From Crusader Kings II Wiki. At least some were last verified for version 3.0. Religion in 1066. Every character in the game follows a religion. A character's religion has a major impact on their gameplay mechanics. 769 start: hold Italy (or Italia) as one of the requirements to Create the Holy Roman Empire; Catholic. Apr 10, 2020 In Crusader Kings 3, you will be able to pick the Viking Age start, introduced in Old Gods, but it won't go as far back as 769, which we got.
Your game begins by selecting a start date, the point at which the simulation begins to diverge from history.
You may choose one of the bookmark start dates below, or select any custom start date between 1066 and 1337.
- 2Bookmarks
- 3Other key years
Choosing a start date[edit]
As technology advances, holdings tend to have more buildings pre-built; tribal realms also tend to be relatively weaker compared to feudal realms, as feudal realms utilize advanced tech for construction of buildings. Large realms become more stable and merchant republics become economic powerhouses. Expect larger wars at later start dates, as crusades and jihads are called, and as hordes invade from off-map.
At later start dates, nomads may find it difficult to destroy holdings via pillages due to the increased number of buildings; revolts arising from pillages also have increased troop counts. Also, tribal realms become less common in some parts of the world.
Faith-wise, at later start dates, pagans become less common across the world, displaced by the Abrahamic faiths or the Indian religions.
You may choose a character immediately, or use 'observer mode' to mix things up before playing.
Bookmarks[edit]
Each start date has its own major powers and regional dynamics. Learn how these historical realms tend to behave, and use this knowledge to form strategies and personal goals.
Early Middle Ages (769)[edit]
- Requires Charlemagne DLC
| Charles and Carloman Karling rule over a divided Francia. If Charles reunites Francia, as he did historically, he will be known as 'Charles the Great' or 'Charlemagne'. He may aim to found the Holy Roman Empire. On the Italian peninsula, Desiderius is the King of Lombardy, but he holds papal lands in defiance of the Papacy. He may pay a high price for this defiance, but at the same time, he or his descendants can break the temporal power of the Papacy permanently. |
| In the Byzantine Empire, controversy rages regarding the use of religious images. The emperor and ecumenical patriarch are Iconoclast, but may revert to Orthodox Christianity by decision. |
| The Abbasid Caliphate is at the zenith of its power. However, powerful vassals are already biding their time to break free. |
| The Umayyad Sultanate of Al-Andalus controls large swathes of Hispania, a consolation prize of sorts after losing their empire to the Abbasids about 20 years prior. To their north, Asturias is in real danger of falling into Muslim hands. The Umayyads may inspire early Crusades if they successfully invade Aquitaine at Toulouse or Burgundy at Provence. However, unlike the 867 bookmark, the Umayyads will have more time to fortify themselves. By forging an empire, they can reclaim some of their lost glory. |
| Over in the East, the Empire of Tibet looms large over its neighbours, ruling over a realm still clinging to pagan ways; meanwhile the Western Protectorate is at the nadir of its power, as the Tang Dynasty has yet to recover from internal rebellion about a decade prior. |
Viking Age (867)[edit]
- Requires The Old Gods DLC
| In Scandinavia, small tribes are attempting to subjugate each other in the hope of forming Norway, Sweden and the Fylkirate. The sons of Ragnarr Loðbrok are attempting to carve out pieces of England in revenge for the murder of their father. Farther east, Rurik is beginning his attempt to form Rus. While the Norse are powerful now, they are vulnerable to gavelkind and conversion by missionaries. |
| King Arpad of the Magyars is beginning a series of invasions with the hope of settling in Hungary. Despite having massive event armies and access to the Tribal Invasion CB, the Hungarians often stay put after conquering de jure Hungary. |
| Six Karling kingdoms dominate Western Europe. Will enough Karling realms unite, through claim wars or inheritance, to create a new empire? |
| The Umayyad Sultanate of Al-Andalus controls 66% of Hispania, but Asturias has upgraded holdings and is therefore stronger than it looks. Just like in the 769 bookmark, the Umayyads may inspire early Crusades if they successfully invade Aquitaine at Toulouse; but now they'll have a lot less time to prepare for the counterattack. |
