If characters are of different religions, they'll get a large opinion penalty towards one another:

Name---------Criteria----------------------------------------------------------------Opinion
Religious-Difference--Different religions of the same religious group -10 Catholic vs Orthodox
Heretic-------Different religion within the same religious sub-group -35 Sunni vs Yazidi
Infidel--------Different religion group -30 Catholic vs Sunni

This penalty is reduced by the Tolerance technology in the capital of each character, -10% per technology level. Additionally, a character who is sympathetic towards another religious group has no Infidel penalty towards or from characters following a religion of that group.



Religion in 1066





Religion in 867



Religion in 769

Crusades, jihads and great holy wars are wars called by religious heads. All rulers of the religion are called on to cooperate in conquering a de jure kingdom from a religious enemy.

The casus belli for all the religions is the same, but has a different name depending on the attacker's religion:

• For Catholics, it is a crusade.

• For Muslims, it is a jihad.

• For reformed pagans, Jews, and Zoroastrians, it is a Great Holy War.

Crusades are called by the Catholic and Fraticelli Popes, Jihads by the Sunni, Shia, Ibadi, and Karajite caliphs, Great Holy Wars by the Zorastrian Moabadan-Moabad, the Jewish Kohen Gadol, the Germanic Fylkir and the High Priests of the Romuva, Slavic, Suomenusko, Tengri, West African, and Zunist faiths. Orthodox, Miaphysite and Nestorian Christians have no crusade equivalent, nor do the Indian religions.

When the religious head calls a crusade, all rulers will be notified and all rulers of the attacking religion will be pressured to join the war effort. The vassals of any independent ruler will get a relations penalty with their liege if the ruler chooses not to join the crusade, and this penalty is even larger with the clergy. The penalty disappears upon joining the crusade, and is replaced with a bonus.

By going to the crusade target, Catholic men can gain the Crusader trait and Muslims the Mujahid trait. These traits improve martial skill give permanent opinion bonuses with all clergy and other characters who share the trait. By swapping army commanders (or spymasters), you can give the trait not only to yourself but also to direct vassals and courtiers (such as your sons and your marshal).

If the war is won, the holder of the relevant kingdom title will receive the territory if they are of the same religion as the attackers. If there is no same-faith holder, the land will be given to a claimant determined by the strength of the claim and the claimant's participation in the Crusade. Otherwise, whoever participated the most will gain the kingdom. Participation, as with other wars, is calculated by troops thrown into battle and the capturing of territory. If the victor is vassal to a king or below, they will become independent. If the target was Jerusalem the victor might be compelled to give it up to the Knights Templar, which provides a large amount of piety.

In order for the Crusades to be used, triggering religion's Crusades must be unlocked (as described below), the target must either be not of your religious group, be a heretic of your religion, or must be your parent religion. Additionally, the Fylkir and the High Priests can declare Great Holy Wars on Pagans not of the same religion - however the Caliphs cannot with other Muslims, unlike Holy Wars. Note that if the Great Schism has been mended, neither the Catholic nor Fraticelli Popes can call Crusades

Religion also provides various Casus Belli, most notably Holy War and Crusades, though this varies from religion to religion - both are unavailable to unreformed pagans for example. Sword of Islam also introduced two new Casus Belli specifically for Muslims.

The religious head is the character holding the highest position within a religion. The major ones are:

• Catholicism: the Pope.

• Orthodox Christianity: The Ecumenical Patriarch.

• Miaphysite Christianity: the Coptic Pope.

• Sunni Islam: the Sunni Caliph.

• Shia Islam: the Shia Caliph.

Unreformed Pagans have no religious head, although they can create one by reforming the religion, called the High Priest or (for Germanic) Fylkir. Some heresies also have heads, not all of which exist at game start but can be created by decision. Some religious head titles cannot be destroyed, but are always held by some character; for some heresies, frequently the only character of that religion is its head. Indian religions also have no religious head.

In most religions the religious head is part of the clergy. In Islam and reformed Germanic paganism he is a noble who often wields considerable secular power. Religious heads may grant divorces, call Crusades, jihads and great holy wars (except Orthodox and Miaphysite and their heresies), and sanction invasions. The Christian religious heads can also excommunicate members of their church.

There is also a separate but related concept of a character's religious head, which is not always the same as the religion's head. This is particularly important for Orthodox and Miaphysite Christianity, which have autocephalous patriarchs; they have limited power compared to other heads. It is also relevant for Catholicism when antipopes exist.

Moral authority is an abstraction of a religion's strength, unity, and respect. Your religion's moral authority and its causes are visible in the Religion tab, while other religions' moral authority scores are visible in the Ledger.


High moral authority increases the speed and success rate of most types of religious conversion, including the likelihood of Pagans accepting foreign preachers. Low moral authority makes the rise and spread of heresy more likely.Some religious actions require a minimum moral authority:

• 5% to call Great Holy Wars or Crusades or Jihads

• 40% to issue excommunications

• 50% to sanction invasions

• 50% to reform a pagan religion without control of all Holy Sites

Group: Christian
Religious Head: The Papacy

Holy Sites: Rome, Santiago, Köln, Jerusalem, Canterbury.

