• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Yesterday should have been a dev diary day, but I forgot that May 1 is actually some sort of Red holiday, and turning up to work gets you lined up against a wall and shot. However, this is not the time to discuss the mysterious idols, totems and faiths of the previous century. Let us instead think back much further, to simpler - if no less bloody - times, before Socialist May Day, before Christian Walpurgis Night, when the bonfires blazed for the Old Gods...

To begin with, religious Moral Authority has been revamped. The base value is now determined by the number of Holy Sites under the control of the religion. On top of this, there are various timed modifiers (think character opinions) for things like winning or losing holy wars, or building temples. This new system applies to all religions, not just the pagans. The pagan religions do tend to start with fewer Holy Sites under their control, but on the other hand there are no pagan heresies to worry about.

CKII_ToG_DD_04_Holy_Sites.jpg

Now, as mentioned in previous dev diaries, pagans enjoy a number of advantages, but they also suffer from some frustrating limitations. Foremost, perhaps, is that they are stuck with Gavelkind. Pagan vassals are also a lot more suspicious of new rulers on succession (harsher "short reign" opinions), they cannot demand conversion of vassals, and they are easily impressed by the cunning missionaries of the Abrahamic religions. To avoid these problems, pagans can of course simply give up the old ways and convert, but there is another option; pagan religions can be reformed in imitation of those clever monotheists. With a proper church hierarchy, a holy book, and standardized rituals, the pagan religions can become more competitive.

CKII_ToG_DD_04_Great_Holy_War.jpg

Reforming the faith is not easy; you need to control three of the holy sites and have a lot of Piety to boot. After reforming, your faith will be given a religious head. In the case of Norse Pagans, the character who conducted the reformation will become the Fylkir, serving as both secular ruler and religious leader in much the same way as an Islamic Caliph. You may now declare holy wars, both great pagan Crusades and regular religious wars against infidels. Other pagan religions get a vassal religious head, like the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

CKII_ToG_DD_04_Fylkirate.jpg

There are tradeoffs to reforming the faith, however. You will lose the Subjugation casus belli and the defensive home attrition, and the unreformed version of your religion will become a heresy (which can cause problems for you.) As a pagan, you will normally want to grow quickly using your invasion and subjugation CBs, and then try to either reform your religion or convert in order to consolidate and stabilize your realm...

That's all for now. Next week's topic is special pagan events and decisions!

[video=youtube;yoF84KVR9F8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoF84KVR9F8[/video]
[video=youtube_share;vYxB1O-XGk0]http://youtu.be/vYxB1O-XGk0[/video]

Bonus! Crusader Kings II: The Old Gods expansion in-depth Q&A at PC Gamer
Everything you want to know, but haven´t dared to ask?
“It’s less than a month until the longships land to bring us The Old Gods, the pagan-focused expansion for Crusader Kings II. We’ve been keeping close tabs on new details at our Viking Analysis Desk, and today, we’ve got some extra meaty details for you. Below you’ll find our massive Q&A with project lead Henrik Fåhraeus, covering everything from concubines to pagan sacred kings.”
Read the full Q&A here: http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/05/01/crusader-kings-2-the-old-gods-in-depth-qa/


Web page: http://www.crusaderkings.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Crusaderkings
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Crusaderkings
 
Last edited by a moderator:
It seemed to me a lack of respect to those who feel the importance of May the 1st as an international holiday.

Anyways, I am not aware of the quality of Scandinavian humor.
 
It seemed to me a lack of respect to those who feel the importance of May the 1st as an international holiday.

Anyways, I am not aware of the quality of Scandinavian humor.
Considering Scandinavia is rather big on worker rights, I think it is safe to assume that it was purely a joke.
 
Wait where's your source for that? The blood eagle is what the saxons say Ívar The boneless did to King Ælle for killing his father (and how they explained it would be medically impossible) and when thieves were caught the lord would usually slit the nostril as a sign of dishonor but this was not a legal practice done by the þing.

Norna-Gests þáttr.
Orkneyinga saga
Knútsdrápa.

All of these have Danes/Norwegians putting their kith and kin, as well as political enemies through the eagle. (Admittedly mostly the poor saxons in england)
Precisely how accurate these are, can be disputed of course, but we have found some pretty gruesome stuff in some of the old bygds to at least collaborate the claims.

And while the eagle might be an artistic stretch of the skjalds, there is no doubt what so ever that walking the pole was very close to an everyday event all over scandinavia, a punishment to be used for all kinds of small offenses. From theft, to destruction of property, across murder and rape of other peoples thralls.
 
If the holy sites are defined through landed_titles, wouldn't that make it possible for title tiers other than baronies to be labelled as "holy sites"? So for example the HRE or KoJ could be one... it depends on how the code works, but may make for some intriguing modding possibilities...
 
An interessting question, although I didn't read pages 3 to 6 so it could already be asked.

How are 5 holy sites related to Pentarchy, in other words...now that various religions can have different holy sites, can they also have a Pentarchy (five religious heads) modded into them?
 
there is no doubt what so ever that walking the pole was very close to an everyday event all over scandinavia, a punishment to be used for all kinds of small offenses. From theft, to destruction of property, across murder and rape of other peoples thralls.

Do you mind telling me the norse word for "walking the pole" so i can read more about it?
 
I'm sure the answer is no, but I have to ask:
If you're a Catholic ruler and somehow hold all of the Catholic holy sites, could you trigger the Catholic Reformation?
 
Martin Luther didn't lead a crusade for Italy to wrestle it from viking hands as to put his list on the Basilica
 
Only the pagans can reform

Maybe Zoroastrians as well?
representing them restoring it
not sure if anything has been said of them