Crusader Kings 3 is a near-sandbox strategy game that allows players to pick rulers in the time periods of 867 and 1066 AD. Duchess Matilda of Tuscany, a vassal of the Holy Roman Empire in 1066, is a young and beautiful ruler at the mere age of 20. The young Duchess's circumstances have her unmarried with no heir.
While the open-ended nature of Crusader Kings 3 allows players to have endless gameplay possibilities, a hard achievement that players can attain is the Give a Dog a Bone achievement. This achievement sets aims to have players begin as Duchess Matilda and keep the dynasty going while becoming the ruler of Italy, found a Holy Order, and have 50 dynasty members.
6 The Setup
Marry Matilda matrilineally to a spouse with inheritable traits. Any potential spouse's inheritable traits should have an amplifier for fertility, such as Fecund, Comely, Handsome, or Beautiful. The aim is to have many children to boost the dynasty's numbers.
The spouse's high skill level in any lifestyle is also helpful for educating children. Educate Matilda's children and aim for positive education traits to increase attraction opinion for their potential betrothals.
5 Diplomacy
Players need to ensure Matilda's Bishop's endorsement, The Pope's friendship, and Matilda's placement within Kaiser Heinrich of The Holy Roman Empire's good graces. This is a powerful combination of characters to possess a good opinion of Duchess Matilda. Grab the Befriend perk from the Diplomacy lifestyle menu. After befriending The Pope and going on a pilgrimage whenever possible, the Papacy's coffers will open and become a great source of income for players when needed.
Seducing and/or romancing Matilda's spouse is also a good idea for ensuring as many pregnancies and children as possible for the dynasty. Also, ensure that Matilda refuses the advances of any other characters. Adultery and fornication are not great traits when keeping up with everyone else's opinion. Sway, befriend, and increase the opinion of Duchess Matilda's vassals as much as possible, as this will squash and prevent any factions against her rule and control.
4 Becoming The Ruler Of Italy: Duchy Of Romagna
The Kingdom of Italy title can be created by claiming the Duchy of Romagna. The player's Bishop can fabricate claims on the counties within the Duchy to get the Duchy of Romagna. The Bishop may even be able to present a claim to the Duchy of Romagna instead of just a claim on its relevant Grand City of Lombardia, should players choose to set their sights on claiming the Grand City first.
Once the Bishop has presented the claim to the Duchy of Romagna, Kaiser Heinrich can be petitioned to give Duchess Matilda the claimed Duchy of Romagna title. If Kaiser Heinrich has a positive opinion of Matilda, the attempt has more chance of success. Or, the title can be claimed through war, but this is the easiest way. To make Duchess Matilda the Queen of Italy, a decision will pop up to create the Kingdom of Italy title after gaining Pisa through war (or other means), and all the Duchess would need is enough gold to do so.
3 Founding A Holy Order
Once Duchess Matilda is the Queen of Italy, all that is needed is to wait for the opportunity. To found a Holy Order, Duchess Matilda must hold a Kingdom or Empire, a Barony or City that can be leased out to the Holy Order, a positive opinion from The Pope, and a level of devotion that equals Devoted Servant or more.
This step is pretty easy once Duchess Matilda has the Kingdom of Italy. To speed up the gaining of piety, artifacts can be commissioned that have piety modifiers, Duchess Matilda can go on more pilgrimages, or she can study the Theologian branch in the Learning Lifestyle.
2 Babies, Babies, And More Babies
Getting the dynasty to 50+ living members is primarily a marriage and waiting game. Traits like Fecund, Comely, Handsome/Pretty, and Beautiful will all increase the fertility of Duchess Matilda and her children. Another way to bolster the number of children born into the dynasty is the Like Weeds in a Garden Intrigue lifestyle perk that boosts fertility by 30%.
As the dynasty gains Renown, consider selecting dynasty legacies that make fertility, congenital traits, and marriage of family members easier. Bounteous Loins increase fertility by 10%, Desirable Match increases marriage acceptance, Noble Veins increases the chances of inheriting good traits, and going further down the Blood legacy row will allow for more benefits relating to congenital traits.
1 Holy Matrilineal Matrimony
Betroth any sons as usual, and ensure that Duchess Matilda's daughters are also married matrilineally to keep all future children part of the di Lucca/House Canossa dynasty. Players should also consider marrying Duchess Matilda's children and grandchildren to spouses with inheritable and fertility-boosting traits. Keep track of all children born into the dynasty. Matilda can betroth her grandchildren, and should she die and the player continues as her heir, the heir can still betroth their nieces and nephews.
Once Matilda has passed the childbearing years, or if the player wishes to switch earlier, having Duchess Matilda study the Learning lifestyle with a Medicine focus will help her live longer. Getting the Give a Dog a Bone achievement within Duchess Matilda's lifetime is possible. However, this is supposed to be the medieval era. Living past 60 is a feat in itself.
Crusader Kings 3 is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.