What’s New

Crusader Kings III — All Under Heaven & 1.18.0 "Crane" Update - Now Available

All Under Heaven & 1.18.0 "Crane" Update - Now Available

Hello everybody! Today we are releasing our Major Expansion for the year and the centerpiece of Chapter IV: All Under Heaven. We're also releasing Update 1.18.0 ‘Crane’ alongside this expansion.

All of us at Studio Black here in Stockholm are so excited to share this with you._ All Under Heaven_ might just be the biggest expansion we've made for Crusader Kings III. Growing the map by roughly 30% has definitely had its challenges, but it's been a long-term ambition of ours to establish a complete map of the Old World as a base to build on.

We hope that you all will have as great a time playing All Under Heaven as we did creating it!

Signed,

Alexander Oltner, Game Director

Henrik Lohmander, Design Lead

Lucia Dzediti, Producer

Daan Broekhof, Programmer / Code Owner

Jacob Blakey, Community Manager

and everyone else at Paradox Studio Black and Paradox Interactive

Check out the release trailer below, and a partial changelog under that. The full changelog is well beyond the limits of what we can fit into a Steam announcement, so check out our forums for a more comprehensive list of changes coming in today’s update!

Expansion Features (Paid)

China

  • Added Celestial Government: A new government type heavily inspired by the centralized administrative government of China, overseen by the Son of Heaven.

  • In a Celestial Government, you have access to Influence, Noble Families, Family Estates and Treasury.

  • Independent Rulers have Legitimacy, while Vassals in a Celestial Realms focus on gaining Merit.

  • The Top Liege has the Mandate of Heaven, a special type of Legitimacy tied to the Dynastic Cycle.

  • New Province Administration types: Several new province types are split into two categories — Military and Civilian. Creating two distinct career paths for a character to pursue.

  • Capabilities vary, with Military provinces being able to hire Title Men-at-Arms while a Civilian cannot.

  • They have their own Governor Contracts.

  • Merit: Merit is a measurement of your worthiness as an official for the Celestial and Meritocratic governments.

  • You can earn Merit by participating in Examinations, Debates, constructing buildings, going on an Inspection Activity, using a Mentoring scheme, and generally, by being a good governor.

  • You can increase your Merit Rank by passing the Local, Capital and Palace Examinations.

  • If you have an Elder or Disciples, you can produce a passive Merit gain. The monthly merit gain can be increased by paying more taxes (for Civilian governors), or by creating Men-at-Arms (for Military governors).

  • You can use the Children’s Examination to further the education of your children, giving them an initial boost of Merit and some Dynasty Prestige.

  • **Treasury: **A new resource that acts as a complement to Gold for Celestial, Meritocratic and Administrative realms. It is the currency you spend on official business, such as constructing buildings, recruiting Title Men-at-Arms, and hosting certain Activities.

  • Governors collect and send taxes up towards the central government.

  • The central government put the collect taxes into the Treasury, which gets redistributed down to Governors and Ministers who all receive a small share depending on the realm’s Treasury Budget

  • A budget can be tailored to suit each need and defines how large a share each Budget Category should receive. Each category is then divided amongst the receivers.

  • Officials receive a salary that is paid out of the Treasury, but is received as Gold. A salary is set according to their governed titles and Merit Rank.

  • Added a scheme allowing characters to siphon the Treasury out of a Title

  • New Activities: Added Local and Capital Examinations. These activities let you earn Merit either by succeeding fairly or trying to cheat the system.

  • The Local Examination is eligible for all government types that use Merit. It is held by local officials for the selected men of the prefecture, where entrants can try to complete the Provincial Examination.

  • The Capital Examination is accessible in Celestial Government only. Entrants can complete the Metropolitan Examination and the Palace Examination, held by the Huangdí. The Palace Examination is the highest level examination, where entrants are judged before the Son of Heaven himself.

  • New Succession Laws:

  • Celestial Appointment Succession — A default succession for civilian provinces, where Merit is the deciding factor, but age, Dynastic Movements, and Confucian values, all contribute to a higher candidate score.

