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Whether players choose a feudal, clan, or tribal ruler, leadership is a hereditary position inCrusader Kings 3. Unfortunately, not every player heir will be the best character for the job.Perhaps, they have negative congenital traits, perhaps they have bad stats, or perhaps their Personality Traits make them a terrible person or prone to high Stress.
Regardless, there are ways for players to adjust who becomes the next player heir. Some are clever, some are harmful, some of them require mid-game or late-game innovations, and some of them are outright cheating. Still, when it comes to ruling an empire inCrusader Kings 3, sometimes players will need to crack a few eggs.
The Basics on Heirs and Partitioning
Every realm, independent and vassal, has a succession law in place. This determines where the realm’s titles will go once the current ruler passes, and it’ll also decide which character the player will control. In general, the player will control whoever gets the primary title from the current player ruler, assuming that person is in the same dynasty. If the player ruler dies without a dynastic heir, the player will jump to the highest ranked character within the dynasty. If the dynasty is wiped out, the game will end (although players can always switch to a new character from the main menu).
Crusader Kings 3features six succession laws and five gender laws. To change any of them, players will need some Prestige to spend anda positive relationship with the realm’s top five vassals.
The gender laws are as follows:
Special Succession Rules
On top of all this, duchy and higher titles can have special laws attached to their succession status. These can include gender laws andElection Lawsthat include the following:
Additional Tips to Keep in Mind
Inheritance also follows a few rules that players can’t change with succession laws. However, there are ways to take advantage of them.
Designating an Heir
The Early Medieval Era includes an Innovation called Royal Prerogative. This unlocks Crown Authority 3 and 4, also known as High and Absolute. High Authority is required to enact primogeniture and male/female only laws, but Absolute Authority provides its own benefit: a designated heir.
With Absolute Authority, player rulers can choose any of their legitimate children to be the player heir no matter when they were born. The ruler’s titles will still be split between every child according to the realm succession laws, but the designated heir will get the top title as if they were the firstborn. Player rulers can even choose a child of the “wrong” gender in a realm with male or female preference. However, they can’t choose grandchildren to be a designated heir even if their parents die.
The downside of choosing this method is that vassals get big Opinion penalties under Absolute Authority.Most vassal stances get a -40 penalty, Minority vassals get -50, and even Courtly vassals get a -15. Vassal tax and levy contributions go way up, making it harder for vassals to overpower their liege, but players should keep this in mind if all they want to do is choose an heir.
Dynasty Powers
Another way to narrow down the field of heirs is available to the head of a dynasty. Under the Hostile interactions, player rulers who are also dynastic heads will see “Disinherit” and “Denounce.” Disinheriting a dynasty member will prevent them from receiving any titles from parents or siblings, and their children won’t get this inheritance, either. However, players can still grant titles to disinherited children and dynasty members, and their children can freely inherit their titles when they die.
There are two major downsides to this approach. First, the player ruler will get the modifier “Disinheritor,” which is a -20 General Opinion penalty that lasts 5 years. Second, the Disinherit action costs a lot of Renown,Renown that players could spend on Dynasty Legacies.
One thing players can’t do is attempt to murder their children.Crusader Kings 3doesn’t allow parents to start murder schemes against their children, even if the parent has the Callous or Sadistic Personality Traits. Siblings, parents, and grandchildren are all valid targets, but never children. So keep that fact in mind when considering what to do to make sure the right heir gets the job.
Crusader Kings 3is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Crusader Kings 3
WHERE TO PLAY
Your legacy awaits. Choose your noble house and lead your dynasty to greatness in a Middle Ages epic that spans generations. War is but one of many tools to establish your reign, as real strategy requires expert diplomatic skill, mastery of your realm, and truecunning.Crusader Kings IIIcontinues the popular series made by Paradox Development Studio, featuring the widely acclaimed marriage of immersive grand strategy and deep, dramatic medieval roleplaying.Take command of your house and expand your dynasty through a meticulously researched Middle Ages. Begin in 867 or 1066 and claim lands, titles, and vassals to secure a realm worthy of your royal blood. Your death is only a footnote as your lineage continues with new playable heirs, either planned… or not.Discover a sprawling simulated world teeming with peasants and knights, courtiers, spies, knaves and jesters, and secret love affairs. An extensive cast of historical characters can be romanced, betrayed, executed, or subtly influenced.Explore a vast medieval map stretching from the snowswept Nordic lands to the Horn of Africa, and the British Isles in the west to the exotic riches of Burma in the east. Claim, conquer, and rule thousands of unique counties, duchies, kingdoms, and empires.