| The Abbasid Caliph, Al-Mu'tazz, rules over a weakened Arabian empire. Former vassals have become de facto independent. The Caliph's half-brothers consider claimant bids, while the Turkish dukes in Jerusalem clamor for independence. Meanwhile, the Saffarids ruling Persia have less than 90 years to prepare for a Seljuk invasion. |
The Iron Century (936)[edit]
| As the galloping hordes of the Hungarian warlord Arpad Zoltan raid across Europe, the Christian world stands divided. Otto Ludolfinger is the king of Germany, and stands poised to unify Central Europe under a Holy Roman Empire. Young King Louis IV rules the West Franks, the direct heir to Charlemagne's legacy, but is incapable of controlling his southron lords. England has achieved unification at last under King Æthelstan, while León stands alone in the path of Reconquista. Finally, King Haakon the Good rules over pagan Norway while staying true to his Christian faith. |
| After suffering great defeats to the rising power of Bulgaria, the Byzantine Empire watches over the Mediterranean with great concern: the mighty Abbasid Caliphate has shrunk but still commands many hearts and minds; in Egypt the Ikhshidid Sultanate rules with an iron fist; from Africa the Fatimid Caliphate has risen against the Sunni establishment; in Iberia the first caliph of Cordoba Abd-al-Rahman holds the last light of the Umayyad legacy. Meanwhile in the Arabian deserts, the Qarmatian fanatics under Abu Tahir raid the pilgrim routes into Mecca and beyond. |
| Being exiled from Norway, Eirik Bloodaxe bides his time, with a great army ready to sail away to conquer whatever his heart desires. In distant Persia, the recent Muslim convert Vushmgir Ziyarid considers the legacy of his deceased Zoroastrian brother; in the cold lands of the Kievan Rus', Igor Rurikid rules over a diverse people still clinging on to their old gods. |
| Holding control over the Guiyi Army - the last Tang presence in the West - Cao Yuande plots to build a new kingdom for himself away from the influence of his wartorn homeland. North of Dunhuang, Emperor Taizong of the Liao dynasty builds a large military presence across the steppes with his eye turned to the riches of both west and east. On the Indian subcontinent, Mahipala Pratihara holds one of the largest armies in the known world, ready to reclaim the lost glory of generations past. |
High Middle Ages (1066)[edit]
| The descendants of Rurik have converted to Orthodox Christianity. The continued practice of gavelkind has left Ruthenia and Rus a mess of independent duchies. However, the inheritance of the crown of the Kievan Rus follows the rota system (modeled by Seniority succession in-game); anyone who dares to attack one is likely to draw the ire of all Rurikid rulers. |
| The Holy Roman Empire and France are major powers. The Karling dynasty rules neither: they have been reduced to a single county, Vermandois in France. Hungary, Poland, and much of Scandinavia have converted to Catholicism. Although Catholic and feudal, the Hungarians have not forgotten the raiding ways of their forefathers. |
| King Harold of England is being invaded by two claimants: Duke William 'the Bastard' of Normandy, and King Harald 'the hard-ruler' of Norway. (This describes 15 September 1066, before the battle of Stamford Bridge. If you wish to start with William the Conqueror, select 26 December 1066 instead.) |
| The Sunni Andalusians rule small duchies in the wake of the disintegration of Al-Andalus. The Catholic Castilians in northwest Hispania have also split into multiple kingdoms, ruled by three brothers. How long will Hispania remain a fierce battleground of holy wars and Castilian infighting? |
| The Seljuk horde has swept through Persia and Mesopotamia, reducing the Abbasid Caliphate to a mere vassal duchy. But can they survive their rebellious vassals? Meanwhile, the decadent Fatimid dynasty controls Egypt and large swaths of the former Arabian Empire. However, the Caliph is bankrupt and the impending First Crusade seems poised to take back Jerusalem.. |
William the Conqueror (1066)[edit]
- This minor bookmark can be selected using a custom game.
| After a long campaign, William of Normandy has conquered England and sits on the throne he fought hard for. However unrest grows in his realm, as his unruly Anglo-Saxon vassals grumble about the Norman conqueror and the new ways he brought from the south. |
| The fate of Asia Minor shall be decided in the upcoming days, as Alp Arslan of the great Seljuk Empire prepares a massive invasion of Anatolia - will Byzantine Emperor Romanos IV be able to withstand the Turkic storm? |
The Alexiad (1081)[edit]
- This minor bookmark can be selected using a custom game.
