- What is itA house, an heir, and the 867 and 1066 starts
- Chapter VBy God Alone, Silk and Silver, and every release date
- By God AlonePopes, theocracies, heresy, and the Great Schism
- Silk and SilverMerchant companies and playable republics, 17 Nov 2026
- Patch 1.19The Scribe update, then the 1.20 line
- HegemonyThe tier above empire, and how to found one
- EU5 converterMoving a CK3 save into Europa Universalis V
- Historical867, 1066, and 1178 seats, with portraits
- RealmsEmpires, kingdoms, and dynasties by year
- TraitsPersonality, congenital, lifestyle, commander, and more
- Trait calculatorBase skills plus verified trait modifiers
- ItemsCourt artifacts and the relics rulers hunt
- DomainHoldings you keep, buildings, and the limit
- DynastyHouse, renown, and legacy tracks
- EducationFocus, guardian, and the trait at 16
- MarriageBetrothal, the children's house, and alliances
- CourtThrone room, grandeur, and Hold Court
- ActivitiesTours, tournaments, and grand weddings
- BeginnerMurchad in 1066, then the council
- SuccessionConfederate Partition and one top title
- PartitionGrant counties outside the capital duchy
- Men-at-armsWhen to raise, station, and disband
- ElectiveDisinherit, or vote a duchy you hold
- GovernmentsFeudal, clan, and tribal
- FaithCounty conversion, tenets, and By God Alone
- WarfareCasus belli, armies, and peace
- IntrigueSecrets, hooks, and schemes
- First centuryMurchad in 1066, then the next heirs
- Hybrid culture40% acceptance and both parents
- TraditionsPillars, the traditions tab, and diverge
- FAQShort answers with sources
- SourcesParadox, Steam, and the CK3 wiki
This is an unofficial guide. Paradox publishes the game at crusaderkings.com. Store prices stay on the store.
What you are playing
Crusader Kings 3 is a grand strategy role-playing game from Paradox. You guide a house. You scheme, or you march armies. The people who matter are your family, your vassals, and the rulers who share a border with you.
The campaign is the life of that house. If you do not produce a suitable heir, the line ends, and the game ends with it. A wide realm with nobody to inherit is a finished game.
Paradox released it on 1 Sep 2020, on Steam and on other retailers. The site named that day is crusaderkings.com. This hub is unofficial. It keeps a short set of pages a new ruler can act on, and it leaves live prices on the store.
On 1 Sep 2020 Paradox released Crusader Kings III on Steam and other retailers. Paradox developed and published it. The note calls it a grand strategy role-playing game about guiding a house.
The same launch note says that if you do not produce a suitable heir, the line and the game end.
Suggested retail that day was 49.99 USD, 41.99 GBP, and 49.99 EUR. Current store prices stay on the store.
Start here if the map is new
New players have a recommended character. In the 1066 bookmark, Petty King Murchad of Munster is the one the bookmarks page names for newcomers, and he is the character the in-game tutorial uses.
The classic goal from that seat is the Kingdom of Ireland. Open the decision and read the tooltip. The tooltip lists the requirements in your current game.
The base game shipped with 867 and 1066. The 1178 bookmark is a later start. Each year below opens this hub's curated historical seats for that date, recommended rulers and selected great powers. The realms index has sixteen curated polity and dynasty profiles reused across the bookmark years; it is not a world database. Trait modifiers recorded for patch 1.20.1.2 are on the traits index, with source and DLC coverage limits noted there.
- 867Northmen, Carolingians, Basil, and the caliph
- 1066Murchad, the fight for England, and the empires
- 1178Rum, Saladin, Temüjin, and the late emperors
- Murchad of MunsterThe 1066 tutorial petty king
- Historical index41 curated historical seats across the three bookmarks
- RealmsEmpires, kingdoms, and the dynasty houses
- 867 realmsByzantium, the caliph, France, East Francia, Rurik
- 1066 realmsThe empires, England, Normandy, and the houses
- 1178 realmsLate empires, France, England, and the Habsburgs
- Traits306 recorded trait entries for patch 1.20.1.2
- Trait calculatorBase skills plus the recorded modifiers
- ItemsCourt artifacts and the relics rulers hunt
- DomainHoldings you keep, buildings, and the limit
- DynastyHouse, renown, and legacy tracks
- EducationFocus, guardian, and the trait at 16
- MarriageBetrothal, the children's house, and alliances
- CourtThrone room, Hold Court, and the grandeur bar
- ActivitiesTours, tournaments, and grand weddings
- TraditionsPillars, the traditions tab, and diverge
Read succession before you grow
Confederate Partition can create titles of your highest rank that you qualify for and have not created, then hand them to eligible children. A child who receives a title of your rank can leave independent. A ruler does not vassalize a character of equal rank.
