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CK2 Dev Diary #29: Illumination

By the grace of God, I am finally back and able to pen another development diary, though my hands are still unsteady from the shocking things I saw while in hiding. I think it best to simply recount my harrowing experiences of the last few weeks. For those with eyes to see and ears to hear, there is much to be learned from my travails.

For many months, I had felt that something strange was going on at the office. In hindsight, the signs were all there; colleagues naming their daughters “Sophia”, hushed talk of “secret knowledge” and Dan “podcat” Lind suddenly breaking off his presentation of the next Hearts of Iron IV expansion in order to explain how the Creator is just an “evil emanation of the original Monad”. But it wasn’t until Björn “Metal King” Iversen took me aside to listen to the subliminal messages in various Judas Priest tracks that I finally realized the truth: the company had been infiltrated by Sethian Gnostics! I recognized some of the messages from the Second Treatise of the Great Seth and the Gospel of Judas...

I suddenly did not want to help Björn record any more death sounds. Who knows how many souls he has helped “liberate” from this earthly prison in his infernal studio? He eyed me with suspicion when I assured him that I had already achieved Gnosis. Beating a hasty retreat, I was forced to skulk in various unused meeting rooms for a full week until I could finally make my escape. While in hiding, I witnessed many disturbing sights; people wearing inverted pentagrams and muttering to themselves, a secret follower of Mahomet performing an odd prayer ritual, various outlandish and no doubt fraternal handshakes, and worst of all; a vile heathen festival in the lunchroom involving spiderwebs, skulls and a bloody brew spewing smoke.

The rot runs deep. There are worse things afoot than mere Gnostic heretics... I fear there are several other corrupt sects burrowing like ticks within our ranks. How could this happen? What malign stars have aligned in the skies above our afflicted nation? Dark heresiarchs are at work in the Realm, pulling strings from the shadows and inducting naïve game developers into their subversive cabals. Who can feel safe in these dark times?

I have written the Holy See with a plea for aid. My sole hope lies in the Holy Father, Pope Francis, though I wonder if he is made of stern enough stuff to unleash the Hounds of God, for I fear only the Dominicans can save us now, as they did in the times of Cardinal Torquemada, bless his soul...

May God send us a light, for the darkness surrounds us!

symbol_collection.jpg
 
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I'm somewhat concerned that this may mean a lot of fantasy events about summoning Wilhelm the Devourer or making human sacrifices to appease Ferdinand the All-Destroying.

But I'll wait on more info for now.
 
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Definitely clamoring for more DLC related to religions. I feel, currently with all DLC, that the religion aspect in-game could be much better and heresies and sects sound like a great addition.
 
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RELIGIOUS CONTENT? Oh wait, this is one of the last 3 minor dlcs before the big final kahuna. MORE COSMETIC PACKS! Flavour for whom this time? The Western Europeans and maybe the Polish? OH BOY WAITING IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FUN!
 
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people wearing inverted pentagrams

It does, which baffles me a bit. Not as much as the inclusion of the inverted pentagram

Inverted Pentagrams would be right side up pentacles. Pentagrams are inverted pentacles.

Arcane symbolism and religious icons don't have a right side up. An inverted cross is the cross peter which is another holy symbol. A devil worshipper and a high priest would use a pentacle in the exact same way because the significance of the symbol is that it is five triangles drawn into each other to ensure that at least one of them will succeed in punching a hole between dimensions for forcibly bring something in or force it back out.

I sure most people at Paradox, at least on the history side of things, already know this and are well aware that the childish art of flipping a symbol to be different and edgy and call it the opposite of what it is a very modern practice by people who don't understand how symbolism works. But for posterity's sake I thought it worth mentioning.



religious supernatural events?

I feel like that's most of them. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah-nagl fhtagn.

That is not dead which can eternal lie.

Seriously though, most examples of supernatural phenomenon in the middle ages were indoctrinated into religious practice. After all, it was the priest's job to help you make sense of anything impossible you saw. If it wasn't religious in nature it become religious and after that it's hard to separate what started like that and what became like that.

That's why you use silver to fight vampires and werewolves and demons. Because it's a purifying agent and as you are fighting evil abominations of the devil it's so obvious that something pure would hurt them.
 
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any chance to add naval battles ? plzzzz! i have created a fantasy map ! and i have a huge empire with like 600 ship but i am not alone ! the other empires have also 450 to 600 ship too ! and there is an small sea between us like mediteranea ! but i just cant fight them on sea at all ! so i for now i think that i will just convert the savegame to EU4 to play naval battles for now ! but i really hope for naval battles soon ! or if no MAYBE CHINA DLC ?

This will be a secret dlc improving religious mechanics... in CHINA!!!!!!!!!!
 
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any chance to add naval battles ? plzzzz! i have created a fantasy map ! and i have a huge empire with like 600 ship but i am not alone ! the other empires have also 450 to 600 ship too ! and there is an small sea between us like mediteranea ! but i just cant fight them on sea at all ! so i for now i think that i will just convert the savegame to EU4 to play naval battles for now ! but i really hope for naval battles soon ! or if no MAYBE CHINA DLC ?
Like I've said before I'd rather they leave it as it is than make a bad naval combat mechanic like in EU.
 
I'd love to see heresies of reformed pagan religions.
And then I'd love to see inquisitions of those pagan heresies.

NOBODY EXPECTS THE VIKING INQUISITION.
 