| After failing to usurp Persia, Suleyman Seljuk conquered Anatolia and created an independent Sultanate of Rum, claiming to be the rightful successor of the old Roman Empire. |
| Constantinople is in danger from the rising Turks, but Alexios Komnenos has the potential to be a strong Byzantine Emperor and reverse the setbacks of previous centuries. |
The Third Crusade (1187)[edit]
- This minor bookmark can be selected using a custom game.
| The great sultan Saladin of Egypt has recaptured Jerusalem from infidel hands. With the Kingdom of Jerusalem in danger, the great leaders of Europe - Richard the Lionheart, Philippe Augustus and Frederick Barbarossa - prepare to embark to the Holy Land on the largest crusade ever. |
| The Christian kingdoms of Iberia reach a stalemate in the Reconquista, as the powerful Almohad Caliphate rises from beyond Gibraltar with the declared intent of halting the Christian invasion and returning Al-Andalus to its former glory. |
The Latin Empire (1204)[edit]
- This minor bookmark can be selected using a custom game.
| The Fourth Crusade sacked the great city of Constantinople, and a new Latin Empire has risen from its ashes. However the remains of Byzantium - the Nicene Empire - may be able to retake the Imperial City and stop the empire's decline. |
| The Khwarazmian Empire rules Persia and Transoxiana with an iron hand, its eyes set on retaking lost territory. Meanwhile in distant Mongolia, a Mongol warrior plans to unite the divided tribes and forge an empire of his own. |
Age of the Mongols (1220)[edit]
- This minor bookmark can be selected using a custom game.
| The legendary Mongol leader Genghis Khan leads a vast horde, with the declared intent of uniting the whole world under the Mongol banner and the might of its armies. |
Rise of the Hansa (1241)[edit]
- This minor bookmark can be selected using a custom game.
| The Golden Horde controls Tartaria. The Ilkhanate controls Persia. The steppe nomads' attentions are likely to be focused towards Eastern Europe. |
| A new merchant republic known as the Hansa has formed on the northern coast of the Holy Roman Empire. Venice and Genoa control large trade zones in the Mediterranean. |
Late Middle Ages (1337)[edit]
| The Hundred Years War between England and France is about to start. |
| The small Ottoman state in northwest Anatolia begins its rise to greatness as Byzantium declines. |
| The feared Tughluq empire is expanding across India, but internal dissent fueled by religious turmoil may create a power vacuum waiting to be filled. |
Other key years[edit]
There are some features that become enabled, disabled or change functionality at certain years in the game. As most of those are not directly visible in the user interface, this section will attempt to list those that are either a possible cause for player confusion or important in general.
| Year | Short description | Explanation or details |
|---|---|---|
| 769 | Early Middle Ages | Requires Charlemagne DLC. |
| 800 | Start of the Viking Age | Norse rulers get free shipyards and Shipbuilding technology. Coastal county conquest and Prepared Invasion CBs unlocked for Germanic pagans. 'Settle Iceland' decision unlocked (for North Germanic culture or Germanic religion rulers). 'Found Varangian Guard' decision unlocked (for Byzantium). |
| 867 | Viking Age | Requires The Old Gods DLC. |
| 900 | Earliest great holy wars | Crusades and Jihads can be unlocked if Christianity or Islam loses control of key provinces. |
| 920 | Jomsvikings can be founded | Requires that one of the possible provinces be held by a Norse ruler |
| 936 | The Iron Century | The earliest free start date. |
| 950 | Start of Norse culture breakup | |
| Middle graphics era | Switch from early era clothing and unit graphics to middle era | |
| 960 | Fatimid invasion of Egypt | If Africa is Shia and Egypt is Sunni, the ruler of Africa may declare war for Egypt and Cairo |
| 1000 | Investiture controversy intensifies | Realms with Free Investiture can now switch back to Papal Investiture. Pope dislikes rulers with Free Investiture (-30 opinion) and may demand Papal Investiture. |
| 1066 | Default start date | High Middle Ages and William the Conqueror bookmarks. |
| Chance for some adventurer hosts decreased | Hungarian characters stop using the 'duchy adventure' CB, and North Germanic characters use it less. Claimant adventures are unaffected. | |
