Suggestion: Theocracy Update for CK3 – Parallel Ecclesiastical Systems, Religious Dynamics, and More

[tokinoha]

Hello, fellow CK3 enthusiasts!
I’d like to propose a comprehensive theocracy update for Crusader Kings 3 to deepen the religious and ecclesiastical mechanics, making them more dynamic and flavorful across different faiths. Below, I outline a system for parallel ecclesiastical titles, domain expansion, religious heads, reforms, and more, with examples for immersion. Let’s dive in!

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Core Concept: Parallel Ecclesiastical Titles​

To reflect the historical interplay between secular and religious power, ecclesiastical titles should exist alongside secular ones for faiths with theocratic clergy. These titles are independent of secular ranks, creating a dual hierarchy. For example:

• Secular Count = Ecclesiastical Bishop (Christian), Imam (Muslim), Abbot (Buddhist), or Taoist Master (Taoist).
• The Pope is king-tier secularly but hegemony-tier ecclesiastically.
• Baron-tier ecclesiastical rulers only exist if they hold secular holdings (to optimize performance).
• Each ecclesiastical ruler holds at most one ecclesiastical county, though they may hold additional secular holdings.
• If a county’s secular ruler shares the faith of the clergy, theocratic clergy retain. Lay clergy (e.g., Muslim imams in a Sunni realm) disappear if the secular ruler converts to the same faith.

Mechanics:

• If there’s no national faith, the highest liege’s faith determines the “national faith.”
• A county can have up multiple clergy (based on count's faith, secular rulers' faith and national faith). Fail to meet the eligibility will dissolve the ecclesiastical count once the ecclesiatical ruler die or banish by the corresponding secular ruler.
• Example: In a Catholic county under a Sunni duke, a Catholic bishop holds the ecclesiastical title, vassal to the Pope.

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Expansion of Ecclesiastical Domains​

Ecclesiastical rulers should actively expand their influence, mirroring secular conquests. Newly conquered or converted counties install clergy vassalized to the secular ruler’s ecclesiastical counterpart (e.g., a Catholic bishop under the Pope). If no counterpart exists, they start independent.
Expansion Methods:

1. Grand Debates: A count-tier bishop/imam/abbot proclaims duke-tier status (e.g., a Catholic bishop becoming an archbishop via theological victory).
2. Diplomatic Vassalization: Convincing neighboring clergy to join (e.g., a Taoist master persuading another temple to align).
3. Sponsor Holy Wars: Supporting secular rulers’ crusades/jihads to extend ecclesiastical borders.
4. Sponsor Missionaries: Sending clergy to convert pagans, creating new ecclesiastical domains.
5. Secular Assistance: Requesting aid from secular rulers to unify the church along secular borders.

Cross-Faith Expansion:

• Ecclesiastical rulers can target different faiths/religions, creating unique syncretic faiths (e.g., a “Hebrew Rite Catholic” faith blending Jewish and Catholic elements).
• Example: A Buddhist abbot in Tibet sponsors missionaries to Mongol pagans, establishing a Buddhist ecclesiastical county.

Lay Clergy Conflict:

• A lay ecclesiastical ruler (e.g., a Sunni imam in a Christian Jerusalem) can wage war against the secular ruler to seize secular power, becoming a theocratic prince and leave his ecclestisatical vassal independent.

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Religious Heads and Struggles​

Ecclesiastical rulers can proclaim themselves religious heads, triggering a struggle with outcomes like:

• Success (unified church under the new head).
• Partial success (some clergy follow, others remain autonomous).
• Church split (new faith/sect emerges).
• Failure (no religious head).

Religious Head Powers:

• Extra vassalization bonuses to unify autonomous clergy.
• Ability to declare new faiths “righteous” (in communion) or heretical.
• Example: Chinese empire can help a Taoist master declare himself the supreme head, but the temples in Xi Xia split, forming a new sect with a different church language (e.g., Classical Chinese vs. Tangut).

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Religious Reform, Division, Heresy, and Communion​

Ecclesiastical rulers can reform doctrines, risking division or heresy (triggered by low fervor, splits, or reforms). Secular rulers may also lead reforms if excommunicated or defiant.
New Doctrine Types:

1. Rite: Latin Rite vs Alexandrian Rite (Christianism), Tibetan vs Theravada (Buddhist).
2. Church Language: Latin (Catholic), Arabic (Muslim), Sanskrit (Buddhist), Chinese (Taoist).
3. Ecclesiastical Inheritance Law: By blood (e.g., some Muslim imams) or appointment (e.g., Catholic bishops).

Mechanics:

• Rites and languages affect clergy attire, music, and faith acceptance by cultures (e.g., Latin Rite Catholics gain higher acceptance in Frankish culture).
• A religious head can recognize a reformed faith as “in communion” if the reformer acknowledges their supremacy (e.g., an Eastern Orthodox patriarch recognizing a reformed Slavic Orthodox faith).
• Example: A Muslim imam in Andalusia adopts a new rite (Mozarabic Islam), but the Abbasid caliph declares it heretical unless the imam submits.

Dfficulty for reform:

• Low fervor or religious splits.
• Example: A Buddhist reform in Tibet emphasizing Theravada over Mahayana sparks a heresy, creating a new sect.

