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Across the globe, there are thousands upon thousands of different cultures that are composed of individuals with regionally appreciated values, opinions, and ways of life. While Crusader Kings 3 is extremely detailed and complex, there is nowhere near this number of cultures in the game.

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Despite this being the case, there are still dozens of different cultures in Crusader Kings 3 that players can experience through their character, though, sometimes one's culture can change, either willfully or as a result of some great paradigm shift. Knowing about one's own culture and that of one's neighboring rulers is essential for conquering and ruling successfully, as there are many mechanics revolving around them.

Updated February 11, 2022 by Mark Hospodar: Crusader Kings 3 gets more complex with every DLC, which isn't a bad thing by any stretch. With Royal Court, players can bask in the grandeur of their dynasties by collecting/commissioning artifacts and customizing their throne rooms.

The culture system was also revamped with the introduction of Royal Court. Fans now have more options when it comes to changing their culture in new and creative ways. This guide has been updated to give players a broad outline of how the Royal Court DLC affects culture in CK3.

Culture In Crusader Kings 3 Explained

painting of a council meeting.

Culture Overview

Culture in the game, much like in real life, is composed of the languages, local customs, and technological methods of a particular population. Additionally, there are different cultural groups as well, meaning that a few different cultures can belong to the same group, and, as a result, people dislike each other less than those of completely foreign cultures and cultural groups.

Crusader Kings 3 Culture Groups & Culture Opinion Modifiers

  • Same cultural group & same culture: No opinion change
  • Same cultural group & different culture: -5 opinion
  • Different cultural group & different culture: -15 opinion

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Effect Of Culture On A Ruler

Rulers will have an easier time managing a realm full of people who share the same culture and culture group. This is primarily because people will be able to relate to and trust an individual who upholds the same values as the common folk. It is especially important to make sure that all of one's vassals are the same culture and cultural group if one wants a smoother, less revolt-ready rule.

Cultural Acceptance

Cultures also possess a Cultural Acceptance rating, similar to the Opinion rating between characters. A high Cultural Acceptance rating between two groups defines how much they like each other. This score is important if players intend on hybridizing two different cultures (more on that below).

Royal Court & The Culture System

crusader kings 3 royal court DLC

The Royal Court DLC, along with its corresponding free update, implements a host of new changes when it comes to the culture system. Now, cultures are composed of 5 Cultural Pillars, as well as a collection of Traditions. A full list of Traditions can be found here. The Cultural Pillars are composed of:

  • Heritage
  • Language
  • Martial Custom
  • Aesthetics
  • Ethos

The final Cultural Pillar, Ethos, is quite important. It defines, broadly, a particular culture's values and principles. Since Ethos is critical to a culture's core identity, they are broken up into 7 "traits," of which every culture will possess one. The 7 types of Ethos are:

  • Bellicose
  • Bureaucratic
  • Communal
  • Courtly
  • Egalitarian
  • Spiritual
  • Stoic

Each Ethos bestows a different benefit to its culture. For example, Bellicose aids in the recruitment of mercenary companies, Men-at-Arms, and establishes a larger levy size. Courtly buffs monthly Prestige gain, reduces title creation costs, and increases House Opinion and Court Grandeur. As such, certain cultures are more warlike, spiritual, scholarly, etc. based on their Ethos.

Divergent & Hybrid Cultures

CK3 Different Cultures

New cultures can form in a variety of ways, one of which is through Divergence. A Divergent Culture splits from its parent culture and forms its own identity. At least 1 Cultural Pillar must be changed to diverge. Traditions can be altered as well. The more players wish to deviate from their parent culture, the more Prestige it will cost to implement.

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A Hybrid Culture is essentially a combination of two cultures. Players can mix and match the Cultural Pillars and Traditions of their parent cultures to form something entirely unique. It's worth noting, however, that a different Heritage, along with a high Cultural Acceptance rate between the two groups needs to be in effect before hybridization occurs.

Other Ways To Change Culture In Crusader Kings 3

multiple characters of different race in ck3.

Changing Culture With A Minor Decision

Once in a character's life, the player can choose to convert to the local culture if they are not already part of it. On the vertical menu bar on the right side of the screen, near the top, there is a brown icon that looks like a quill and bottle of ink. To reach the "Convert to local culture" decision, click this button to open up this small menu and take action. The minor decision to "Have the realm embrace local traditions" is also available through this tab and will allow players to convert their entire realm.

