Crusader Kings 2 Decadence
Since the game’s launch in 2012, Crusader Kings II has wracked up 15 expansions and counting. But not all of them are worth the time and money. Some add major improvements to specific religions.
Well, I've started a new game- 867 start date, with Ruler Designer.named Arthur Pendragon.I've cheated a liiitle bit to get him to King of Wales (I'm actually doing that conquest now) and to boost him just a little over what Ruler Designer technically allows- after the Piety boost to create the Kingdom of Wales, though, that'll be it for cheats, it was more to get him in a certain starting situation.Along the way, he became King Arthur I The Just (Petty Kingdom right now- Wales starts with both its Petty Kingdoms/Duchies created). Might post a screenshot of the situation I'm settling on as the 'start situation' once I get to it.Yes, this game I will keep my demesne high (and those of my vassals low) and I will switch to Primogeniture as soon as possible. Arthur can switch from No Crown Authority to Low as soon as Wales is formed, his son can switch to Medium (hopefully with no more siblings- Agnatic-Cognatic was helpful here, his three older sisters take the pressure off somewhat. Although I'll be sure to make the eldest sister's marriage Matrilineal), and his son can make the final switch to High/Primogeniture.
Then King Arthur's great-grandson can take it back down to Medium Crown Authority.I'm going to see if I can stick with this Dynasty right to the 1400s or until they die out. Heck, might even put Sunset Invasion in so I can't be too comfortable with being in the West and insulated from the Mongols.(Although I have heard of issues with introducing new expansion packs to already-playing games? Can someone please comment? I'll note that I've already got all the other Big Expansions- LoR, SoI, and obviously tOG and RD). Edit: Just started my first game as a Muslim, and.wow, things move FAST down here!
Started out as the lowly Emir (Duke) of Basra, and now 40 years later I'm 55 and Caliph of the 'Amirid Empire, which includes the de jure areas of the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Syria. Looks like I'm going to stay Caliph pretty easily as well, since all but 3 of my vassals have a high opinion of me. (And I'll likely deal with them pretty soon)Welp, guess it's time to start subjugating kingdoms. It's very easy to grow quickly as a muslim faction, with the conquests and invasions casus beli's and the ability to hold mosques in your demense(which produce really good units and have lots of taxes). However it can be quite difficult to manage your decadence in a large nation. Since your family member rulers may not land their sons or other relatives in your courts.Even if you don't have any other family member rulers to deal with, they may flee when you try and imprison then.
In my current game i had lots of trouble with a splinter branch of my family who fled my court and eventually became an Emir over in Iberia. He actually did pretty well for himself. He conquered all of Portugal(sadly he couldn't for the kingdom because you need to be catholic). It took nearly 80 years for me to finally clean that mess up and in the meantime they caused me lots and lots of decadence. Sword of Islam added several new provinces.
Obviously Mali was the biggest part, but i think it also added a couple in the middle-east and one in italy. That can cause a bit of weirdness if implemented into an already running game.The additional contents are usually implemented with the free patches, rather than the DLCs. Eg, I haven't bought The Old Gods, and I can still see the new mechanics and changes to the map in action. Same with Mali and retinues.
(Though retinues is abit of a special case. In this case, LoR unlocks retinue, but without it, it just means you can't use it while the AI can, giving you a slight disadvantage.). The 'Pregnant' tag is only that: a tag. The actual pregnancy is handled somewhere else in the program.That's what I suspected but when using the pollinate or any of the event console commands you supposedly force the pregnancies. I've had much luck in the past doing this with male rulers.
I was using a combination of pollinate + age + pregnancy events to get a ruler with a ridiculous number of children. Lustful, bastards, everything possible.
I was basically stripping titles left and right because of holy wars and every title in my realm was controlled by a member of my dynasty.The only thing I can think of is that the whole thing screws up when you have a female ruler and are using the age command to regress in age while pregnany. The Roman Empire is created by decision, and replaces the Byzantine Empire. Byzantine Emperors who fully control the following 14 duchies can restore the Roman Empire: Latium, Venice, Ferrera, Sicily, Genoa, Capua, Apulia, Thrace, Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Athens, Tunis and Croatia. Restoring the Roman Empire costs 3000 prestige and replaces the Byzantine Empire's name and coat of arms to those of the Roman Empire. Emperors of the restored Roman Empire gain a unique trait which increases their prestige.There don't seem to be any culture requirements, no.