Hold only one title of your highest rank if you want the younger children to stay as vassals under ordinary partition. Primogeniture and the other single-heir laws come from later cultural innovations. The realm law screen shows what you can pass.
The dynasty head can spend renown to disinherit a child. The game shows the cost. This hub states no renown number.
Confederate Partition can create titles of your highest rank that you qualify for and have not created, then give them to eligible children. A same-rank heir can leave independent. One title of your highest rank keeps younger children as vassals under ordinary partition.
Faith, war, and the quiet plots
You can start your own religion. That line is in the 2020 launch note, along with holy orders, crusades, and peasant revolts. The faith loop on this hub is the long-standing one: the realm priest converts a county from the council, and founding a faith spends the piety shown on the button.
A war needs a casus belli from the declare-war screen. Claims, de jure wars, and holy wars are examples. Armies are levies, men-at-arms, and knights. The peace screen offers enforce demands, white peace, and surrender.
For plots, set the spymaster to the find-secrets task. A secret can become a hook. The interaction button shows whether you are spending a weak hook or a strong hook. Stress sits on the character screen.
The 1 Sep 2020 feature line includes starting your own religion, holy orders, crusades, peasant revolts, mercenaries, northmen raiders, and customizable rules.
DLC and expansion dates
The table uses the Steam store page for app 1158310, read on 30 Oct 2026, plus the Steam news post of 19 Oct 2026 for Silk & Silver. Expansions without a published Steam release date are omitted from this table.
Royal Court and Khans of the Steppe are named on the Culture page. Hybrid cultures need one of those two. Nomadic government and its herd mechanics come with Khans of the Steppe; see that DLC page for current release details.
Silk & Silver was announced for 17 Nov 2026. On 30 Oct 2026 it was announced. It had not released. Merchant government and Republic government belong to that announcement.
The 49.99 USD line from 1 Sep 2020 is the suggested retail that day. Current store prices stay on the store.
The full timeline, with the Chapter V pass, its 43.99 USD price, and the free 1.19 and 1.20 updates, is on Chapter V and release dates.
Steam app 1158310 lists the base game on Sep 1, 2020. The same page, read on 30 Oct 2026, dates Legends of the Dead to Mar 4, 2024, Roads to Power to Sep 24, 2024, All Under Heaven to Oct 28, 2025, and By God Alone to Sep 30, 2026.
Steam news on 19 Oct 2026 announced Silk & Silver for 17 Nov 2026, with a merchant government, a republic government, trade goods, and two new bookmarks. On 30 Oct 2026 that expansion was still an announcement.
| Expansion | Dated line | What this page uses it for |
|---|---|---|
| Legends of the Dead | Mar 4, 2024 | Steam release date only. |
| Roads to Power | Sep 24, 2024 | Byzantine politics, administrative government, and landless adventurers. The governments page uses the administrative half. |
| All Under Heaven | Oct 28, 2025 | The map extends to China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. |
| By God Alone | Sep 30, 2026 | Faith-focused core expansion. The faith page keeps the older conversion loop and leaves new heresy tools on the Steam blurb. |
| Silk & Silver | announced 17 Nov 2026 | Merchant government, Republic government, trade goods, and two new bookmarks. Announced in Steam news on 19 Oct 2026. Not released on 30 Oct 2026. |
Pick a page by the job in front of you
Start with the overview for platforms and the beginner page for the first evening. Read succession before you create a second title of your own rank, and open governments when realm type changes tax and levies. Faith, war, and intrigue cover the daily loops; the first-century page sketches a whole campaign. Hybrid culture matters once both cultures sit in your counties. Partition survival and disinherit or elective help before you hand out land. Men-at-arms matter when war is close. Royal court and activities open once a kingdom or empire has the throne room and you are about to host a tour, tournament, or wedding.
What is · Beginner · Succession · Governments · Faith · Warfare · Intrigue · First century · Hybrid culture · Traditions · Partition · Men-at-arms · Domain · Dynasty · Education · Marriage · Court · Activities · Elective · Chapter V · By God Alone · Silk and Silver · Patch 1.19 · Hegemony · EU5 converter · FAQ · Sources · Items · Ark · Reichskrone · Iron Crown · Papal Tiara · Justinian · Sword
Official site: crusaderkings.com.