Changing To A Specific Culture With A Major Decision

CK3 Embracing English Culture

Landed characters who possess a court can take important actions while ruling their lands in the form of many specific major decisions that only appear if the player meets one of the more significant requirements to make them. There are 4 major decisions that can be taken to change one's culture to that of a specific group:

  • Embrace English Culture (Adopt English Culture)

- Must be an adult

- Must own the Kingdom of England title

- Must have one's capital in the Kingdom of England

- Must be of the Frankish culture group

  • Embrace Outremer Culture (Adopt Outremer Culture)

- Must be of the Frankish culture group

- Character or liege must be of a Christian faith

- Must form the Outremer Empire decision

- Must have one's capital is in the region of Africa, the Middle-East, or Persia

- Must possess or have a liege that possesses the Empire of Outremer title

  • Establish Norman Culture (Adopt Norman Culture)

- Must be at peace

- Must own and fully control the Duchy of Neustria

- Must be of the Norse culture group

- Must have at least one county de jure part of the Duchy of Neustria that has French culture

- Norman culture must not exist yet

  • Unify the Burgundies (Adopt Occitan Culture)

- Must be an adult

- Must be at peace

- Must have capital in the region of Burgundy

- Must control the region of Burgundy

- Liege must own the Holy Roman Empire, Empire of Francia, or Kingdom of France title

- Level of Fame is at least Illustrious

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Changing Culture As A Result Of A Demand

On occasion, populist factions can rise up and become a problem if the population of one's lands does not match that of the ruler, and, if such a populist faction defeats the player in battle, they can demand their liege's cultural (and sometimes faith) conversion.

Changing The Culture Of A Child

If the player has the power to do so, they can assign a child (either themselves, their heir, or other kids) to a guardian of a different culture. While doing so, one can select the "Convert culture" option when setting up the new ward and guardian relationship.

Changing The Culture Of A County

The most tried and true method of converting decent chunks of the population at a time is to utilize one's steward. In the Council menu, take note of the 3 icons in the portrait of one's active steward to find the one that looks like the top of a lit candle. This button is to get one's steward to perform the "Promote Culture" action in the county that one can select after clicking the small candle button.

Reforming A Culture

Players aren't locked into their decisions when it comes to the details of their culture. A Cultural Head can reform their culture without resorting to Divergence/Hybridization. Things like Traditions, Ethos, etc. can be changed at the cost of Prestige. Alterations, however, will need time to take effect, with more major changes taking longer to implement.

List Of Cultures In Crusader Kings 3

Viking Artwork From Crusader Kings 3

There are close to 40 cultural groups in total within Crusader Kings 3, and most have multiple cultures under them. While it is more useful to keep track of them by their names, players should also note the differences in each group's names for their rulers and champions, as this can give players an indication of the kind of cultural group they are from without having to check a specific character's profile.

Appearances between cultural groups will also vary, as can be seen in the changes of clothing as well as the different looks of a nation's armies and coat of arms. These features are all important to properly represent the different people players will encounter throughout their crusades and (hopefully) long years of reigning supreme. Here's a two-part alphabetic breakdown of each cultural group and the cultures within them to use as a reference.

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Cultural Group - Part 1

Cultures

Akan

Akan, Guan, Kru

Arabic

Andalusian, Bedouin, Egyptian, Maghrebi, Mashriqi, Yemeni

Baltic

Latgalian, Lithuanian, Prussian

Balto-Finnic

Estonian, Finnish, Karelian, Sami, Vepsian

Berber

Baranis, Butr, Zaghawa

Brythonic

Breton, Cornish, Cumbrian, Pictish, Welsh

Burman

Burmese, Mon

Byzantine

Alan, Armenian, Assyrian, Georgian, Greek

Central African

Hausa, Kanuri, Nupe, Sao

Central Germanic

Bavarian, Dutch, Franconian, Frisian, German, Saxon, Swabian

Chinese

Han

Dravidian

Kannada, Tamil, Telugu

East African

Daju, Ethiopian, Nubian, Welayta

East Slavic

Ilmenian, Russian, Severian, Volhynian

Frankish

Frankish, French, Norman, Occitan, Outremer

Goidelic

Gaelic, Irish,

Guinean Uplander

Bobo, Gur, Malinke, Marka, Mel

Horn African

Afar, Beja, Somali

Iberian

Aragonese, Asturleonese, Basque, Castilian, Catalan, Galician, Portuguese, Suebi, Visigothic