  • Celestial Commander Succession — Merit is still the primary factor of who is appointed to military provinces, but individual candidate score is based on Martial skill, Prowess, Commander Traits, and other military qualities.

  • New Provincial Laws:

  • Army Command Structure - Decide how to organize the army and lean into Personal or Title Men-at-Arms.

  • Retirement Age - Set the expected age of how long governors serve and make it easier to retire governors deemed too old for service.

  • Candidate Score Focus - Determines if Level of Fame and Level of Splendor have an impact on the appointment score, the default is no. To change it the Conservative Movement has to be in power.

  • New **Powerful Family Aspirations:**Choose an Aspiration and stake out the future of your house, specializing your family members into a role of your choosing. Spend influence and improve your Aspiration over time.

  • Ritual — Focus on Family and Confucian values, allowing children to inherit a portion of their parents Merit and gain an increased amount of experience in the Confucian Education trait.

  • Righteousness — Provide the members of your family a headstart in their career, making it easier to pass examinations and gain more merit as they climb the ranks.

  • Integrity — Governance is the hallmark of a successful house. Become better governors and receive a larger share of the imperial Treasury.

  • Honor — Only through military might can the Celestial Empire be kept safe. Ensure family members will have access to Men-at-Arms and a significant higher Treasury when serving as Military Governors.

  • Added the Celestial Ministry, which greatly expands the Council for the Ruler of China.

  • The Grand Chancellor, Imperial Censor and Grand Marshal are special positions within the Ministry, who can vie for control of the Grand Secretariat and become the Secretary Director by enacting the Grand Secretariat Control law.

  • Six other Ministers are responsible for various aspects of administration in the realm: Minister of Personnel, Minister of War, Minister of Revenue, Minister of Justice, Minister of Rites, Minister of Works.

  • Ministers have access to extra interactions, decisions and great projects.

  • New Diarchy type - Grand Secretariat. A permanent diarchy in control of the Secretary Director. It has a set of unique Mandates to affect the Cycle and Movements.

  • New Decisions:

  • Study the Confucian Classics — One is never too old to delve deeper into the Confucian classics and master the ways of Confucian. Study hard to gain Merit, trait experience, and more!

  • Choose Career Path — While your education and upbringing may have prepared you for a civil or military career, few choices are forever set in stone. Serve the Celestial Throne in the best way possible should you have a change of heart.

  • Refuse Further Appointments — Are you content with your current position? Or Perhaps you don’t have a position and are satisfied with leading your family from the comforts of your estate? Then let it be known that you will not accept any new appointments.

  • Added decision to** Author a Book **for characters of a culture with the scholar official tradition. The decision lets a character create a poem, an essay or a monograph with outcomes based on their learning, confucian education or poet skills, among other factors.

  • Added decision to perform a ritual sacrifice at a local shrine, available to faiths that have the Local Rites pilgrimage doctrine. The decision will let you visit a location within your own realm or perform a sacrifice in your capital in return for some piety. Lessening the need to go to faraway pilgrimage sites. Hegemons in a stable era may also use this decision to perform a once-in-a lifetime special sacrifice at Mount Tai.

  • Added a decision to Adopt Confucianism available to characters belonging to a culture with the Scholar Official tradition.

  • Added a decision to Adopt Taois available to characters of a culture with the Cultivation tradition.

  • New Court Positions:

  • Department Aide

  • Favored Minister

  • Grand Guardian

  • Grand Mentor

  • Grand Preceptor

  • Fire Dragon Engineer

  • Keeper of the Harem

  • Greatly expanded the Family Estate:

  • A plethora of new buildings and effects that will help you succeed within the celestial bureaucracy.

  • Unlock bonuses tied to the Dynastic Cycle, Merit gain, career progression, and much more!

  • Added The Dynastic Cycle: A new Situation which depicts the socio-political status of China.

  • The Dynastic Cycle can progress through various eras of stability, instability and chaos.

  • Stable Eras: Expansion, Advancement. These are golden ages aligning with the ambitions of the ruling dynasty, such as expanding China or inward advancement of wealth, culture, and technology.

