My Crusader Kings II Manual

[unmerged(487655)]

For a grad school project, I created a complete manual for Crusader Kings II. I didn't know at the time that Paradox actually made one of their own (and have made a new one for The Old Gods), but mine is certainly different. My ambition was to make something approaching the glory of Microprose's manuals. I freely admit that I fell short, but I'm still proud of my accomplishment and would like to share.

This manual is over 3 MB in size and is nearly 100 pages long. It is up-to-date as of the 1.10 patch and includes all of the major DLC (Sword of Islam, Legacy of Rome, The Republic, and The Old Gods). Cosmetic DLC and Sunset Invasion are not included, as they have no mechanical impact on the game (please correct me if I'm wrong).

This manual is not approved by or associated with Paradox Interactive, and is not intended to replace or compete with any work they have produced. It is made freely available by me, the sole creator, and will be removed if Paradox deems it a conflict with their products. The "copyright" at the end was included purely as a decorative flourish, and all rights to Crusader Kings II are owned entirely and exclusively by Paradox Interactive.

To view:

http://www.mediafire.com/view/dgunp8ut6yj9cyi/ck2_manual.pdf


To download:

http://www.mediafire.com/download/dg...ck2_manual.pdf


To download a printer friendly version:

http://www.mediafire.com/download/c8rn111frgl9hhb/ck2_manual_print_friendly.pdf

There are definitely ways I could improve this manual, but I think it is basically functional. It is structured so that the most critical gameplay concepts are described first, with the more specialized information coming later. I have refrained from doing play-by-play instructions, and instead have focused on giving enough information so that a new player could (theoretically) understand what each mechanic does and why, but still have lots of opportunity to be surprised as he or she plays.

Constructive criticism is always welcome!

EDIT: Updated 6/5! I've added a chapter for Sunset Invasion plus various corrections and revisions. I've also added a link to download a printer-friendly version which does not feature the yellow background (I was trying for a parchment look).

 

[Khezef]

What kind of degree were you taking that let you do a project on a video game?

 

[unmerged(487655)]

What kind of degree were you taking that let you do a project on a video game?

I'm in a Technical Communication program (I won't graduate for a while yet). The assignment was to create an instructional document of 30-50 pages (or equivalent; it didn't have to be something intended for physical publication). My initial version, which didn't cover any DLC, was 74 pages. Admittedly, I've tried to format it so that, if printed, it would actually function as a book, but I doubt anyone would actually want to do that.

To get back to the point, Technical Communication is sort of a catch-all program that allows opportunities for technical writing, editing, and certain kinds of web content creation, notably training and development. Any time you read a manual, use a software's help features, or take an online training course, you are likely working with a technical communicator's output.

 

[johnjohansson]

I only skimmed it, but it looks pretty good.

Just one thing: you might want to include a disclaimer, early in the actual document (on the first page or so), about it being unofficial and not affiliated with Paradox. Just to make sure to avoid any confusion.

 

[Ithvan]

CK ends in 1453, not in 1452. Tsk tsk tsk

 

[Taesla]

Absolute Cognatic succession is exclusive to the Basque culture, not the Portuguese.

And I would perhaps change the wording of your comments about mods and DLC in the "Launching the game" chapter. Because you make sound like mods are to be avoided and all the DLCs are great, which some people might disagree with especially when in comes to the Sunset invasion DLC.

Other than that, it looks pretty good.

 

[duhsveti]

Your manual is quite nice. Good for newbies me thinks. Maybe you should somehow get it into the FAQ section of the forum.

 

[Prime624]

It's amazing. Very clear yet detailed at the same time. The screenshots make it a lot better as well.

By the way, about the official "manual": I've looked at it a few times before, and it sucks. While the Old Gods manual is an improvement, it still leaves a lot to speculation.

 

[unmerged(487655)]

Absolute Cognatic succession is exclusive to the Basque culture, not the Portuguese.

And I would perhaps change the wording of your comments about mods and DLC in the "Launching the game" chapter. Because you make sound like mods are to be avoided and all the DLCs are great, which some people might disagree with especially when in comes to the Sunset invasion DLC.

Other than that, it looks pretty good.

Working on a few edits from the feedback I'm getting, including your response about mods. I basically agree with you, but part of the point of the project was to approach it from a professional perspective, and from a professional perspective mods are worth a little caution. If you don't know what you are doing with mods, you really shouldn't mess around with them, and not all mods are of especially high quality. The people who might be scared away by the warning are likely the people who should steer clear of mods anyway. As for the official add-ons, Sunset Invasion is the only one I haven't purchased, so I don't know about any bugs. Certainly Paradox didn't intentionally put in any errors, and they wouldn't feel the need to caution people about the negative impacts of official add-on content.

@duhsveti:

I'd be happy for my manual to be posted wherever people found it useful, but that sub-forum seems kind of official. As I said, this isn't intended as a replacement for or competitor to Paradox's official documentation, and posting it alongside the official manual might suggest otherwise. Unless a moderator thinks it would be a good idea, I'd rather leave things as they are.

 

[Aardvark Bellay]

So you want feedback and update it ?
Some things missing or i skipped it.
Well in Republics, patricians only get one succession law (Agnatic Seniority) for their house, while you can hand out the designated heir title.
edit: nvm what i had written before the edit, you had that included, i just missed this part
Trade posts number based on palace size, male members in court and trade practices (that's new).