And if there were, I'm sure you could mod them away without any trouble. Culture restrictions on kingdom/empire forming always seemed a bit silly to me. If anything, just give it different names based on culture or something. I can see the reasoning behind it, but yeah, at times it makes you goTo clarify: no, I do not have the Byzantine Empire. Arthur Pendragon, he third of his name, is in a position to inherit both Britannia from his father and Francia from his mother (Francia was a major power when I made that marriage. When I pressed her claim, they had fractured somewhat, but still, with some consolidation).Given that Francia still has lands in Italy, taking the Byzantime Empire doesn't look very silly right now.
I can see the reasoning behind it, but yeah, at times it makes you goTo clarify: no, I do not have the Byzantine Empire. Arthur Pendragon, he third of his name, is in a position to inherit both Britannia from his father and Francia from his mother (Francia was a major power when I made that marriage. When I pressed her claim, they had fractured somewhat, but still, with some consolidation).Given that Francia still has lands in Italy, taking the Byzantime Empire doesn't look very silly right now.I think that the Roman Empire has to be built by someone who's Orthodox.
Interestingly enough, i think my next challenge is going to play as a Hellenic pagan and form Greece(followed By the Byzantine Empire and then???). It's not going to be an easy thing to do though. I'm going to have to use the ruler designer and give myself a wife and kids and pray that my wife has a decent learning or i'm going to have to wait until my kids come of age before i have any chance of converting anyone. After that i have to deal with all the issues that a normal pagan would have in an Empire that (i think) Starts at Medium Crown Authority.However i find the novelty value high enough that it could very well be an entertaining thing. Interestingly enough, i think my next challenge is going to play as a Hellenic pagan and form Greece(followed By the Byzantine Empire and then???).
It's not going to be an easy thing to do though. I'm going to have to use the ruler designer and give myself a wife and kids and pray that my wife has a decent learning or i'm going to have to wait until my kids come of age before i have any chance of converting anyone. From there, you should be able to convert your wife, your kids, and most people in your court, and have enough power to keep the emperor off your back, possibly even going independent right away if he's weak.Pagans can't demand conversion unless they become an 'established' religion by getting 50 religious authority, holding 3/5 holy sites(something i'm not even sure is implemented for 'dead' religions like Hellenic Paganism(This is a new thing since Old Gods). So there is the problem of that. You can convert them through your court seer(or whatever the Hellenic one would be) and the family you start out with given to you by the ruler designer will always share culture/religion with you.I don't particularly like cheating though, so it may be better to go out far from the holy wars of Catholics and expand from there, eventually coming back to reclaim the Greek lands. That would be interesting.My god this was an interesting few years. A king assassinated Empress Amelie, passing Francia onto Arthur Pendragon III- but resetting the count to I.
Huh.Anyway, then the King of Italy took Francia off him, but left him with a couple of territories- one in Brittany, and one down in Italy. Arthfael got the Depressed trait soon afterwards, so I took the opportunity to kill him.history will remember him as a great man who took his wife's death a little too harshly, methinks. Arthur I (darn it the counter didn't go back to normal) promptly ruthlessly bribed the kings of Ireland, Scotland and Wales and appointed the Duke in England who hated him least King of England, then made the second move of the Pendragon seat, this time to his county in Brittany.
I forget the exact one.Then promptly declared war with the 'Claim Francia' CB, using the new strategic positioning of his capital to get troops (by which I mean mercenaries) in Francia quickly. After rampaging around that area with them and the troops from Britannia, the underaged King of Italy cried uncle.retained most of his lands, though. Gave him some gifts to make him like me, both of land and gold. Coffers almost empty by then.And after some reunification, Francia was MINE! I'm currently considering whether I shouldn't just break it up. Keep the Empires to Britannia, keep things more simple at the cost of a relationship drop with my vassal kings.Brittany's a smaller personal realm to keep track of.