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Apparently there's a theory that 'Cathars' did not exist at all. The name and the theological basis might have been made up by 13-14th century monks writing about the Albigensian Crusade, with no evidence of either the name 'Cathar' or Manichean theology in the testimonies made by the people interrogated by the Inquisition during the suppression of heresy around Toulouse. (Theory as in not-yet-scientific-consensus as far as I know, not as in 'Theory of Gravity')

Differences in belief and folk customs were widespread during the 12th century, and the customs of the Catholic Church weren't yet completely laid in stone. Movements like the Dominicans and Franciscans were in a constant flux between opposing the Church from within, and getting branded as heretics. Accusations of heresy were a powerful political tool against rivals.

In the Occitan regions, authority had become splintered. Most of the land belonged de jure to France, which was also currently contested between the king of France and the king of England (Angevins). About half or so of the land was directly or under vassals of Aragon. The other half was owned by (or by vassals of) the counts of Toulouse. The counts of Toulouse also had a tenuous vassal-liege relationship with Aragon to make things more complicated.

One of the most powerful rivals of the counts of Toulouse were the Trencavels, viscounts of Albi and Carcasonne. They had been a buffer between the counts of Barcelona/Aragon (who were also de jure French vassals) and Toulouse, and mostly joined them against Toulouse, before becoming Aragonese vassals. Some of their land also belonged de jure to Toulouse.

(So the viscounts of Albi were de jure partly vassals of the count Toulouse, but not in practise. They were also de jure vassals of the Kingdom of France, but not de facto. They were vassals of the Kingdom of Aragon, but de facto they were almost independent. Same situation for the counts of Toulouse. France was still de facto contended by France and England, with the English king being a de jure vassal of France in France. The king of Aragon was a de jure vassal of France in the county of Barcelona and most of the Occitan areas they owned and claimed.)

So.. quite a political mess. Meanwhile, in these regions it was a local custom that non-ordained common folk wandered around and preached. These were called bons homes/bonas femnas (yes, also female preachers). This was not necessarily seen as heresy in these areas, with people going both to (Catholic) churches and these preachers. However the Popes and higher up hierarchy were in general not in favour of non-ordained preachers. To make things more complicated nobility also referred to each other often by bones homes, so this term was used more to note respect than to mark yourself as a heretic.

Now the theory is that when the Church sent investigators to the area, because they wanted to create more regularity in the Catholic world, they found all these (heretic) preachers walking around. Called by the same names as the lower nobility. And when they confronted churches and local rulers, these weren't happy to either be branded a heretic (while they believed they had not strayed) or get a foreign priest asking to change ancient local customs in a politically fragmented country. So these priests when returning to the Pope, reported a full blown heresy with even local rulers co-operating. The local rulers also found not too much protection from their de jure lord, the king of France, because their de facto independence. Now it's possible that the Manichean accusations came from this period or later, probably by priests familiar with ancient heresies, who needed to categorise this scary and sudden 'full blown Heresy'.

It would be a bit like, foreign inquisitors turning up in Germany, seeing (pagan) Christmas Trees and then crying 'Heresy!'. Subsequently finding local nobility who don't find it a big deal and then being forced to label a sudden outbreak of Heresy. Then they find/remember a old tome describing the trees of Dodona, and they'd label them as 'Olympian Heretics'.

Anyway, I'd be fine with the name 'Cathar' in game, since it's actually likely that the believers didn't have a name for this heresy and even did not necessarily know they committed heresy. The equality between men and women for rulers would be a bit far stretched (even though both male and female preachers was big), but who knows. If the Occitans had actually successfully defended against these crusaders, a real heretic church and identity might have formed. I hope the best for the heresies and orders in this new expansion, as it is now the heresies are really bland.
 
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But can we actually worship Lucifer?

I mean really, not in the Messalian kinda sorta way.
Of course we can.

Now the question is if they will allow it in CK2.
 
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Not sure what to make of this. A greater role for monastic orders would be great considering the important role they actually had - also in developing land. They could fill a building slot for free and increase tax base and research.

Just hoping this won't add more fantasy stuff... that's not my cup of tea.
 
Not sure what to make of this. A greater role for monastic orders would be great considering the important role they actually had - also in developing land. They could fill a building slot for free and increase tax base and research.

Just hoping this won't add more fantasy stuff... that's not my cup of tea.

For the Teutonic Order, that's a pretty easy one - the red brick Ordensburg castles like Marienwerder and Malbork if Paradox goes that route - could be done similar to the merchant house buildings.
 
Why would having base values be better than just expanding upon prosperity with more levels and impacts, adding more trade goods and a more dynamic "population" in general? I prefer the prosperity system to EU4's values, as those do not evolve in a dynamic way.

I don't think that CK2 can support population system, even simplistic manpower system would kill the speed. Yet development abstraction might just be simplistic enough to work. How would multiple holding + prosperity do anything justice? According to CK2 any province can be made productive if you invest money to building to it... When we know that City of Rome had buildings to support population of 1, 65M but in 1000 AD its population was 30K. I find prosperity system pointless it is too easy to gain and barely effects anything. Prosperity doesn't even go away even if province has an epidemic.
 
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War of the Roses is something inherent to the concept of Crusader Kings II, a struggle about dynasties with powerful characters, and still in the (late) Middle Ages. And those pesky reasonings that this would conflict with EUIV timeline is just abusurd, CK2 should end at least in 1492, and all the 1300's and 1400's should be implemented. A special DLC for late game is highly needed.
Feudalism didn't technically die in most of Europe until the thirty years' war.
 
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I suspect that after CK2 is finished, CK3 will be a few years off. At the very least you'll see EU4 get wrapped up first, and probably see Victoria 3 in the mix (in between a plethora of HOI IV and Stellaris content of course).

Excellent DD today, really pumped for whatever comes next!
I'm sure they'll taper off with a year or two of tiny little DLCs before announcing CK3