Earlier games in the Crusader Kings franchise featured regencies, individuals who would manage the realm at times when the monarch couldn't. Now, as of the Lance (1.9) update, this aspect of medieval leadership has made it into Crusader Kings 3.
Much like other elements from earlier games, the regency mechanic in Crusader Kings 3 is much more complex and involved than it was in Crusader Kings 2. Even veterans of the second game and fans of grand strategy titles may have trouble understanding how this system works, and so this guide will explain all the new mechanics.
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What Starts a Regency?
The first thing to understand about a regency is what triggers it. Here are events and situations that cause a regency to start:
- A ruler is underage.
- A ruler has the trait "Incapable."
- A ruler begins a journey that takes them outside the topmost liege's realm. For instance, the king of Bavaria (in the Holy Roman Empire) could go on a pilgrimage to Cologne (also in the HRE) without a regency, but visiting Canterbury in England would start a regency the moment the king leaves home.
- A ruler is imprisoned.
And here are situations that don't cause a regency to start:
- A ruler travels to a destination within their topmost liege's realm, even if the travel path crosses foreign lands.
- A ruler is attending an activity somewhere in the same country.
- A ruler takes command of an army, even if that army stays in foreign lands for years.
- A ruler becomes sick or pregnant.
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Who Gets to Be Regent?
Every ruler has someone in their court or among their vassals who can step in to become regent. Players can see who this is by checking the Realm menu on the right, where the regent's name is listed just under the current Crown Authority law.
If the ruler hasn't chosen anyone specific, the game calls this person the "regent-presumptive," and this title goes to the courtier or vassal with the highest Regent Succession score. This score comes from familial ties, personal ties, societal bonds, and circumstances, and the person with the highest score is usually the ruler's parent, sibling, spouse, or adult heir.
However, rulers can also choose a specific regent. Perhaps the regent-presumptive is an untrustworthy rival, or perhaps they have terrible skills and could never manage the realm. If that's the case, players can select the regent's name on the Realm menu to open the Power-Sharing menu. On this screen (assuming a regency isn't already in effect), players can click the arrows button below the current regent's portrait and appoint a regent. Players can then sort the list of potential regents by loyalty, succession score, sum of all skills, and so on.
When a ruler appoints a regent, the new regent gets a +30 Opinion boost towards their liege. However, this decision may anger others. Courtly vassals don't like it when rulers appoint an unlikely regent, and those higher up in the line of succession may also get upset based on the difference between their succession scores.
A regent can also be replaced during a regency. While the ruler has no power to do anything, a regent may end up assassinated, or they may enter a regency of their own for one of the reasons listed above. If this happens, a new regent will take their place based on their regency succession score. However, the current state of the regency will remain the same.
The Scales of Power
The primary mechanic of a regency is called the "Scales of Power." When a regency begins, all the power is in the hands of the monarch. However, the regent can pull some of this power in their direction and gain increasingly direct control over the realm.
There are two ways a regent can tip the Scales of Power in their direction. First, they can use the interaction "Swing the Scales of Power," which appears as a button on the Power Sharing menu during a regency. Regents can sacrifice Gold, Prestige, or Piety, use a Hook, or (if available) appeal to their religious head. This last option only works if the head of their religion has a positive opinion of the regent, and it still costs both Gold and Piety. Swing the Scales has a cooldown period of 2 years.
Regardless of the currency used, the Scales of Power will swing towards the regent by 10 points. However, the ruler can use the same interaction to swing the Scales back towards them, and use any of the same payment types. During a regular regency, the Scales also move 0.25 towards the regent every month, which isn't much on a scale of 100 but can eventually add up.
A regent can also tip the scales by fulfilling their Mandate. The ruler can choose a Mandate of "Fill Coffers," "Swell Armies," or "Promote Authority." During a regency, the regent will get regular random events where they can either try to fulfill the mandate (and incur a special Opinion penalty with fellow vassals called Strife) or refuse and anger their liege instead. Successfully completing a Mandate event will give the regent 5 points on the Scales of Power.
