Now Available: By God Alone & 1.20.0 "Crozier" Update
Playable theocracies and the massive 'Christian Church' situation arrive in the By God Alone expansion, alongside a free rework of Rites, Personal Tenets, and Holy Orders.
Key Changes
- 1Playable Theocratic and Ecclesiastical rulers with unique government and succession
- 2The Christian Church Situation, a Christendom-wide mechanic tracking the Great Schism
- 3Rites system allowing distinct traditions and liturgies within a single Faith
- 4College of Cardinals and Papal election mechanics with Papabile scoring
- 5Puppets system to control other characters' actions and decisions
- 6Ecumenical Councils activity to settle religious doctrine and tenets
- 7Spiritual Fulfillment and Personal Tenets for individual character beliefs
- 8Monastic and Military Orders rework with localized reach and patronage
- 9Grand Cathedral Great Project with three architectural tiers
- 10Canonization and Saint mechanics including relic extraction and enshrining
All Changes
👑Government & Succession(9)
- newTheocracy: Theocratic and Ecclesiastical rulers are now fully playable with unique government types.
- newEcclesiastical Government: Added Ecclesiastical Government for Christian clergy where titles pass by clerical succession.
- newCollege of Cardinals: Added the College of Cardinals with up to 70 members who vote for the next Pope.
- newPapabile Score: Introduced Papabile Score to measure a Cardinal's standing in Papal conclaves.
- newTheocratic Succession: Added 'Designate Theocratic Heir' to name preferred successors for theocratic titles.
- newGovernment Decisions: Added 'Adopt Theocratic Rule' and 'Restore Temporal Rule' decisions to switch government types.
- newChurch Treasury: Ecclesiastical rulers now use a church Treasury filled by local income.
- newLease Contracts: Added Lease Contracts to set terms between secular rulers and leasing clergy.
- newDynasty: Added 'Establish a Dynasty' decision for theocratic rulers.
⛪Religion & Faith(9)
- newRites: Added 'Rites' as distinct traditions within a Faith, featuring their own Head of Rite and liturgy.
- newPersonal Tenets: Introduced 'Personal Tenets' allowing characters to hold beliefs separate from their Faith's Core Tenets.
- newSpiritual Fulfillment: Added 'Spiritual Fulfillment' as a measure of how well a character lives up to their beliefs.
- newTenets: Added 26 new Tenets including 'Simony', 'Original Sin', and 'Transubstantiation'.
- changeExcommunication: Reworked excommunication with Piety costs scaling by tier and new absolution mechanics.
- newSaints: Added Canonization mechanics to raise departed dynasty members to sainthood.
- newRelics: Added 'Extract a Relic' decision to take artifacts from buried saints.
- changeHeresies: Heresies now break out when Faith Fervor falls below 40.
- newPapal Bulls: Added 'Papal Bulls' which allow the Head of Faith to enact decrees like permitting or forbidding tenets.
📜Activities & Systems(7)
- newChristian Church Situation: Added the 'Christian Church' Situation tracking Christendom-wide progress and the Great Schism.
- newPuppets: Added 'Puppets' system to force characters to perform actions like excommunication or war on your behalf.
- newEcumenical Council: Added 'Ecumenical Council' activity to settle doctrine with a 25-year cooldown.
- changeHoly Orders: Reworked Holy Orders into distinct Monastic and Military Orders with localized reach.
- newGrand Cathedral: Added 'Grand Cathedral' Great Project built in three tiers: Romanesque, Gothic, and Flamboyant.
- newReligious Study: Added 'Religious Study' scheme to gain the Scholar lifestyle trait and doctrinal clarity.
- newMass Conversion: Added 'Mass Conversion' Great Project to convert large areas of unreformed Faiths.
🗺️Map & Holy Sites(4)
- newClerical Regions: Added 'Clerical Regions' and Archdioceses as church spheres of influence parallel to secular ones.
- changeHoly Sites: Introduced 'Eminent Holy Sites' rank; Faiths can now have up to nine total Holy Sites.
- newHoly Sites: Added 'Dynamic Holy Sites' allowing players to create new Holy Sites using relics.
- newMap Modes: Added 'Clerical Regions' map mode to show sees, holders, and Rites.
🎨Visuals & Audio(5)
- newUI: Added a new Christian UI skin and reworked HUD main tabs.
- newIcons: Added 836 new faith icons and animated tenet icons.
- newAudio: Added 6 new music tracks including 'Anathema' and 'The Conclave'.
- newCharacter Art: Added 155 new clothing meshes and 42 headgear meshes for clergy and monks.
- newCourt Visuals: Added Papal Court room with three grandeur variants and unique props.
🛠️Bug Fixes(5)
- fixPerformance: Fixed a display freeze on macOS when toggling VSync or resizing the window.
- fixCrusades: Fixed Crusade rulers keeping old de facto structures and becoming vassals of heathens.
- fixVisuals: Fixed instances where outdated shader cache resulted in purple borders.
- fixSchemes: Fixed agent selection window for schemes not opening in certain conditions.
- fixHoly Orders: Holy Orders will no longer recruit culturally-inappropriate Men-at-Arms.
Summary
The 1.20.0 'Crozier' update and 'By God Alone' expansion represent a fundamental overhaul of religion and governance in Crusader Kings III. The headline feature is the introduction of playable Theocratic and Ecclesiastical governments, allowing players to lead the church directly. This is supported by the 'Christian Church' Situation, a Christendom-wide mechanic that tracks the Great Schism through various 'Chapters' like the Investiture Controversy and the Saeculum Obscurum.
Religious Overhaul
The update introduces 'Rites,' which are distinct traditions within a single Faith, and 'Personal Tenets,' allowing characters to hold individual beliefs separate from their official religion. The Holy Order system has been split into Monastic and Military Orders, each with localized reach and specific patronage mechanics. Additionally, the 'Puppet' system allows rulers to manipulate other characters—including the Pope—to act on their behalf.
New Activities and Projects
Players can now participate in Ecumenical Councils to settle religious doctrine or fund the construction of a Grand Cathedral, a three-tier Great Project. The update also adds a College of Cardinals with a Papabile scoring system for Papal elections, canonization mechanics for saints, and the ability to extract and enshrine holy relics.