Mechanics: Excommunication, College of Cardinals, Investiture, Antipope, Pilgrimage Holy war, Crusades, Sanctioned Invasion.

Modifiers: None

Group: Christian Religious Head: The Ecumenical Patriarchate

Hole Sites: Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch, Lebedos, Piraeaus.

Mechanics: Autocephaly, Excommunication, Mending the Great Schism, Pilgrimage Holy war, Sanctioned Invasion.

Modifiers: None

Group: Christian
Religious Head: The Coptic Papacy

Holy Sites: Alexandria, Aksum , Antioch, Jerusalem, Ghazali.

Mechanics: Autocephaly, Excommunication, Pilgrimage Holy war, Sanctioned Invasion.

Modifiers: None

Group: Christian
Religious Head: The Patriarchate in the East

Holy Sites: Alexandria, Antioch, Baghdad, Jerusalem, Roudehen.

Mechanics: Autocephaly, Excommunication, Pilgrimage Holy war, Sanctioned Invasion.

Modifiers: None

Group: Muslim
Religious Head: The Sunni Caliphate

Holy Sites: Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, Baghdad, Cordoba.

Mechanics: Decadence, Polygamy, Hajj Holy war (also vs non-Sunni, non-heretic Muslims), Muslim Invasion, County Conquest, Jihads, Caliphal Subjugation.

Modifiers: None

Group: Muslim
Religious Head: The Shia Caliphate

Holy Sites: Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, Nadjaf, Damascus.

Mechanics: Decadence, Polygamy, Hajj Holy war (also vs non-Shia, non-heretic Muslims), Muslim Invasion, County Conquest, Jihads, Caliphal Subjugation

Modifiers: None

Group: Muslim
Religious Head: The Ibadi Caliphate

Holy Sites: Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, Bordj, Nizwa.

Mechanics: Decadence, Polygamy, Hajj Holy war (also vs non-Ibadi, non-heretic Muslims), Muslim Invasion, County Conquest, Jihads, Caliphal Subjugation.

Modifiers: None

Group: Jewish
Religious Head: None (Kohen Gadol once the Kingdom of Israel is restored)

Holy Sites: Jerusalem, Damascus, Sinai, Salahah, Hamadan.

Mechanics: Holy war, Great holy wars, Sanctioned Invasion

Modifiers: None

Group: Zoroastrian
Religious Head: None (Zoroastrian Church once the Persian Empire is retaken)

Holy Sites: Jajarm, Nok, Kakhesas, Takht-e Soleyman,Tahkt-i-Sangin.

Mechanics: Divine blood, Concubinage Holy war, Great holy wars, Sanctioned Invasion

Modifiers: None

Group: Indian (Dharmic)
Religious Head: None

Holy SItes: Mahakaleshwar, Dwarakadheesh, Krishnajanmabhoomi, Ram Janmabhoomi, Varanasi.

Mechanics: Raiding, Caste System, Patron Gods, Concubinage, Sects Holy war, Indian Subjugation.

Modifiers: Morale +30%

Group: Indian (Dharmic)
Religious Head:None

Holy Sites: Ellora,Sanchi, Sarnath, Gaya, Oddiyana.

Mechanics: Sects, Concubinage, can designate heir, no penalty for female rulers, no short reign penalty Holy war (targets single county), Indian Subjugation.

Modifiers: Learning +4

Group: Indian (Dharmic)
Religious Head: None

Holy Sites: Girnar, Vadnagar, Bhillamala, Shravanabelagola, Rajrappa.

Mechanics: Sects, vassal opinion bonus, can designate heir, Concubinage, no short reign penalty Indian Subjugation Demesne limit +3.

Modifiers: Peace purity gain 1/month

Group: Pagan
Religious Head: None

Holy Sites: Tholen Paderborn, Uppsala, Hleidra, Maere

Mechanics: Looting, river movement, Concubinage, Reformation, female temple holders, defensive attrition, 250% short reign penalty, prestige loss while at peace, no penalty from raised vassal levies County Conquest, Subjugation, Prepared Invasion.

Modifiers: Levy size +30%, Retinue size +50%.

Group: Pagan
Religious Head: None

Holy Sites: Tikhvin, Yuriev, Pruszkow, Husi, Arkona.

Mechanics: Looting, Concubinage, Reformation, female temple holders, defensive attrition, 200% short reign penalty County Conquest, Subjugation

Modifiers: Levy size +10%
Garrison size +30%. Home territory: All Units Defensive +80% and Garrison size +40%

Group: Pagan
Religious Head: None

Holy Sites: Sasqsin, Isilkul, Aqmescit, Kyzylorda, Vac.

Mechanics: Looting, Concubinage, Reformation, 150% short reign penalty, prestige loss while at peace, no penalty from raised vassal levies, ignores defensive attrition County Conquest, Subjugation, Tribal Invasion.

Modifiers: Levy size +30%, Light Cav Offensive +30%, Light Cav Defensive +30%.

Groupd: Pagan
Religious Head: None

Holy Sites: Arkona, Brisen, Sejny, Riga, Pochep.

Mechanics: Looting, Concubinage, Reformation, female temple holders, defensive attrition, 200% short reign penalty County Conquest, Subjugation.

Modifiers: Levy size +10%, Garrison size +30%. Home territory: All Units Defensive +80%,
Garrison size +40%.

