gay or straight, praying to RNGesus that your genius heir isn't gay so he can actually have a large enough number of children to have a decent heir afterwards.

Speaking of which, will some congenital traits like quick/genius be hidden until a certain age is reached? It seems quite gamey to discern that at birth, and then deciding to denounce or legitimize your bastard based on your character's infallible Eugenics-vision.
 
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What kind of ratios are we looking at for when one sexuality is set to be more common? In real life, the tendency is towards something like 90-95% of people being either bisexual or heterosexual. The exact number that's bisexual or asexual out of that is really hard to pin down, since there will be a lot of bisexual people who've suppressed that part of their interests or don't act on it due to cultural factors. Asexuals are also hard to tell from the people who don't bother pursuing relationships for other reasons vs not actually having attraction.

Of course, this is all a rough approximation, since human sexuality is stupid complicated and these terms don't accurately describe anything but average interests. People aren't attracted universally to all members of one sex, they all have their own tastes and preferences (body types, personalities, kinks, etc.). So it's a big step in the right direction for realism, but still lots of space open for expansion or modding.
 
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Hi, Ive been waiting for so long for you to drop a religion dev diary, but never once have I seen you mention the Slavic faith. Can you share any information when it comes to Rodnovery? Please at least say something. I really hope you gave it more attention this time, thanks
 
Will there be a Fe/male prevalent option in like the women dominated females are head of house males can be given titles and can be commanders but are unable to be queen/king

Will there be anything will in a equal/female society a distant royal relation may revolt to install “a proper man” on the throne and change the law back to make dominate
 
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Will we as players get to influence our kids sexuality and if so how

also I’d assume as a catholic can a pope be gay but have it be a secret and can blackmail him in support of hmm let’s say taking over big blue blob
 
What kind of ratios are we looking at for when one sexuality is set to be more common? In real life, the tendency is towards something like 90-95% of people being either bisexual or heterosexual. The exact number that's bisexual or asexual out of that is really hard to pin down, since there will be a lot of bisexual people who've suppressed that part of their interests or don't act on it due to cultural factors. Asexuals are also hard to tell from the people who don't bother pursuing relationships for other reasons vs not actually having attraction.

Of course, this is all a rough approximation, since human sexuality is stupid complicated and these terms don't accurately describe anything but average interests. People aren't attracted universally to all members of one sex, they all have their own tastes and preferences (body types, personalities, kinks, etc.). So it's a big step in the right direction for realism, but still lots of space open for expansion or modding.

If we take the heterosexual ratio as the example default I would say non-hetero sexualities will likely make fifteen to twenty percent at a guess. That feels like the kind of range where it seems rare but you can still come across it, even if most characters don't act on their sexuality.

I'd say the real life range of 1.5% - 4% would be too small to be impactful for gameplay purposes, and I would guess that that would feel too much like tokenism as a opposed to a meaningful mechanical choice,
 
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If we take the heterosexual ratio as the example default I would say non-hetero sexualities will likely make fifteen to twenty percent at a guess. That feels like the kind of range where it seems rare but you can still come across it, even if most characters don't act on their sexuality.

I'd say the real life range of 1.5% - 4% would be too small to be impactful for gameplay purposes, and I would guess that that would feel too much like tokenism as a opposed to a meaningful mechanical choice,
You could maybe get away with 85% majority and 5% each for the three minorities as the default, with a secondary option that gives 10% for the minorities and 70% for the majority. All sexualities being equal is 25% each across the board.

Modders can of course add new options that they think reflects reality more accurately. Say if someone wanted 45% het, 45% bi, 5% homo, and 5% asex.
 
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Man, I wonder what the birth rate for a game with the "Mostly Asexual" setting would be. I know everyone will still get married heterosexually and "do their duty" as it were, but I imagine overall fertility would be way, way down.
I wonder if it will also reduce population growth (assuming that mechanic is in the game). Whatever's making most people asexual in this setting wouldn't only affect the nobility. Infidelity and the resultant bastards would probably be hated even more in that setting than in real history, the population explosion preceding (and possibly enabling) the crusades probably wouldn't have happened, the Normans wouldn't have produced so many adventuring second and third sons and so on. Would be an interesting alt-history if the implications were fully explored, but probably a boring game.
 
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This looks absolutely amazing and you guys are geniuses! Three cheers for Paradox!
 
You are wrong, since Slavs as an ethnic group are much older than Emglish as a language. It can be vice versa as some suggest with Slave being a derivative from Slav

This argument is fallacious. The English lexicon didn't appeared out of nowhere, nor the English language itself, and the delimitation between Old English and Ingvaeonic is quite conventional, so are all other "steps" of this language history. No Englishman ever go to bed speaking Ingvaeonic and did wake up speaking Old English...
English is part of a continuum that we know go back up to Proto-Indo-European and is probably as old as is approximatively the existence of language in our Earth itself.
 
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There are some things which i dont like about CK3 and others I do however this DD I do like and the previous religion one however i am kinda confused on why the Pope man would be accepting of you being homosexual in a catholic world and any Catholics as well? I would assume there would be an opinion mauls with the Pope man and other Catholics because why would they accept someone who couldnt reproduce as Christianity didnt look too fondly at homosexuals ?