Crusader Kings 3 is one of the best strategy games on Steam, says MeinMMO author Schuhmann. He has already spent 1,368 hours with the game, and soon it will be quite a few more. Because the game is getting a new exciting feature – perhaps the best in 20 years.
What is this new feature? The Crusader Kings strategy series has existed since 2004. As a player, you control the fate of a dynasty in the Middle Ages. What is sometimes mocked as an incest simulator, has been an excellent story generator for fans of strategy games and history for 20 years.
Until now, your fate was always directly tied to the land you ruled.
As a minimum requirement to be a playable character in Crusader Kings 3, you had to own at least one county. You could rise from your small county, such as in Ireland, to duke, king, or even emperor. But you always needed the land.
Now this is changing for the first time in the history of the series: With the DLC “Road to Power” on September 24, landless adventurers will appear in Crusader Kings. This opens up new possibilities.
You will soon be able to play Crusader Kings 3 as a mercenary leader or explorer
This is how extensive the new feature will be: After two blog posts, it can already be said that the “landless adventurers” will probably become one of the most significant features in the history of Crusader Kings – representing the biggest change in many years.
It is a sophisticated system where players lead a landless hero who gathers men around him and can pursue various careers:
- He can act as a mercenary leader
- or become an explorer and travel the world
- he can prove himself as a scholar
- he can be a wanderer and forge his own path
- he will become a bandit and robber
- he works as a legitimist and represents the kings and their interests
He will have to distribute a variety of roles in camp and can set goals for himself, whether he wants to travel the world, accumulate wealth, or rise to become a king himself.
Paradox promises that all of this will be worth it and will give you a starting advantage for your own country.
This is what makes the system special: In Crusader Kings 3, it will be possible to rise from adventurer to noble, but also to switch back;
- As an adventurer, it is possible to acquire land and then continue playing as a settled lord.
- However, if your hero dies, you can continue playing as a landless descendant and become an adventurer to create your own gameplay experience.
Crusader Kings 3 is facing a great year
That’s why I’m looking forward to the DLC: Crusader Kings 3 is my clear favorite game on Steam. The new idea turns it even more into a role-playing game and gives the game even more freedom – adding further significance to the new option of traveling freely on the map.
After a rather weak year with Legends, the plague, and a rather mediocre Iran DLC, 2024 looks set to be one of the biggest years for the franchise ever. The idea of playing a strategy game without land, I have only seen in some parts of “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” – it’s truly a great idea for a great game and transforms Crusader Kings 3 even more into a sandbox and a role-playing game.
Many others are especially looking forward to the Byzantine DLC in “Road to Power”; traditionally, the Eastern Roman Empire is one of the most popular scenarios. This is not so much my thing – but the “landless adventurers” sound like a fantastic power fantasy.
Landless heroes like El Cid, Robin Hood, Rollo, or William Wallace are conceivable
I am sure the landless adventurers will bring new exciting scenarios, as you can follow in the footsteps of famous, landless heroes from history, who have only been hard to reflect in Crusader Kings, such as Rollo d’Normandie from the series “Vikings” (featured image), who has only appeared as a supporting character in CK3 so far, or the Spanish national hero El Cid. Maybe Crusader Kings 3 will also give us an Easter egg like Robin Hood or William Wallace from Braveheart.
What else can you look forward to? After “Road to Power” on September 24, Crusader Kings will receive one last DLC for 2024: “Wandering Nobles” – this will likely further develop the adventurous aspect of the game presented here.
What does all of this cost? The base game currently costs €50.
The DLC for Chapter 3, which includes a total of 4 DLCs, including Roads to Power, costs an additional €44.
A complete package with 11 items hits with €143 on Steam pretty hard.
If you want to read about my adventures in Crusader Kings 3 during a playthrough where I may have gone a bit overboard, I recommend this article: Steam:I started as a lonely Viking – 400 years later, I have half of Europe, 12,300 descendants, and a problem