  • Unstable Eras: Tension, Conquest. These are times when the Empire is in turmoil due to internal or external forces, and the Mandate of Heaven is wavering.

  • Chaotic Era: Division. This is a time of warlords, where the Mandate of Heaven is lost and only a strong ruler can unite China again. When the Division Era starts, the Hegemony of China Title is destroyed and all governors and vassals become independent rulers.

  • Movements: Groups of governors and other officials within the Chinese Empire that have a shared vision and drive of how the Empire should be run.

  • Son of Heaven - the Emperor of China

  • Pro-Dynasty Movement - characters aligned with the Emperor’s vision of the Cycle

  • Advancement Movement - characters pursuing or maintaining the Advancement Era

  • Expansion Movement - characters pursuing or maintaining the Expansion Era

  • Conservative Movement - characters focused on family values rather than merit

  • Unaligned - every other vassal of the Chinese Emperor

  • Independent Rulers - rulers holding land in the de jure territory of China that are not vassals of the Chinese Emperor

  • **Movement Power **is how the political clout of a group involved in the Dynastic Cycle is measured. It is derived from Merit, Influence, Age, current Military Strength, Governor and Confucian Education Trait experience, as well as the Movement Power of those involved in a particular Movement. It can be increased or decreased temporarily using Schemes or Decisions.

  • The Movement Leader is a spokesperson that represents their interest, and has access to unique interactions and decisions.

  • New Activity: Debate - Movements will push for changes by petitioning the Emperor, and debating against each other in front of the Emperor. Join in to increase your Movement Power, or to gather more Disciples.

  • New **Decisions **tied to the Dynastic Cycle:

  • Join Movement

  • Host Debate

  • Make Movement Petition (Movement Leader) - Try to persuade the Son of Heaven to change realm laws, host examinations, change province administration, etc.

  • Favor an Era (Son of Heaven) - Signal which Stable Era you would like to pursue, affects the behaviour of members of the Pro-Dynasty Movement

  • Favor a Movement (Son of Heaven) - Bestow the Heavenly favor on a Movement to enable its members to push the Cycle

  • Shape the Dynastic Cycle (Son of Heaven, Movement Leader or Grand Chancellor) - Ability to affect the Dynastic Cycle by triggering Catalysts

  • Consult Heaven (House Head) - Ability to affect the Dynastic Cycle by triggering Catalysts

  • New **Faction **type - Escalated Peasant Faction:

  • Born out of other successful Peasant Factions in the Dynastic Cycle region.

  • To make them more dangerous, they use Peasant Militia. Peasants armed with spears and pitchforks, just slightly better than Levies, with the same set of counters as Pikemen.

  • Dynastic Change: When a new House takes hold of the Hegemony of China, they trigger a Dynastic Change.

  • Dynastic Change can happen in China from a warlord collecting enough territory in the Chaotic Era, or via an internal power struggle from the Grand Secretariat, or by conquest from a foreign ruler.

  • When a new House takes hold of the Hegemony of China, they can determine which new Dynasty Name China will take on, as well as choosing a new map color based on the Wuxing colors.

  • **Elders and Disciples **are new positive type character relationships that can enable the two to obtain more Merit.

  • Disciples respect the teachings of an Elder and follow in their footsteps. They will always be part of the same Movement as the Elder.

  • Celestial Hegemonic Tributaries are a new more independent tributary type that can gain various economic, technological, and legitimacy benefits from going on regular tribute missions to China.

  • Implemented three Investiture Privilege obligations for Celestial Hegemonic Tributaries: Trade Privileges, Familial Privileges, and Palace Privileges, which confer various bonuses to the tributaries depending on their amount of Imperial Grace.

  • The Confucian Education Trait increases your learning and stewardship, and demonstrates a character’s understanding of the Classics.

  • New Dynasty Legacy: Virtues - A new legacy with a focus on your dynasty rising to power as Scholar Officials in a Confucian Bureaucracy.

