This is madness. These are BEARDS!

[Sternness]

Before the game came out, when I was watching Let's Plays of the early beta, I remember seeing characters' portraits change dramatically on a frequent basis, mid-game. Mostly, hair seemed to come and go pretty randomly across one character's lifespan. Now, in the demo and retail version, I haven't seen this really happen, but I do notice that sometimes when starting a new game, some characters have a habit of surprising me with new facial hair that wasn't present in their scenario selection profile.

Take for example when I started a game as the Duke of Toulouse. Before I even unpaused, I was browsing around the map and, lo-and-behold, I came across this:

Suddenly, I felt an inexplicable urge to try my luck as the (bearded!) King of Navarra. I quickly resigned my first campaign and started a game as Antso Jimena, only to be met with this:

...

After that, I started noticing that some characters seem to occasionally get bonus facial hair when you load up a new campaign. Besides the King of Navarra, I've notice this happen in 1066 with the Duke of the Isles, the first heir to the Kingdom of Norway, Count Reginar of Brabant, the Count of Castello Branco, and the Doux of Adrianopolis, heir to the Byzantine throne (pictured below). What should be noted is that none of these characters have facial hair on the character select screen before you start the game, and only sometimes sprout them when you start a new game.

vs

(How can a beard like that still have zero Martial skill?)

Has anyone found a method to this madness? Could this potentially affect created characters? I'll try and delve deeper at a later date.

 

[unmerged(209891)]

I've noticed that too, its very strange. Every time you load up the map certain character portraits change. I don't know why, its very strange and it seems like it wouldn't be intended.

 

[Simon280586]

(How can a beard like that still have zero Martial skill?)

You should be able to appoint that beard marshal.

 

[BootOnFace]

(How can a beard like that still have zero Martial skill?)

I don't have answers for you, only reverence.

 

[Cuthuthulu]

Schrödinger's beard?

 

[Communazi]

maybe people with the slothful trait are too lazy to shave?

I do like how if a character is ill their appearance changes to reflect it

 

[Sternness]

Grave news: It seems that the character you start the game as has no chance of getting a beard himself. Only random AI characters are blessed with surprise beards. This means that, at the 1066 start date, the only bearded character you can play as is King Stenkil of Sweden....

In other words: Once again, as with all previous Paradox games, Sweden is overpowered! (Normandy and Apulia don't count, they only have moustaches.)

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[BAMman100]

My King of Navarra randomly grew a beard, which is good because otherwise he looks like a fat dope.

 

[unmerged(209891)]

But seriously, why are character portraits changing any time we load the game? That makes no sense to me.

 

[unmerged(436066)]

The dopiest character I've seen is Foulques IV d'Anjou; he sometimes looks likes a poor mans Louis XIV. I'll try and get it to show up and I'll upload an image of it.

Got it. I think the reason I thought of Louis XIV was his appearance in CIV4, which this clown shares a passing resemblance too.

 

[The Blood Eagle]

Real beards don't just cover your face, but your chest as well. I've yet to see a real beard in this game.

 

[unmerged(75409)]

Only a handful of characters have preset "DNA" in the scenario files, for all others their appearance is more or less randomly generated when you start the game.

If you check your vassals, you should see some of them also being different each time you launch a new game. If the scenario files do not explicitly define who is the count of Nowhere-Upon-Buttocks at the date you select, then it will auto-generate a character.

 

[unmerged(436066)]

Only a handful of characters have preset "DNA" in the scenario files, for all others their appearance is more or less randomly generated when you start the game.

If you check your vassals, you should see some of them also being different each time you launch a new game. If the scenario files do not explicitly define who is the count of Nowhere-Upon-Buttocks at the date you select, then it will auto-generate a character.

I find it curious however that characters can look one or two ways and seem to rotate. As I've noted in a thread I've made, the character ID seems to play a role in how he or she looks. You'll actually notice that certain features are always present in these characters for that very reason.

It's not completely random, but it's still random enough, I guess.

 

[Captain Gars]

There is a bug that sometimes make a character look slightly different when you start the game. This is not intended and has nothing to do with traits.

 

[Jak9090]

are u able to make beards spawn if u make a event for it, like if a new fasion hits the court and ppl start ge4tting beards.

 

[Maria Theresa]

In 1535, King Henry VIII of England, who wore a beard himself, introduced a tax on beards. The tax was a graduated tax, varying with the wearer's social position. His daughter, Elizabeth I of England, reintroduced the beard tax, taxing every beard of more than two weeks' growth

Would be cool if we could enforce the anti-"beard tax". Every adult male without a beard will pay 80% of their income! That'll make 'em spawn like mushrooms after rainy season.

 

[Sternness]

Only a handful of characters have preset "DNA" in the scenario files, for all others their appearance is more or less randomly generated when you start the game.

I figured as much.

There is a bug that sometimes make a character look slightly different when you start the game. This is not intended and has nothing to do with traits.

Think this will see a patch? I mean, obviously don't waste needless man hours on it over perfecting the AI (and correcting that little starting set-up glitch I posted about), but I definitely couldn't argue with this quirk getting fixed.

EDIT: Patch 1.03b seems to have fixed the second glitch I linked.

 

[trajan]

Grave news: It seems that the character you start the game as has no chance of getting a beard himself. Only random AI characters are blessed with surprise beards. This means that, at the 1066 start date, the only bearded character you can play as is King Stenkil of Sweden....

In other words: Once again, as with all previous Paradox games, Sweden is overpowered! (Normandy and Apulia don't count, they only have moustaches.)

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

So you're saying there's a Swedish beard conspiracy? :ninja:

 

[FromasterG]

Someone should make a mod to give every character in the game William the Bastard's mustache.

Even the women.