I loved Microprose manuals and you did a good job in my humble opinion, though i only skimmed through it.


edit2: Maybe add how to reduce Decadence. AFAIK, going on Hadj, keeping a smaller demesne than other landed dynasty in your relam, landing members, giving them a councillor job...errr....suddenly i forgot the other ones.

 

[Tuerai]

Cosmetic DLC and Sunset Invasion are not included, as they have no mechanical impact on the game (please correct me if I'm wrong)

Sunset Invasion adds a horde, a culture, a religion, and has a number of events. Does that not count as an impact?

 

[unmerged(487655)]

Sunset Invasion adds a horde, a culture, a religion, and has a number of events. Does that not count as an impact?

Hmmm....

Can you play as the Aztecs? I didn't delve into Events in my manual beyond explaining what they were. From my perspective, something that just pops up and has to be dealt with isn't really a mechanic which the player needs reams of information about. I didn't want the DLC chapters to be sales pitches, and I'm concerned Sunset Invasion might just say "The Aztecs invade and you have to fight them." I'm not trying to disparage the DLC, because it's a cool idea and certainly gives the player something neat to interact with, but does it offer any mechanical changes?

If I'm not making any sense, go check out the chapters I wrote on the other DLC. I tried to focus exclusively on new mechanics that players would have to understand and which are not available in the base game.

EDIT: A better comparison would be to the Mongols. They exist in the base game, but I don't mention them anywhere in the manual, because that isn't a special mechanic that the player needs to grasp. It's just an invasion. A very powerful, perhaps even unstoppable invasion, but there aren't any special rules that a player needs to know about. However, I discuss the special pagan bonuses that the Tengri religion gets in the Old Gods chapter, because a player can now experience new mechanics.

 

[Battle bunny]

I basically agree with you, but part of the point of the project was to approach it from a professional perspective, and from a professional perspective mods are worth a little caution. If you don't know what you are doing with mods, you really shouldn't mess around with them, and not all mods are of especially high quality. The people who might be scared away by the warning are likely the people who should steer clear of mods anyway.

Huh? Firstly, there are a ton of high quality mods out there, and I think that if everyone started trying out mods, most of them would definitely love at least one of the PB-CK2+-TPaTT triumvirate. Secondly and more importantly, what does one need to be so cautious about? Thanks to the excellent implementation of modding, installing, toggling and uninstalling mods is a trivial, easy, risk-free process.

 

[unmerged(487655)]

Huh? Firstly, there are a ton of high quality mods out there, and I think that if everyone started trying out mods, most of them would definitely love at least one of the PB-CK2+-TPaTT triumvirate. Secondly and more importantly, what does one need to be so cautious about? Thanks to the excellent implementation of modding, installing, toggling and uninstalling mods is a trivial, easy, risk-free process.

Again, not disagreeing. I've modded the heck out of games before, and in fact am keeping an eye on a couple for CK2. However, it's worth saying that mods can cause problems, because, well, they can. Been there, done that. It's also theoretically possible that someone might download a mod from a disreputable source and get a virus, though that seems a pretty remote possibility. From a professional perspective, I felt the difference between "mods" and "DLC" should be addressed, and I've tried to depict that difference accurately. Certainly companies have gotten into trouble before from mods and hacks, so making that distinction in writing would be prudent.

Finally, I hope that nobody who reads this, or any, manual will completely take leave of their senses. People who know what a mod is and where to get them should snort derisively at those scared away by my warning, while those who don't have a clue take the warning as a cue that they should be sure to read up on any mods they're interested in.

 

[Aardvark Bellay]

Hmmm....

Can you play as the Aztecs? I

You can, but you need The Old Gods and i guess Sunset Invasion. Need to wait till they appear and save and load as them. Not sure at what time they arrive though.
Don't know if they have different mechanics.

 

[unmerged(744630)]

Your manual is quite nice. Good for newbies me thinks. Maybe you should somehow get it into the FAQ section of the forum.

I agree...I'm new to the game. I have 3100 hours in Civ V G+K and it was warping my mind. :ninja: I love this particular game; it will keep me well occupied until July 9th (Civ V: Brave New World)....and Beyond!

Thanks for posting...I'm browsing through it now...

 

[Taipan]

Constructive criticism is always welcome!

For printing practicallity, ditch the background colour. Looks pretty on the screen, but my work printer is grunting having to print the background the pale yellow colour...Brilliant otherwise

 

[Cliges]

Very good! Here are a couple of small omissions:

Pagans are described as being those which aren't Catholic or Muslim; it would be more clear to state that Orthodox aren't pagan. That might be obvious as a historical fact for anyone with a passing acquaintance with some knowledge about religion, but it would probably be best to state it explicitly for game purposes.

I might also be helpful go into a little more detail about the mansion holding in The Republic.

You might consider some tables about holdings in general as appendices if it's practicable.


I like that it covers the DLC, as only The Old Gods had any documentation with them (so far as I know).

 

[orielense]

Very nice.

Here is another suggestion: Include some of the less well-known but important functions of Councillors. For instance (p 33), the Marshal can increase the chances of successfully arresting a target if the Marshal is in the same province as the target. I believe the Spymaster also has some useful attributes which are similarly less well known. Possibly the same is true of all the Councillors.

 

[Zireael]

Going to take a look at this later. Also, have you considered contributing to CKII wiki?