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Crusader Kings 3 is getting an RPG-style inventory system

Just like in most RPG games, Crusader Kings 3's next DLC will let you wear artefacts for buffs and bonuses

Crusader Kings 3's upcoming inventory screen.

We’ve already gotten a look at the artefacts you’ll be able to place in your throne room in Crusader Kings III’s upcoming Royal Court DLC, which was recently delayed to next year. But it turns out there’s quite a bit more to the new artefact system than furniture and draperies. You’ll be able to wear certain artefacts for certain bonuses, and they’ll wear out with heavy use. If you have a claim to an artefact, it can even be used as grounds for war.

The latest Crusader Kings III dev diary provides some new details into the grand strategy game’s upcoming DLC feature, and it makes for interesting reading. Crusader Kings has always been a role-playing game, sure – you’re playing the role of a medieval ruler of some kind – but Royal Court is going to make that even more explicit. Your character will have a new paper doll-style inventory screen, which is where you’ll be able to equip certain kinds of personal artefacts.

Wearing artefacts will grant certain bonuses specific to that weapon or piece of jewellery. The Uyghur Brooch, which is shown in the diary, might grant a +15% bonus to fertility and a 0.18 per month boost to prestige gain, for example (naturally, these stats are all subject to change prior to launch).

Wearing artefacts will cause them to degrade over time, however. You’ll want to recruit an antiquarian to your court to help maintain your collection. Once you’ve recruited one, you’ll be able to repair and reforge artefacts, as well as commission new ones if you so choose.

Perhaps most fascinatingly, each artefact has an ownership history – papers, you might say – that shows who else has a claim to the antique. You’ll want to be sure to check on these, because those people may decide they want it back and challenge you to a duel or even declare war. Of course, those options are also available to you should someone take possession of an artefact you believe belongs to you.

Really, that’s all we’re looking for in a Crusader Kings III DLC: more stuff to fight over.