Group: Pagan
Religious Head: None

Holy Sites: Perm, Solotcha, Tikhvin, Hiiumaa, Karelia.

Mechanics: Looting, Concubinage, Reformation, female temple holders, defensive attrition, 200% short reign penalty County Conquest, Subjugation.

Modifiers: Garrison size +40%. Home territory: All Units Defensive +80%, Garrison size +40%.

Group: Pagan
Religious Head: None

Holy Sites: Salam, Bamako, Sidi Rahhal, Bordj, Siliana.

Mechanics: Looting, Concubinage, Reformation, female temple holders, defensive attrition County Conquest, Subjugation.

Modifiers: Garrison size +40%. Home territory: All Units Defensive +80%, Garrison size +40%.

Group: Pagan
Religious Head: None

Holy Sites: Rome, St Denis, Cordoba, Sidi Rahhal, London.

Mechanics: Concubinage, prestige loss while at peace, no penalty from raised vassal levies County Conquest, Tribal Invasion.

Modifiers: Levy size +30%

Group: Pagan
Religious Head: None

Holy Sites: Rome, Vastergotland, Mecca, Jerusalem, Ghana.

Mechanics: Concubinage, defensive attrition County Conquest, Subjugation.

Group: Pagan
Religious Head: None

Holy Sites: Baghdad, Zamindawar, Heliopolis, Kabul, Multan.

Mechanics: Concubinage, Reformation, defensive attrition County Conquest, Subjugation.

Modifiers: Levy size +30%, Heavy infantry offensive: +20%, Heavy infantry defensive: +20%.


Group: Pagan
Religious Head: None

Holy Sites: Abydos, Thessalonica, Athens, Rome, Alexandria.

Modifiers: Pre-reformed, Concubinage, female temple holders County Conquest, Subjugation.

Notes:

• For holy sites, the county and/or duchy is indicated only if different from temple holding name.

• The Hellenic and (generic) Pagan religions appear for characters in the history files, representing (for Hellenism) the pre-Christian Roman emperors and (for Paganism) pre-Christian Irish and pre-Islamic Arabs, among others. They cannot normally appear in game (Except one Arabian woman in 867), but a character with these religions can be made in the Ruler Designer.

• Catholicism and all Catholic Heresies become orthodox heresies if the great Schism is mended. This does not affect the Miaphysite or Nestorian denominations.
  

All religions with a parent religion are heresies. With Sons of Abraham, if a heresy becomes more prevalent than the parent religion (5 provinces more), it will become the new orthodoxy, and the parent religion will become a heresy. All holy orders of the parent religion switch over to the former heresy when this happens.

Parent: Catholicism
Group: Christianity
Head : None
Mechanics: Absolute Cognatic succession; female temple holders, Councillors and Commanders.



Parent: Catholicism
Group: Christianity
Head: Fraticelli Pope (once established)
Mechanics: Excommunication, College of Cardinals, Investiture, Antipope, Crusades
Special CBs:As Catholic



Parent: Catholicism
Group: Christianity
Head: None



Parent: Catholicism
Group: Christianity
Head: None



Parent: Miaphysite
Group: Christianity
Head: The Monophysite Papacy
Mechanics: Autocephaly, Excommunication
Special CBs: As Orthodox



Parent: Nestorian
Group: Christianity
Head: None
Mechanics: Absolute Cognatic succession; Divine blood, female temple holders



Parent: Orthodoxy
Group: Christianity
Head: None
Mechanics: Female temple holders



Parent: Orthodoxy
Group: Christianity
Head: The Monothelite Partriarchate
Mechanics: Autocephaly, Excommunication, Mending the Great Schism
Special CBs: As Orthodox



Parent: Orthodoxy
Group: Christianity
Head: The Iconoclast Patriachate (once established)
Mechanics: Autocephaly, Excommunication, Mending the Great Schism
Special CBs: As Orthodox



Parent: Orthodoxy
Group: Christianity
Head: The Paulician Patriarchate (once established)
Mechanics: Autocephaly, Excommunication, Mending the Great Schism
Special CBs: As Orthodox



Parent: Sunni
Group: Islam
Head: None
Mechanics: Decadence, Polygamy
Special CBs: Muslim Invasion, County Conquest



Parent: Sunni
Group: Islam
Head: The Yazidi Sheikhdom (once established)
Mechanics: Decadence, Polygamy, Excommunication
Special CBs: Muslim Invasion, County Conquest



Parent: Ibadi
Group: Islam
Head: The Karijite Caliphate (once established)
Mechanics: Decadence, Polygamy
Special CBs: As Ibadi


Parent: Shia
Group: Islam
Head: None
Mechanics: Decadence, Polygamy
Special CBs: Muslim Invasion, County Conquest


Parent: Shia
Group: Islam
Head: The Hurufi Skeikhdom [sic] (once established)
Mechanics: Decadence, Polygamy
Special CBs: Muslim Invasion, County Conquest


Parent: Zoroastrian
Group: Zoroastrian
Head: None


Parent: Zoroastrian
Group: Zoroastrian
Head: None


Parent: Judaism
Group: Jewish
Head: None


Parent: Judaism
Group:Jewish
Head: None


Parent: (Reformed) Germanic
Group: Pagan
Head: None
Mechanics: Same as Germanic
Special CBs: Same as Germanic