| Naval mercenary bands enabled | This makes ships much more easily available to Christian rulers. | |
| 1081 | The Alexiad | |
| 1089 | Fedayeen (Shia holy order) can be founded | |
| 1090 | Time based unlock point for Crusades | Unless Jerusalem is already in Christian hands. Crusades can also be triggered by other conditions. |
| 1100 | English Melting Pot begins | Anglo-Saxon provinces with Norman rulers can flip to English culture. |
| Easier Holy Wars | From now on, you can Holy War into Kingdoms 2 sea zones away instead of just ones you have land in or directly bordering you. (Holy Wars launched at or by Muslims or by reformed Pagans already could do this before) | |
| Easier to create Dharmic holy orders | Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain rulers can now create their respective holy orders with fewer restrictions. | |
| 1150 | End of Norse culture breakup | Provinces can flip back to Norse now, if Norse rulers still exist |
| Runestones disabled | ||
| 1170 | Hansa can form | If the HRE exists, a non-player province along Germany's northern coast can become a new kingdom-level merchant republic |
| 1187 | The Third Crusade | |
| Time based unlock point for Jihads | Unless no Caliph exists anymore. Jihads can also be triggered by other conditions. | |
| 1200 | Late graphics era | Switch from middle era clothing and unit graphics to late era |
| 1201 | Fedayeen can be destroyed | If the Fedayeen have no holdings, they can be scattered after 1200 (harmless unless they resurface) or completely destroyed after 1201. |
| 1204 | The Latin Empire | |
| 1220 | Age of the Mongols | |
| 1241 | Rise of the Hansa | |
| 1300 | The bubonic plague may appear | The deadliest of diseases. |
| 1337 | The Hundred Years War | Last possible start date. |
| 1350 | Non-pagans can send missionaries to Aztecs | |
| Factions fully enabled for Hordes | Vassals of Mongol/Aztec hordes do not join most factions until this year. Exceptions include vassals of a different religion or culture than their liege. Factions can also be enabled by the horde ruler merging their special 'tribal title' into another empire title. | |
| 1453 | End date |
Horde arrival[edit]
| Years (Historical/Random game rules) | Name of Horde |
|---|---|
| 965-985/809-1200 | Seljuks |
| 965-1010/809-1200 | Ghaznavids |
| 1218/1000-1452 | Mongols |
| 1216-1224 | Ilkhanate (obsolete) |
| 1224-1250 | Golden Horde (obsolete) |
| 1250-1350 | The Aztec Empire (only with Sunset Invasion) |
| 1350-1370/1200-1452 | Timurids |
Trivia[edit]
- Some bookmarks have been renamed since launch, like the Early Middle Ages (previously called 'Charlemagne'), the Viking Age (previously called 'The Old Gods'), the High Middle Ages (previously called 'Stamford Bridge') and the Rise of the Hansa (previously called 'The Mongols').
Were you one of the fortunate people to pick up Crusader Kings 2 for free last week? You’re probably wondering what to do next: CK2’s reputation as a strategy game is matched only by the amount of DLC available - well over $250 worth, in fact, including cosmetic packs. There’s so much of it, we had to put together a guide on what to buy first.
But that begs the question: if you only pick up the base game, are you still going to have a good time? When it launched in 2012, CK2 landed a more than respectable Metacritic average of 82, and it’s had 19 major patches (and tons more minor patches) adding fixes, optimizations, new features, and quality-of-life changes in the six years since then. But can all this really make the vanilla experience feel balanced and complete in the absence of a whopping 17 major content expansions?
To answer this, I set out to play roughly 100 years as the same starting character (and his descendants): Duke Guilhem of Toulouse, vassal to the King of France in 1066. It’s worth noting that some of the biggest things you’ll miss out on with no DLC are the 769 and 867 start dates (so no Charlemagne and no Viking Age), as well as most of the map. Only feudal rulers of the Catholic, Orthodox, and Miaphysite faiths are playable. That still leaves you with a ton of choices but locks out over half the current map as it exists today - including some interesting non-feudal starts, such as the Merchant Republics of Venice and Genoa.