Indo-Aryan

Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindustani, Kashmiri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Rajput, Sindhi, Sinhala

Iranian

Afghan, Baloch, Daylamite, Khwarezmian, Kurdish, Persian, Saka, Sogdian, Tajik, Tocharian

Israelite

Ashkenazi, Sephardi

Latin

Cisalpine, Italian, Lombard, Roman, Sardinian, Sicilian

Magyar

Hungarian, Mogyer

Mongolic

Buryat, Jurchen, Kerait, Khitan, Mongol, Naiman, Oirat, Tuyuhun

Niger Delta

Edo, Ewe, Igbo, Yoruba

North Germanic

Danish, Norse, Norwegian, Swedish

Qiangic

Qiang, Tangut

Cultural Group - Part 2

Cultures

Sahelian

Bozo, Mossi, Qaw, Songhai, Soninke, Sorko

Senegambian

Pulaar, Serer, Wolof

South Slavic

Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Vlach

Tibetan

Bodpa, Kirati, Lhomon, Sumpa, Tsangpa, Zhangzhung

Tocharian

Tocharian

Turkic

Avar, Bashkir, Bolghar, Chuvash, Cuman, Karluk, Khazar, Kimek, Kipchak, Kirghiz, Laktan, Oghuz, Ongud, Pecheneg, Shatuo, Uriankhai, Uyghur, Yughur

Urgo-Permian

Bjarmian, Ostyak, Permian

Vlach

Vlach

Volga-Finnic

Mari, Merya, Meshchera, Mordvin, Muroma

West Germanic

Anglo-Saxon, English, Old Saxon, Scots

West Slavic

Carantanian, Czech, Polabian, Polish, Pomeranian, Slovien

Cultural Shifts & What They Do

Crusader Kings 3
Crusader Kings 3

About Culture Splits

There are a few specific Cultures that will likely split if neither the player nor another ruler in the game does something about it--mainly uniting certain regions.

Culture

Time Of Split

New Cultures Created

Condition For Culture Split

Visigothic

Between 850 and 920

  • Andalusian
  • Catalan
  • Occitan
  • Asturleonese
  • Aragonese
  • Galician
  • Castilian
  • Andalusian (must have the Muslim Faith)
  • Catalan (must be in Catalonia)
  • Occitan (must be in Southern France)
  • Asturleonese (must be in Asturia or Leon)
  • Aragonese (must be in Aragon)
  • Galician (must be in Galicia or Portugal)
  • Castillan (must be in Iberia)

Anglo-Saxon

Between 850 and 950

  • Scots
  • Scots (must be in Scotland)

Norse

Between 950 and 990

  • Danish
  • Norwegian
  • Swedish
  • Danish (must be in Denmark)
  • Norwegian (must be in Norway)
  • Swedish (must be in Northern Europe)

About Melting Pots

The only true Melting Pot in-game is the one that takes place in the Mediterranean. The south of what is now Italy can have much of its Cultures melted into Sicilian over time. However, like with many things in CK3, there are criteria that need to be met in order for this to happen. Here are the duchies that Sicilian can emerge from:

  • Benevento
  • Capua
  • Apulia
  • Salerno
  • Calabria
  • Sicily

In order for Sicilian to appear in any of the above-mentioned duchies, one of the following Cultures must be present:

  • Norman
  • Baranis
  • Italian
  • Lombard
  • Greek

In addition to the previous criteria, a much more specific one must be in place for the Melting Pot to occur. The ruler of any country in the mentioned duchies must be one of the mentioned Cultures, however, must not be the same Culture as the county they are ruling.

For example, for Sicilian to appear as a Culture resulting from the Melting Pot effect, a ruler of a county in Benevento could be of Greek Culture, but the county they are ruling from in the Benevento duchy must be any of the other mentioned Cultures except Greek.

Crusader Kings 3 is currently available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

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