Parent: (Reformed) Slavic
Group: Pagan
Head: None
Mechanics: Same as Slavic
Special CBs: Slavic


Parent: (Reformed) Tengri
Group: Pagan
Head: None
Mechanics: Same as Tengri
Special CBs: Same as Tengri


Parent: (Reformed) Romuva
Group: Pagan
Head: None
Mechanics: Same as Romuva
Special CBs: Same as Romuva


Parent: (Reformed) Suomenusko
Group: Pagan
Head: None
Mechanics: Same as Suomenusko
Special CBs: Same as Suomenusko


Parent: (Reformed) West African
Group: Pagan
Head: None
Mechanics: Same as West African
Special CBs: Same as West African


Parent: (Reformed) Aztec
Group: Pagan
Head: None
Mechanics: Same as Aztec
Special CBs: Same as Aztec


Parent: (Reformed) Zunist
Group: Pagan
Head: None
Mechanics: Same as Zunist
Special CBs: Same as Zunist



Christian religion (typically, but not necessarily, Orthodox) is also required for the special Imperial Reconquest CB. Additionally, the Tribal Invasion CB can be used by any non-Christians of the Altaic culture group.

When a pagan religion is reformed, anyone following it gets an event to decide whether to accept the reformation. If they don't, they become the "Old" version, which is considered a heresy. The reformed version keeps the name of the pre-reformation religion.

Likewise, if an Orthodox ruler mends the Great Schism, Catholic rulers get an event to decide whether to convert to Orthodoxy (or the "heresy"). Either way, Catholicism is thereafter treated as an Orthodox heresy, and all the Catholic heresies become Orthodox heresies instead. Orthodox Heresies can also mend the Great Schism if they manage to replace Orthodoxy as the parent religion.

Reforming a pagan faith establishes a formal religious hierarchy and scripture - adapting elements of the Abrahamic faiths in order to more effectively oppose them. In game terms, reformed pagans no longer face the restrictions on crown authority, succession, independence wars and conversion that other pagans do.

The religion now has a formal head, who gives the faith a permanent +20% to moral authority, and who may, after the Crusades and Jihads are unlocked, call Great Holy Wars. The Germanic reformer becomes the Fylkir, a ducal-level secular leader similar to an Islamic Caliph. The other pagan faiths have a duke-level religious leader who becomes a vassal of the reforming ruler, similar to the Orthodox religion's patriarch.

When the religion is reformed, rulers of the faith may choose to accept or reject the new order of things. Those who stick with the old ways are considered heretics by the reformed faith, and may be targeted by holy wars.

Reforming a faith costs 750 piety. It requires either control of three holy sites and 50% moral authority, or else control of all five holy sites. If the last two holy sites are difficult to reach, the best way to obtain the necessary moral authority is through county conquests and raids. Each temple looted in a raid gives +1% to moral authority.

Note that Germanic pagans have as a holy site the county of Braunschweig, and taking that county will trigger the Catholic crusades (as well as the formation of every Catholic Holy Order but the Knights Templar) at the time that you take Braunschweig, but taking it from the already pagan Saxons in 769 should not be a problem. The Catholics may crusade you immediately in response. (Or more likely target Hungary if the Magyars are around).

Reformed pagans will gain a sudden bonus to their conversion rates. In fact, if they have high moral authority, and have damaged rival religion's moral authority with their conquests and stolen holy sites, or control unreformed pagan lands, they will soon be flooded with notices of conversions of territories that are held by their vassals, who will put forth serious effort to convert their lands to their new faith.

Reformed religions gain access to holy wars, usable on any target of a different faith (including other pagans), and the crusade-equivalent Great Holy War as soon as Catholics and Muslims have unlocked crusades and jihads. Germanic Fylkirs can declare Great Holy Wars directly upon any nation they choose, so long as it is of another faith, including nations they do not share borders with, as long as it has a coast. Great Holy Wars have a "cooldown" time, however, preventing continual use. Holy wars and Great Holy Wars can be used against larger targets than normal pagan CBs allow, functionally making them more offensively capable of taking on large Catholic or Muslim kingdoms. (Except for the Tengri, which already could target kingdoms.)

Reformed religions can raise crown authority to any level. They gain access to all normal succession laws (elective, seniority, primogeniture, and ultimogeniture) once they go feudal and meet crown authority requirements.

Reformed pagans also don't suffer any penalties from raising Tribal Authority, however having non-reformed pagans will still have a relations penalty with their liege.

Reformed pagans also gain access to holy orders. Each of the pagan religions has a single holy order to defend the faith.

Reformed offensive pagans no longer lose prestige when at peace.

The short reign penalty is reduced to merely double the normal amount for Germanic pagans among the same Germanic faith, but Old Germanic pagans will have the full -45 penalty in addition to the heretic penalty. Other pagan faiths have different modifiers.

Reformed pagans no longer get a defense attrition bonus, and will incur attrition in the territory of unreformed pagans, except those who follow the old form of their own religion. Norse rulers lose their retinue size bonus and now get penalties for raised levies like other rulers.

Reformed religions lose access to subjugation wars, one of the fastest ways for pagans to expand. They keep access to county conquests and raids.

