Let's go for this second part on the basic explanations to start Crusader Kings III ! Previously, we had seen the interface of our character, the resources and the management of the domain. In this post, we'll take a closer look at the notions of ownership of lands and titles.

"De jure" ownership of lands and titles

A "de jure" title is a legitimate title, "jure" being a Latin expression meaning "by law".
That's why you can't declare war without a legitimate reason. Everything is governed by law in Crusader Kings 3. There is a hierarchy of titles, from least important to most powerful:
1. Baron
2. Count
3. Duke
4. King
5. Emperor
Each of these names has cultural variations, but that doesn't change the value of a title.
To give you an idea of what this means, here are the titles associated with lands, in the same hierarchical order.

1. Baronny

2. County

3. Duchy

4. Kingdom

5. Empire

The higher your title, the easier it will be to keep your entire domain under your thumb. Let's take a concrete example:

You have conquered the kingdoms of Ireland, Scotland and England. Unluckily, a plot against you leads to your assassination before you can raise the funds to create the title of Emperor of Great Britain. You leave behind 3 male heirs.

Each gets a kingdom, but you will only play the main heir. This means one very annoying thing: you only have one kingdom left. This would not have happened if you had been emperor, because your main heir would have taken the imperial throne. So it doesn't matter who gets the royal titles: they will be your vassals.

Note that I am simplifying here, because in reality you will have some leeway with the laws of succession in your domain, but that will come later. At first you will have to deal with the laws already in place, and for a long time.

But you will notice that through succession, you can find yourself very heavily depleted of resources. For the loss of two kingdoms means the loss of as many taxes and levies.

Things to remember

• Your character owns land and it provides him with all of his taxes and levies.
• The number of these possessions is limited according to certain parameters; this limit is indicated at the top right of the interface and on the character's sheet.
• All characters with titles inferior to yours and who answer to your governance (who are in the territory you have conquered) are your vassals.
• These vassals provide you with a fraction of their gold and levies.
• The higher your title, the easier it is to maintain your control, and thus to ensure that these taxes and levies continue to fall into your pocket from one ruler to the next.

So you need to be able to distinguish between your own land, and the land of others that is dependent on you. The key is to have a de jure title superior to that of your vassals. As long as this is the case, your domain will not be divided from one generation to the next.

War and Love

The game has started. You have found a court doctor and your counsellors are busy with their duties. It's time to build some alliances. Most leaders start with an offspring. Your goal is to proliferate this offspring and use them to build alliances and demands.

It's all about birthright in the Middle Ages. In any case, your first concern in any part of Crusader Kings 3, after those explained above, should be to secure alliances and claims, in that order.

If you are weak, enemies will hurry to attack you to claim your titles. Allies will deter them from doing so. So right-click on an unmarried family member and select "Find a Spouse".

There is a significant distinction between "arranging a marriage" and "finding a spouse". Arranging a marriage is about marrying someone who is already in your court. Finding a spouse will allow you to find spouses in other courts.

In the image above, you can see the two icons corresponding to an alliance and a claim.

At the beginning of the game, feel free to change the sorting mode from "Relevance" to "Alliance Power". What you need to start with is strength. However, don't take just any ally. If they have 10,000 troops, but they're on the side of Russia, that's going to hurt you. It is better to aim lower but have someone who can assist you quickly. Also keep in mind that your ally will also call on you. You can refuse, but the more you do so, the more you run the risk that he will return the same answer the next time you call him for help.

A simple mouse-over on the alliance icon gives you the number of soldiers the potential ally has. Secure as many as you can and take a look at the problems icon. You will see that you can already declare a number of wars (note that you may also have started the game at war, but we do not recommend it).

Do this sparingly. If you declare war on everyone, you will quickly be overwhelmed, and your potential enemies will take advantage of this to become very real enemies. Note that you must choose carefully the reason for waging war. If you are fighting for an earldom, it is not the same as if you want to take over a kingdom. This can be very misleading, because for example the Duchy of Brittany is similar to the Kingdom of Brittany. However, you will not gain the same title in the end, so be careful.

You won't see it much if you have a small domain to begin with, but you will notice that it is possible to fight for the claims of other characters. These are simply your vassals. But thanks to the now well-known de jure hierarchy, these claims can fall under your governance.

Go slowly and grow your domain little by little, and you will see that soon it will be possible to create titles. These will have conditions to meet:

To have a certain number of lower de jure titles in the area
Gold to spend
300 for a duchy
500 for a kingdom
1000 for an empire
And you may have noticed that I haven't mentioned the political maps available at the bottom right of the interface.

There are several icons that change the view of the map. In particular, you can display duchies, kingdoms and empires. Why is this interesting?

It's interesting because Crusader Kings 3 is a game that is played over the length. You have to think several moves ahead. When you start your expansion, you have to do it by moving towards conquering a duchy. When you marry your family members, your claims will only come later, with the descendants of those unions.

Once you meet the necessary conditions, you will have an alert in the "problems to manage" indicating that you can create a title or usurp it. Usurping simply means that the title has already been created before, but that you meet the necessary conditions to "recreate" it for you.

Choose your own path

Finally, the beginning of your game will require you to choose a lifestyle for your leader. This will start again each time a new leader is crowned.

Each leader will get an XP boost in a branch according to his education. It is recommended to obey this and choose the corresponding branch. In this branch you can choose from 3 paths, depending on your needs. A fertility boost can for example ensure you a lot of offspring, and therefore a lot of claims and alliances. An advanced feat can make your leader an outstanding commander, etc.

Feel free to browse the trees and experiment, there are no really bad choices in this area.