Crusader Kings 3 Roads to Power is the colossal Paradox strategy game’s next DLC, and it’s out sooner than you’d think. Casting you as a wandering adventurer or Byzantine noble, CK3 is getting new ways to play that go beyond the traditional feudal systems seen across the game – you’ll still need to watch your back though, as you never know who’s brandishing the next knife.
Roads to Power introduces two new big ways to play Crusader Kings 3: you can either become a landless adventurer who fulfills contracts until you’re strong enough to claim a kingdom, or you can be a Byzantine noble and scheme your way to the top amidst other powerful families all vying for the same spot.
As an adventurer, you can freely roam the map earning gold, prestige, and fame before choosing a place to settle. Meanwhile, a whole host of new strategy game events, monuments, and activities built around the Byzantine theme are being added – yes, that includes chariot racing, too.
Roads to Power also wants to provide a variation on ruling outside the feudal system. The new administrative government offers a new style of empire management whereby your job is keep warring middlemen in line through persuasion and influence. Perhaps your governors keep arguing, scrambling on top of each other to try and get a scrap of power. If so, you’ll need to make sure you keep them in line, or else. The objective here is to be more diplomatic, and rule with a velvet glove rather than an iron fist.
Even when you don’t hold any other land you’ll still have to run your new family estate in the new Crusader Kings 3 expansion, where you can build new structures to keep your power while administering your growing empire. You can also choose a successor, to keep your line going into the next age via a preferred relative, noble, military hero, or anyone else who might earn the support of the people. As emperor, you can even choose to co-rule now, to take the burden out of tyranny.
There’s also a slate of cosmetic additions, with Byzantine-themed UI, new 2D event art, a Byzantine throne room for court sessions, and plenty of other small changes to help sell the new regions of the DLC.
Crusader Kings 3 Roads to Power releases on Tuesday September 24 as part of Chapter 3 of the game. This includes the core expansion Legends of the Dead, major expansion Roads to Power, and the event pack Wandering Nobles.
Now that you might be jumping back into CK3 we’ve got a complete Crusader Kings 3 DLC guide and a breakdown of the best Crusader Kings 3 mods to keep the game feeling fresh in 2024.
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