Reforming the religion will cause a schism in the pagan faith - the reformer will be of the new religion, and so will their direct vassals, but others have a random chance (or a choice if the player) of being one faith or the other. Old religion followers will be heretics with a -35 penalty to relations to members of the reformed faith. If a king of a faith stays true to the old ways, and many vassals convert to the new religion, this can cause tremendous upheaval in a nation, and lead to multiple simultaneous revolts. Expect frequent raids and wars between realms that accept the new faith and those that reject it.




Group: Pagan
Religious Head: The Fylkirate

Holy Sites: Sames as Germanic

Mechanics: Looting, river movement, Concubinage, female temple holders, 150% short reign penaltyHoly war (costs 100 piety with 5 year truce), County Conquest, Prepared invasion, Great holy wars.

Modifiers: Levy size +30%

Group: Pagan
Religious Head: The Slavic Church

Holy Sites: Same as Slavics

Mechanics: Looting, Concubinage, female temple holdersHoly war (costs 100 piety with 5 year truce), County Conquest, Great holy wars.

Modifiers:Levy size +20%, Garrison size +20%. Home territory: All Units Defensive +80%,
Garrison size +40%.

Group: Pagan
Religious Head: The Tengri Church

Holy Sites: Same as Tengri

Mechanics: Looting, Concubinage, Great holy warsHoly war (costs 100 piety with 5 year truce), County Conquest, Tribal Invasion, Great holy wars

Modifiers: Levy size +30%, Light Cav Offensive +30%, Light Cav Defensive +30%.

Group: Pagan
Religious Head: The Romuva Church

Holy Sites: Same as Romuva

Mechanics: Looting, Concubinage, female temple holdersHoly war (costs 100 piety with 5 year truce), County Conquest, Great holy wars.

Modifiers:Levy size +20%, Garrison size +20%. Home territory: All Units Defensive +80%,
Garrison size +40%.

Group: Pagan
Religious Head: The Suomenusko Church

Mechanics: Looting, Concubinage, female temple holdersHoly war (costs 100 piety with 5 year truce), County Conquest, Great holy wars.

Modifiers: Levy size +10%, Garrison size +30%. Home territory: All Units Defensive +80%,
Garrison size +40%.


Group: Pagan
Religious Head: The West African Church

Mechanics: Looting, Concubinage, Great holy wars, female temple holdersHoly war (costs 100 piety with 5 year truce), County Conquest, Great holy wars.

Modifiers: Garrison size +40%.Home territory: All Units Defensive +80%, Garrison size +40%.

Group: Pagan
Religious Head: The Aztec Church

Mechanics: Concubinage Holy war (costs 100 piety with 5 year truce), County Conquest, Tribal Invasion, Great holy wars.

Modifiers: Levy size +30%

Group: Pagan
Religious Head: The Church of Zun

Mechanics: Concubinage, County Conquest, Great holy wars.

Modifiers: Levy size +30%, Heavy infantry offensive: +20%, Heavy infantry defensive: +20%.

The Dharmic religions all originated in India and share a number of common beliefs. They offer varied styles of gameplay depending on which religion you choose. Hinduism offers military benefits, Buddhism offers technology, and Jainism offers stability.



Although historically conflicts did occur, especially resulting in Jainism being routed by Hinduism, in-game, all three religions are relatively tolerant of each other, getting no increased revolt risk in provinces of the other religions and only a minor (-10) relations penalty with rulers of the other religions. Similarly, none of the religions have heresies; instead, different sects of each religion coexist peacefully, with followers of different sects having a small -5 relations penalty. None have formal religious heads, though all have five holy sites. There is no great holy war mechanic. Followers of Indian religions have no modifier for following a female ruler. Rulers are restricted to gavelkind, ultimogeniture, and primogeniture succession laws.

Followers of one of the religions may, once in their lifetime, convert by decision to another Indian religion, at the cost of some prestige. This allows the members of a dynasty to switch to the religion whose features are best for their current needs. For example, the founder of a dynasty might practice Hinduism for its military benefits, while successors might adopt Jainism to peacefully govern their realm. You must control a province of the religion in question in order to convert. Characters with the zealous trait cannot convert.

The Indian religions have a Subjugation casus belli, usable on de jure kingdoms held by other Indians. The target must be in the same cultural group to use the CB, which also costs 500 piety (karma or purity) to use. It can only be used once per lifetime, so make certain that you will win before using it. If targeting another religion, the defender will likely hire their respective holy order to assist in the defense, assuming they have the 280 piety needed to do so. If they do, expect to encounter an additional 5 to 10 thousand troops beyond what the defender would normally possess, depending on the defender's religion. The Hindu holy order is the largest, making it more difficult for other Indian religions to subjugate Hindu rulers.

Hinduism, which emerged from the Vedic religion of the early Indo-Aryans, is today the majority religion of India.


Unlike the other two religions, there is no unified definition of the religious beliefs of Hinduism, no single agreed-upon philosophy, set pantheon of gods or which are to be worshiped, or who even is a Hindu or is not. The most consistent and relevant difference is its strict adherence to a caste system that places the Hindu priests (Brahmins) at the top, followed by secular rulers, merchants, commoners, and finally the outcast (literally, "without caste") untouchables.