As the regent gains power, they'll hit certain milestones on the Scales of Power and gain more of their liege's abilities.
Players should note that a regent is less likely to use Swing the Scales or abuse their powers if their loyalty is Selfless, but more likely to do so if their loyalty is Self-Interested. However, regardless of personality, a regular regency ends when the liege returns, assuming it hasn't Entrenched.
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Entrenched Regencies
When a regency becomes entrenched, it means the regent (or diarch) refuses to let go of their power even when their liege is able to rule the realm again. An adult ruler must be out of power for a long time to reach this point, but the regency of an underage ruler defaults to an Entrenched Regency.
The Scales of Power actions are the same as a regular regency, but the scales move by 0.25 towards 50 while the ruler is unable to rule and to 0 if they can. The bar is still 0 to 100, but entrenched regents can get even more powers by moving the balance towards themselves. Another feature of an Entrenched Regency is the veto power. If a regent tries to use one of their liege's abilities (revoke, retract, imprison), they must ask their liege's permission first, and the liege can refuse by issuing a veto. The liege can continue to use these powers without the threat of a veto, but they do pay a Prestige penalty for doing so.
At the moment (Update 1.9.0.4), performing a coup is almost impossible. The Strife Opinion penalty goes up when regents even look at a Mandate event, and while the game suggests that Strife decays over time, it doesn't. This means that when a player regent gets enough power to reach level 6, their fellow vassals will hate them too much to agree to a coup, even if the regent never abused their power.
In addition, regents can't use Hooks (strong or weak) to force a vassal to back a coup. And if all that wasn't bad enough, the Strife penalty becomes a Tyranny penalty once the regent takes control. The only way around this seems to be to let a different vassal or courtier become regent and boost the scales of power, and then assassinate them to become the new regent and attempt a coup straight away.
Once a ruler is old enough or capable enough (or once an incapable ruler dies and a capable ruler takes their place), they can attempt to remove a regent from power. However, lieges can only attempt this if the regent's power is 4 or lower. The liege can offer a Weak Hook or a gift of resources to the regent to get power back, but the regent may refuse depending on their personality and the current Scales of Power score. However, if they refuse, the Scales of Power score will drop by 10, and the cooldown for asking to end a regency is 1 year instead of 2.
Once a regent is down to level 1 power, they can no longer refuse to leave power even if their liege gives them nothing. So even if a player ruler gets a bad regent, they should eventually be able to wrest power of the realm back from them by being persistent.
- Level 1: the regent can attempt to embezzle from their liege, and they can ask their liege to increase Crown or Tribal Authority and take on the usual costs themselves.
- Level 2: the regent can give a bad County Modifier to a fellow vassal and get Gold in exchange, and they can get one free change to their vassal contract.
- Level 3: the regent can revoke titles from fellow vassals, and they can instantly forge claims to counties owned by fellow vassals. In addition, the liege must now pay a token amount of Prestige to perform a "mundane action" such as imprisoning a character or revoking a title.
- Level 4: the regent can retract vassals from their fellow vassals, assuming the retracted vassal is below the regent's rank, and they can imprison fellow vassals and couriers. In addition, the liege now pays more Prestige to perform a mundane action.
- Level 5: the liege can no longer even attempt to dismiss the regent, and they must pay a significant amount of prestige to perform a mundane action.
- Level 6: the regent can now attempt a coup against the liege and take full control over the realm (assuming they can get 3 of 5 Powerful Vassals to support them) while avoiding an all-out civil war. In addition, the cost of mundane actions to the liege is now extremely high.
Crusader Kings 3 is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 90 /100 Critics Rec: 99%
- Released
- September 1, 2020
- ESRB
- T for Teens: Drug Reference, Language, Mild Violence, Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Paradox Interactive
- Publisher(s)
- Paradox Interactive
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 true cunning. Crusader Kings III continues 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.
- Engine
- Clausewitz Engine
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Crusader Kings
- Platform(s)
- PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Grand Strategy
- How Long To Beat
- 70 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
- File Size Xbox Series
- 11 GB (November 2023)
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