  • Added 3 China-focused bookmarks:

  • Autumn of Virtue (867)

  • The Tang dynasty has achieved great things at the helm of China. Now their work is under threat from powerful local leaders, calamities and revolts. As you take power a mere 40 years before the historical 5 dynasties and 10 kingdoms era the dynasty is on a path towards corruption.

  • As a commander or bureaucrat in the last decades of the Tang dynasty you may help the dynasty survive or carve out your own base of power as the empire plunges from tension towards division era.

  • Song of Splendor (1066)

  • The Song dynasty has risen from the ashes of the long era of division that followed the demise of the Tang. This bookmark is set in an advancement era China where you can rise to power as a scholar official during the most successful years of the Song dynasty.

  • Heaven in Turmoil (1178)

  • Jurchen invaders have driven the Song dynasty from the traditional heartland of China in the north. Instead of the prospering society of 1066 the empire is now split, with a northern half dominated by the foreign Jin dynasty and the remains of the Song dynasty trying to accept a new role as hegemon over the south.

  • In service of the Southern Song you will have to either attempt to reclaim what was lost, or help the dynasty consolidate and cultivate the south.

  • Added a new Tutorial Character, Qín Guān: learn the basics of the Chinese bureaucracy and earn your first Governorship!

  • The **Mongol Invasion **causes catalysts towards Division in the Dynastic Cycle and may result in a regionally-based Meritocratic Yuan Emperor, or a Celestial Yuan Hegemon holding all of China.

  • Yuan Emperors will attempt to take the Mandate and become Hegemon.

  • A Greatest of Khans who completes the Reform the Greatest Khaganate decision may establish a Hegemon-tier title and/or adopt one of the new admin governments.

  • Flavor content:

  • Added events focusing on the different phases of the Dynastic Cycle and offering opportunities based on which phase is active.

  • Added events focusing on which Movement characters belong to, opportunities to sway another character into your movement and relations with other movement leaders.

  • Many new character assetswere added:

  • Clothes

  • 2 Male Chinese Imperial Clothing

  • 1 Female Chinese Imperial Clothing

  • 2 Male Chinese Tang and Song War Armor

  • 2 Female Chinese Tang and Song War Armor

  • 2 Male Chinese Nobility Clothing

  • 2 Female Chinese Nobility Clothing

  • 2 Female Chinese Hi-Nobility Clothing

  • 2 Male Chinese Commoner Clothing

  • 2 Female Chinese Commoner Clothing

  • 1 Male Chinese Royalty Clothing

  • 1 Female Chinese Royalty Clothing

  • 1 Male Chinese Buddhist Devoted Clothing

  • 1 Female Chinese Buddhist Devoted Clothing

  • 1 Male Chinese Taoist Priest Clothing

  • 1 Female Chinese Taoist Priest Clothing

  • 18 Male Minister Clothing Variation (Low / High / Imperial Ranking Official)

  • Headgear

  • 2 Male Chinese Imperial Headgear

  • 1 Female Chinese Imperial Headgear

  • 3 Male Chinese Low/High War Helmet

  • 3 Female Chinese Low/High War Helmet

  • 1 Male Chinese War Helmet Mask

  • 2 Male Chinese Nobility Headgear

  • 1 Male Chinese High Nobility Headgear

  • 2 Female Chinese High Nobility Headgear

  • 2 Male Chinese Commoner Headgear

  • 1 Male Chinese Royalty Headgear

  • 1 Female Chinese Royalty Headgear

  • Legwear

  • 2 Male Chinese Military Legwear

  • 2 Female Chinese Military Legwear

  • 1 Male Chinese Commoner Legwear

  • 1 Female Chinese Commoner Legwear

  • 2 Male Chinese Nobility Legwear

  • 2 Female Chinese Nobility Legwear

  • Hairstyles

  • 4 variants of Male Chinese-inspired hairstyles

  • 5 variants of Female Chinese Nobility hairstyles

  • 5 variants of Female Chinese Common hairstyles

  • Beards

  • 13 new beards, including variants

  • Adde

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