Historically, the placing of Brahmins at the top of the social order (as opposed to the soldier/military ruler castes) had a calming effect upon what had been in more ancient times a far more violent Indian subcontinent that practiced ceaseless war for empire and slaves. The Brahmins, by fragmenting the power of secular rulers and outlawing slavery, made the Middle Ages relatively more peaceful (although still quite bloody) in India compared to previous centuries.

In-game, the ruling caste for all practical intents is actually the higher class, and it is the most warlike of the three Indian religions, still. It has unrestricted access to the Holy War casus belli, usable on all followers of non-Indian religions. Hindu troops have 30% more morale, making them more durable than troops of other faiths, and Hindus may also raid neighbors who don't follow Indian religions, similar to pagans. However, Hindus cannot designate a primary heir like the other Indian religions can and, like Buddhists and Jains, they are restricted to gavelkind, ultimogeniture, and primogeniture succession laws.

Overall, the Hindus offer a very warlike playstyle at the cost of stability - like the pagans, but to a lesser extent. Convert if you plan on going to war outside of India.

Four sects:
Smartism gives +0.5 karma (piety) per month.
Shaktism gives +20% fertility.
Shavism gives +0.5 prestige per month.
Vashnavism gives +5 vassal opinion.

Buddhism developed from the teachings of Siddartha Gautama, the Buddha, who lived in the 6th century BCE.

Karma is a central concept to Buddhism. It is the "debt" that people incur between themselves and the rest of creation (one way or the other), which guides their reincarnation and passage through the Wheel of Life. After death, souls are reincarnated somewhere else in the Wheel of Life as either a human or animal on Earth, or in one of many heavens or hells, according to what karma they carry. Even being born, one has a karmic debt relation to one's parents, to be paid off by paying for funeral rights for one's parents, and bearing children to bear your own.

Buddhism's central doctrines are the Four Noble Truths, and the Noble Eightfold Path. The Four Noble Truths tell one that all things mortal and physical are transient and ultimately unfulfilling, leading to only suffering. The Noble Eightfold Path (which is the fourth of the Four Noble Truths) teaches the way to spiritual enlightenment, and release from worldly desires (which generate karma which bind people to the Wheel of Life). Buddhism teaches these offer an escape from suffering by repaying all these karma debts to become completely detached from worldly bindings, and therefore, detached from the Wheel of Life.

Strictly speaking, the in-game actions of conquest for physical territory, conflict, and status measured in gold and territory are all anathema to Buddhist teachings, although obviously not without historical precedent for actual rulers who at least nominally followed the religion.

Buddhists may be considered a hybrid of Hindus and Jainists. Like Jains, Buddhist rulers can designate any of their legitimate children as the primary heir and have no short reign penalty. They lack the Jain bonus to vassal opinion and demense limit, but do not have as severe restrictions on violent behavior (Buddhists can duel rivals without penalty, go on tiger hunts, etc.) Like Hindus, Buddhist have access to the holy war casus, albeit in a weaker form. Their troops do not have the Hindu morale bonus, but Buddhist rulers have an easier time navigating succession crises than their Hindu counterparts.

Overall, Buddhism offers a middle path, with no great strengths or weaknesses. Consider converting if one wishes to leave options open.

Three sects:
Gives +5 vassal opinion.
Theravada gives +1 learning (in addition to the +4 all Buddhists get)
][/previewimg]Vajrayana gives +1 health.

Jainism is an ancient pacifistic religion that originated some time before the 5th century BCE.

It is from Jainism that the concept of "karma" originates, which they see as a pollutants in the soul. The objective of Jainist practice is to further refine and purify one's soul and work against the desires and worldly attachments of karma. A core principle of Jainism is Anēkāntavāda, a belief in the multiplicity of viewpoints, and that conflict is, at its core, a result of misunderstanding and miscommunication, rather than inherent human evil. Jainists are taught to see the truth or falseness of any statement as a complicated multi-faceted probability, based upon one's own point of view compared to others. They are taught to avoid absolutes, as leading down a path of dogmatism and intolerance. (An odd stand-out in a game named after religious dogmatic warfare, and why Jainists are the only one to lack a Holy War of any kind.)

Proper practitioners of Jainism practice Ahimsa, a code of pacifism that protects even animals, and are forbidden from violence for any reason but the least violence necessary for self-defense or defense of another. This extends to diet; Jains are expected to be vegan, and in some cases cannot even eat root vegetables (such as potatoes or onions) due to the uprooting of such vegetables harming soil life.

The game gives Jain rulers serious flexibility compared to these standards. (And historical rulers and militaries were at least nominal practitioners of Jainism in spite of not particularly adhering to non-violence.) +30 vassal opinion gives Jainists long, stable realms no matter how large the empire is. Convert if you have a large, unstable empire.

Two sects:
Digambara gives +1 Health.
Svetambara gives a further +5 vassal opinion.

Indian characters are divided into three varnas or castes, marked in-game by traits:

Brahmins, the priests. +0.5 Karma/month.
Kshatriyas, the soldiers and nobles. +0.5 Prestige/month.
Vaishyas, the craftsmen and merchants. +0.03 gold/month.