Even over the course of the first three generations, there is a huge difference in the amount of stuff going on. With all the DLC, I was bombarded by almost too many pop-ups and intrigue options. Rarely did a year go by in which you weren’t asked to make some sort of decision or initiate some meaningful action. In vanilla CK2, there’s still a fair bit of passing time on speed 5 as you wait for things to happen; a claim to fabricate, an assassination plot to fire, or another character to simply die so you can inherit that land you want.
I eventually came to the realization that much of CK2’s DLC serves to open doors to where you eventually want to be. For example, in both runs I endeavoured to focus on intrigue and wipe out all my competitors for the French throne through clandestine skulduggery. The Way of Life expansion makes it immensely easier to get started down this path, as selecting the intrigue character focus grants a +3 to Intrigue, which can turn an amateurish plotter into an aspiring web-weaver fairly quickly. It also opens up some random events that may allow you to slay your target without having to achieve the required amount of plot power. Overall, Way of Life was definitely the DLC I missed most in this test.
I also hadn’t realized how much I had come to rely on the new casus belli from the recent Jade Dragon expansion, which allow you to launch a border war for a single province (at the cost of significant piety), without having to wait for a claim to fabricate. The randomness of claim fabrication is still one of the most frustrating elements of CK2, and especially with the limited options for Catholics to fight against fellow Catholics, it can really feel like you’re relying on chance to even be able to expand at all.
The next biggest feature missing from my life, especially playing as a vassal, were the new laws and council mechanics from the Conclave expansion. In my all-DLC run, I could work trade favours and undermine the authority of the king without ever slitting a throat or raising an army. Over time, it was possible to revoke his authority to decide just about anything unilaterally and eventually force him to adopt elective succession, opening the door for his dynasty to be deposed by anyone silver-tongued and well-connected enough to win over the realm’s most powerful nobles. And guess who that was? With no DLC, it certainly wasn’t me. My options were far more limited: The only way to force anything on the king was to start a faction, get some other big shots on my side, and fight a whole, big, costly civil war over it. Yay.
Most of the rest of what I found painfully lacking could be filed under either ‘visual niceties’ or ‘quality-of-life’. For example, with none of the portrait DLCs everyone in the world either looks like a pasty Frenchman or an Arab, regardless of who they were. Dwgamez . com gta 5 android apk data obb download android. I also missed the little extra bit of flavour that comes with seeing all the various culture-specific unit models and clothing options. Vanilla CK2 also forces you back into having to constantly micromanage your councillors, since their passive, off-map jobs are only unlocked with the Monks and Mystics expansion. That last one was something I didn’t even realize I’d gotten so used to and may lead to me re-evaluate how essential that particular expansion is.
But the $275 question remains: Is Crusaders Kings 2 a fun game without its DLC? Well, even for someone who has played at least 100 hours with each new DLC release, I have to conclude that it is, but only up to a point.
You can still scheme against your rivals. You can still try to breed the perfect heir and arrange marriages that will unite kingdoms. You can still join in the glory of the crusade for Jerusalem and rally your fellow dukes to depose a wicked king. The core of CK2 remains solid, if lacking in frills and often leaving you with too-long periods of idleness in between anything exciting happening. There are also some notable free features - like secret religious societies - that have come out since launch and require no DLC whatsoever which makes vanilla CK2 a much better prospect today than it was back in 2012. The biggest caveat is how much you want to play as non-Christian, non-feudal rulers. If you got CK2 with the dream of ruling the Middle-East as Caliph, or to resist the crusaders for example, then vanilla CK2 offers nothing for you.
At the end of the day I can’t say I’d necessarily recommend playing CK2 without any DLC. If you can only afford a couple of expansions, it’s well worth the investment - especially in cases like Way of Life or Conclave. These add-ons take entire facets of the core game and flesh them out, expanding with new options, systems, and flavour (some better than others, admittedly). But if you did recently pick up the game for free, and really don’t want to commit to buying anything extra just yet, it’s not like you’ll have a terrible time. What makes Crusader Kings 2 special isn’t reliant to any of the bells and whistles that have been attached to it since launch.
Now all you need is a handy sales event for all the CK2 expan- oh wait.