Paradox has just launched new Crusader Kings 3 expansion By God Alone, and with it a major free update to its medieval-era grand strategy game. Aimed at dramatically expanding the potential of religion and faith, the DLC introduces playable theocracies, including the ability to step into the Papacy yourself, along with dealing with crises such as the Great Schism that fractured the Western Catholic Church from Eastern Orthodoxy. Alongside it comes a substantial free overhaul to faith, courtesy of CK3 update 1.20.
The free ‘Crozier’ update for Crusader Kings 3 introduces the likes of rites and heresies, and overhauls excommunication. Rites are distinct traditions within a faith with their own heads. Each faith follows its main rite, while any others within it that drift too far apart will be considered heretical and branch out into a new faith of their own. Heresies can also break out should the religious fervor within a given faith fall too low.
The reworked excommunication system now has a scaling piety cost, and there are potential ways to mitigate it, along with the ability for religious leaders to appeal to their heads of faith for absolution. Paradox has also implemented per-character ‘spiritual fulfillment’ to score how well they are living up to their own beliefs – rising as they act on virtues and falling should they commit sinful actions. Characters can also now hold their own personal beliefs alongside the core tenets of their faith.
Holy orders have been redesigned and separated into monastic orders and military orders, each of which comes with its own government type, patron, and leadership. There are new actions to deal with them, such as asking specific people to take vows to join the clergy or a monastic order, bestowing temple holdings upon an order, or even demanding a child for the cloister, which can remove them from the chain of succession.
A new, higher tier of ’eminent’ holy sites has been introduced; typically these are limited to a cap of three, but faiths can now recognize up to a total of nine holy sites. There are new places to create them where one previously existed. Want to create a direct challenge to the head of a faith? Declare one of your clerics as an Antipope, and implement a casus belli to attempt to establish your chosen rite as the mainline one for the faith.
Should you want an even more substantial upgrade, the By God Alone expansion aims to deliver just that. The paid DLC introduces the Christian Church as a religion-wide situation that moves through seven chapters.You’ll have to deal with the likes of Papal Bulls and periodic Ecumenical Councils. The pack also enables the ability to play as a theocratic or ecclesiastical ruler, and brings back the College of Cardinals from Crusader Kings 2.
Choose CK3’s 867 start, and you’ll be forced to deal with the events leading to the Great Schism, with gradual progress building as you choose whether to adopt a specific stance, or even attempt to mend the rift. Other additions include the Grand Cathedral great project, which can be funded by multiple characters in collaboration. It’s built over three tiers, starting as Romanesque and gradually progressing to Gothic and Flamboyant.
Crusader Kings 3 DLC By God Alone is out now, priced at $19.99 / £16.99. It’s also available as part of the CK3 Chapter 5 bundle, which costs $43.99 / £36.99. You can find it right here.
Religion has long been one of the aspects of Crusader Kings 3 that’s been ripe for an upgrade, and there’s a whole lot packed in whether you’re playing the free update or paid expansion. “Being a good ruler and being a good believer aren’t always the same thing,” Paradox remarks. “Your characters will wrestle with sin as they try to live up to their faith’s ideals, while navigating the rich and evolving political landscape of the Christian Church.”