(The fourth caste, the Shudras, is not represented in-game.) The castes correspond to religious, feudal and city holdings, respectively. Hindus may only give holdings to characters of the appropriate caste. Characters may only marry within their caste. Children belong to the same caste as their parents, while a child of parents from different castes gets the lower of the two parental castes.

Hindus get a -30 opinion modifier toward characters with a holding that does not match their caste, as well as -30 towards characters married to someone of a different caste. Non-Indians who convert to Hinduism are considered to be casteless untouchables, which gets them a -15 opinion from other Hindus. A decision allows tribal/feudal Hindus to become Kshatriya, at the cost of considerable gold and prestige (if a Vaishya or casteless) or 200 karma (if a Brahmin). Hindu patricians without the correct caste can't convert so easily, though seducing a Vaishya and legitimizing the child does give an heir of the right caste.

Buddhists and Jains in the Indian subcontinent have castes, but are not bound by the restrictions that Hindus are, nor do they care about characters with the wrong caste. They do receive the minor bonuses granted by the caste traits themselves, however.

Holy orders are bands of troops that can be hired for piety to fight religious enemies. Holy orders can also operate as an independent rulers, constructing castles and waging their own wars.

During great holy wars, as well as when defending against infidels, holy orders have free upkeep. During offensive wars, however, they have a substantial gold upkeep cost, similar to mercenaries.

Forces hired from holy orders will only fight against enemies of the faith:

• Christian holy orders only fight heretics of their religion and infidels. For example, a Catholic holy order will not fight against the Orthodox or Iconoclast Byzantine Empire, but will fight against any Cathar ruler or any Muslim ruler.

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• Muslim, Pagan, and Indian holy orders are also hostile against other religions within their group.

Holy Orders often operate on their own, without the contract of a ruler. They may ask independent rulers of their religion to allow them to build a castle in the ruler's demesne. The Holy Order only requires the local count's approval- the permission of the count's liege, if any, is not required. Once they get permission, construction will begin. Once construction is finished, the count will receive an event. They will keep the castle until the Order is expelled from the realm, if the top liege decides to do so.

Any independent ruler can expel any Holy Order from the realm that has castles in their realm. When they do this, all castles in the realm will be seized, and all debts with the Order will be cancelled. The Order will not request to build castles in the ruler's realm.

Occasionally, an unmarried son or brother who does not stand to inherit may ask to join a local Holy Order. If permitted, the character will become a courtier of the Holy Order, and may become their Councillor or general. They would be more likely to do so if the character is Zealous , and will be more likely to join a Holy Order with an aligned cause or is more local (for example, a German would be more likely to join the Teutonic Order than the Knights Templar if both are formed).

Aside from castle and hiring income, Holy Orders can also gain money from donations. Donating 300 Wealth to a Holy Order will grant you 300 piety and put you in good standing with both the Grandmaster of that Order and your religious head, if any.

You can also borrow money from a Holy Order. At any time you can borrow 300 gold from any Holy Order of your religion, so long as they have 300 gold to give. However, while in debt the Grandmaster can make various demands, either demanding a son or brother to join the Order or building a castle in your demesne. If this happens, you may either accept (canceling your debt), refuse (losing 1000 Piety and damaging your relations with your religious head), or pay back the 300 debt.






Religion: Catholic
Birth Trigger: Crusades unlocked and either
year is at least 1118.
or Byzantium Empire owner is not Christian.
or one of the following counties owner is not Christian: Constantinople, Ancyra, Rome, or (Athens and Corinth).
Vassal of Jerusalem from 1119. Can be vassalized by decision by Jerusalem for 500 gold (requires Sons of Abraham).

Religion: Catholic
Birth Trigger: Crusades unlocked and either:
year is at least 1113.
or Byzantium Empire owner is not Christian.
or one of the following counties' owner is not Christian: Constantinople, Ancyra, Rome, (Athens and Corinth), Provence, Toulouse, Paris, Cologne or Braunschweig.
Vassal of Jerusalem from 1099. Can be vassalized by decision by Jerusalem for 500 gold (requires Sons of Abraham).

Religion: Catholic
Birth Trigger: Crusades unlocked and either:
year is at least 1192.
or one of the following counties owner is not Christian: Provence, Toulouse, Paris, Cologne or Braunschweig.
Landed from 1225.

Religion: Catholic
Birth Trigger: Crusades unlocked and either:
year is at least 1164.
or one of the following counties owner is not Christian: Provence, Toulouse, Paris, Cologne, Braunschweig or Bordeaux.
Vassal of Castile from 1164.

Religion: Catholic
Birth Trigger: Crusades unlocked and either:
year is at least 1175.
or one of the following counties owner is not Christian: Provence, Toulouse, Paris, Cologne, Braunschweig or Bordeaux.
Vassal of Castile from 1171.

Religion: Orthodox
Birth Trigger: Sons of Abraham DLC.
Counties of Antioch and Jerusalem are Orthodox and owned by Orthodox characters.

Religion: Miaphysite
Birth Trigger: Sons of Abraham DLC.
Counties of Alexandria, Makuria and Aksum are Miaphysite and owned by Miaphysite characters.

Religion: Nestorian
Birth Trigger: Sons of Abraham DLC.
Jerusalem and Baghdad are Nestorian and owned by Nestorian characters.