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Investiture and Inheritance​

Ecclesiastical inheritance splits into:

• By Blood: Common in some Muslim or Taoist traditions (e.g., hereditary imams or temple masters).
• Appointment: Typical in Christian faiths (e.g., bishops appointed by the Pope).

Investiture Influence:

• A realm law determines influence: secular-only, secular-dominant, balanced, ecclesiastical-dominant, or ecclesiastical-only.
• Religious heads can pressure secular rulers to shift laws (e.g., threatening excommunication).
• In ecclesiastical-dominant realms, clergy can appoint candidates in administrative governments or vote in feudal elections.
• Example: A Catholic king in France faces papal pressure to adopt ecclesiastical-dominant investiture, allowing bishops to influence ducal elections.

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Conversion of Pagans and Adventurers​

Ecclesiastical and secular rulers can support missionary adventurers to convert pagans:

• Missionaries act as special adventurers, requesting aid (gold, troops).
• Success grants the missionary an ecclesiastical realm.
• Failure (e.g., waging war against same-faith rulers) tanks their piety.
• Example: A Christian missionary converts a Norse pagan county in Sweden, becoming its bishop under the Pope.

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Veneration and Minor Holy Sites​

Martyred missionaries or pious rulers can become saints:

• Triggers: Martyrdom (e.g., a burnt missionary), reclaiming holy sites, winning crusades, max piety with virtues, or successful missions.
• Mechanics: A saint’s body becomes an artifact. Burying it in a church creates a minor holy site (special building) boosting faith fervor.
• Example: A Taoist missionary martyred in Mongolia is venerated; their relics in a temple grant a fervor bonus.

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Military Orders​

Military orders, such as the Knights Templar (Christian), Hashashin (Muslim), or Sohei (Buddhist), retain their current functions—raising elite troops, and support holy wars—but gain expanded mechanics to integrate with the proposed ecclesiastical system. Rulers can now send courtiers (e.g., unlanded knights or pious relatives) to join a military order, granting prestige, piety, or alliances with the order’s leadership. Unlike now, military orders can hold land,. Inheritance of leadership within the order is influenced by a combination of secular rulers, ecclesiastical rulers, and the order’s internal council, determined by the realm’s investiture laws (secular-dominant, balanced, or ecclesiastical-dominant). For example, a Catholic king might nominate a loyal courtier to lead the Templars, while the Pope could veto the choice in an ecclesiastical-dominant realm. Landed military orders generate piety, taxes, and unique levies, and can expand their holdings through holy wars or diplomatic vassalization, adding a strategic layer to their role in religious and secular politics.

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Religious Orders & Schools​

Religious orders and schools are non-landed organizations tied to a faith, operating as societies or institutions with a headquarters (e.g., a monastery or madrasa in a specific county). They differ from ecclesiastical rulers (who may strictly under the Archibishop, Primate and the Pope) and military orders (which can hold land in the proposed update). Their key features include:

• Membership: Characters (courtiers, rulers, or clergy) can join a religious order or school, gaining traits like “Monastic” or “Scholar” that boost piety, learning, or diplomacy. Rulers can send courtiers to join, similar to military orders, influencing the order’s leadership.
• Influence and Activities: Orders/schools generate piety, spread doctrines, and influence culture through:
  • Missionary Work: Supporting conversion efforts (e.g., sending monks to pagan lands).
  • Scholarship & Artifact: Producing artifacts (e.g., illuminated manuscripts, sutras) or boosting learning in a realm.
  • Faith Acceptance and fervor: Increasing faith acceptance in specific cultures and fervor.
  • Veneration: Increase a chance to be venerated
• Leadership and Inheritance: Leadership s determined by appointment or election, influenced by secular rulers, ecclesiastical rulers, and the order’s members, based on the investiture laws (secular-dominant, balanced, or ecclesiastical-dominant).
• Headquarters: Each order/school is tied to a specific county, providing bonuses like piety or fervor but not counting as a holding. Destroying the headquarters (e.g., through war) risks dissolving the order.
• Interactions with Theocracy System: Orders/schools support ecclesiastical rulers by spreading their faith, aiding in grand debates, increasing control & development, or countering heresy. They can also mediate disputes between secular and ecclesiastical rulers, affecting popular opinion.
• Piety and Prestige: Founding or patronizing an order/school grants dynasty renown and piety. Members who achieve great deeds (e.g., successful missions, martyrdom) may be venerated as saints, creating minor holy sites.

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Interaction with Secular Rulers​

Ecclesiastical rulers enhance gameplay through:

• Taxation: Different-faith clergy collect a portion of county taxes, reflecting church income (e.g., Catholic bishops in a Muslim county siphon taxes to the Pope).
• Dynasty Benefits: Clergy grant renown, legitimacy, coronation support, divorces, and regency influence.
• Popular Opinion: Church relations affect county opinion (e.g., a Taoist master’s support boosts a ruler’s legitimacy in China).
• Elections: Clergy influence administrative elections or feudal votes in ecclesiastical-dominant realms.
• Saints: A saint in a dynasty/house grants a modifier (e.g., “House of Saint Patrick” boosts Irish Catholic piety).