Religion: ♥♥♥♥♥♥
Birth Trigger: Year is at least 1089.
and Alamut holding has no holder.
and Dailam province has fewer than 5 settlements.
Landed from 1090 until 1256.

Religion: Sunni
Birth Trigger: Sons of Abraham DLC, Jihads are unlocked and either:
year is at least 1228.
or one of the following counties owner is not Muslim: Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo, Jerusalem or Mecca.

Religion: Ibadi
Birth Trigger: Charlemagne DLC, Jihads are unlocked and one of the following counties owner is not Muslim: Hajar, Damascus, Cairo, Jerusalem or Mecca.

Religion: Judaism
Birth Trigger: Sons of Abraham DLC and Jewish high priesthood is restored.

Religion: Zoroastrian
Birth Trigger: Sons of Abraham DLC and Zoroastrian priesthood is restored


Religion: Reformed Germanic
Birth Trigger: The Old Gods DLC.
The year is at least 920.
Either Stettin, Wolgast, Rügen or Werle has a free holding.
The count holding the chosen county is Germanic or Reformed Germanic.
The holder accepts the creation.

Religion: Reformed Tengri
Birth Trigger: Sons of Abraham DLC and Tengri reformation.

Religion: Reformed West Africans
Birth Trigger: Sons of Abraham DLC and West African reformation.

Religion: Reformed Slavic
Birth Trigger: Sons of Abraham DLC and Slavic reformation.

Religion: Reformed Romuva
Birth Trigger: Sons of Abraham DLC and Romuva reformation.

Religion: Reformed Suemenusko
Birth Trigger: Sons of Abraham DLC and Suomenusko reformation.

Religion: Reformed Aztec
Birth Trigger: Sons of Abraham DLC and Aztec reformation.

Religion: Buddhist
Birth Trigger: Rajas of India DLC.

Religion: Hindu
Birth Trigger: Rajas of India DLC.

Religion: Jain
Birth Trigger: Rajas of India DLC.

Religion: Reformed Zunist
Birth Trigger: Charlemagne DLC and Zunist reformation.

Piety is a measure of how pious a character is. It increases by a variety of mechanics. It contributes to Score on character's death.

How to gain Piety:

• Invite and appoint a lord spiritual with high learning skill:
  You get a small monthly piety gain based on state learning, increased by Majesty technology
  If tribal, having your lord spiritual Build Zeal gives +0.05 piety per skill per month. With 20 learning this comes out to +1 piety/month.

• If zealots are raised and you are not fighting a holy war, dismiss them within a year to avoid piety loss.

• Large gain by giving money to holy orders, or allowing courtiers (brothers or sons of rulers) to join them.

• Granting titles to the clergy, scaled by the rank of the title

• Tutor two children. Some childhood personality events let you "pray for the child" if you are not cynical

• Some traits award Piety per month. Zealous and Humble give 1 Piety/month, while Content and Chaste give 0.5 piety/month

• Winning battles and occupations in wars with religious enemies grants Piety, as does winning Holy Wars and Crusades

• Some temple buildings give piety to the holder. The holder also provides piety to their liege, depending on opinion.

• Releasing prisoners gives piety if they hold titles.

• Install dynasty members as religious heads or holy order captains.
  Gives all same-religion rulers of your dynasty (of count rank and higher) +1 monthly piety and +2 monthly prestige.
  For the Papacy, see controlling the College of Cardinals.
  For holy orders, you can murder a captain when you see that your kinsman has been (randomly?) selected as the heir. A kinsmen who is second or third in line will instead get a claim, which you can press (if the order is landed?).

Divine blood is a mechanic that allows and encourages Zoroastrian & Messalian (Nestorian heresy) rulers to marry close relatives Dynasty close relative.png, including brother to sister and parents to children marriages, for a piety and opinion boost.

At the moment of a divine blood marriage, the ruler gains Piety: 50 for Counts, 100 for Dukes, 200 for Kings and 300 for Emperors.

Some permanent opinion modifiers apply:

Name-----------------Source--------------Target--------Opinion
Divine Marriage-----Zoroastrian vassal---------Liege +10
Divine Marriage-----Zoroastrian priest vassal-Liege +25
Profane Marriage---Vassal--------------Liege -10

To limit the effects of inbreeding, children born from a Zoroastrian incestuous marriages have:

• 5 times less chances than normal to get the inbred trait.

• But 5 times more chances than normal to get the lunatic trait.

The risk of your dynasty dying out due to bad congenital traits (characters being inapt to rule, having less children and dying younger) is quite serious after a few generations. To prevent this you may:

• Take concubines to produce heirs with more genetic diversity and traits. Note, Messalians are not allowed to have concubines, making inbreeding more likely.

Marry dynasty members past child-bearing age

• Land dynasty members frequently to increase the pool of characters you can marry in the long term (unlanded characters are limited on number of children)

• Use feudal elective succession to skip inept heirs

• If using Ruler Designer, consider giving your starting ruler the positive genetic traits Genius
  or, Strong and Attractive. This does not reduce the risk of Inbred Inbred.png, but does improve the pool of potential spouses for your heir.

Even if you convert to a different faith, your Zoroastrian vassals still approve of this kind of marriage and you retain the +10 relation bonus.