Building Castles there to bring my personal demesne up to limit, everything else goes to the various kings (while my Aspie is making me shudder at how untidy and not De Jure said kingdoms are ).Currently trying to figure out a way to get CB with 'Claim Byzantine Empire' written all over it. Their current Emperor is 19, unmarried, and sure I could marry off one of my courtiers, but one's too low-rank for his purple-robed ego and the other's a relative, so if I wanted CBThe Pendragon dynasty got a kid with Inbred earlier when they pulled that before, I figure they'd be very careful about it a second time. So, I'll just need to wait for him to get kids on his own, or try for someone else with a claim. Almost a pity I can't hit them with an Invasion request, but I'm now bigger than them.I just realized I could have hit Francia with an Invasion at both points I took it on, I think. Unless it has to be a primary title claim with the current dynasty head- I still would have gotten it the second time in that case.Overall, I don't think I'll get Byzantium this generation. Next, though, quite possibly. In the meantime, I have some consolidation to do.
Decide how long to keep Francia around as a legal entity (at least until I control its De Jure borders) and see if I can't weaken a couple of the constituent kings a little.I'll put up a map once I get to 1/1/1000. Pagans can't demand conversion unless they become an 'established' religion by getting 50 religious authority, holding 3/5 holy sites(something i'm not even sure is implemented for 'dead' religions like Hellenic Paganism(This is a new thing since Old Gods). So there is the problem of that. You can convert them through your court seer(or whatever the Hellenic one would be) and the family you start out with given to you by the ruler designer will always share culture/religion with you.I don't particularly like cheating though, so it may be better to go out far from the holy wars of Catholics and expand from there, eventually coming back to reclaim the Greek lands.Hellenic religion is considered 'Organised' (which means you can't be forcibly converted against your will) but lacks the 'Demand Conversion' button. All indications point to the fact that this was intentionally done. Well, I'm currently well on my way to re-creating the Ottoman Empire before 1000 BC. I've already kicked the Emperor out of Constantinople, and am just a few short wars away from usurping his title.
I may or may not create a Muslim Roman Empire, not sure yet.Still not really having any trouble with Decadence. It is actually going up now, due to a few errant cousins, but my constant warring is doing quite well in beating it back down to 0 before it gets very high. Working on snuffing those lines out, too, which shouldn't take too long now that I'm spending time on it.More worrying is that it seems that my sons need to have a lot of holdings to really prevent them from adding decadence. This seems to be because I'm an emperor now, compared to before when I was just a king. Even giving them a duchy doesn't seem to help.Does anyone know how this is calculated? Do they just need a lot of raw holdings, or do higher-level titles help more? Should I make them a King of somewhere-or-other, or just hand them all the holdings in a duchy?
I have plenty of both, but don't want to give them too much power if I can help it. Does anyone know how this is calculated? Do they just need a lot of raw holdings, or do higher-level titles help more?
Should I make them a King of somewhere-or-other, or just hand them all the holdings in a duchy? I have plenty of both, but don't want to give them too much power if I can help it.Higher titles do count for more, but as you mentioned, giving them too much power could cause trouble. If you give them too much power(like making them a king) you may have a harder time apprehending them when your current ruler dies and thus they may revolt against your rule. Decadence is calculated based on uneven division of power between your living, free family members.
If you imprison or execute them, they don't count.I'm working on the imprison/execute/assassinate part, but that doesn't help with my sons, who I want to have fit and ready to continue my warmongering as soon as I die. I'd be OK with throwing some in prison if I had too many, but I'd like to keep at least 2-3 alive and well just in case. That means keeping them free, which means giving them land.I've got plenty of power to keep them in check (already have the king of persia as a vassal, hasn't caused any issues), and I doubt they could rally enough others against me to do anything really serious, I just want to know what exactly I need to give them for them to not contribute to decadence. Do we know the exact formula that's used? I typically give all of my son's titles that are relatively equal with the one i want as heir getting slightly more land. Once my son takes over i immediately imprison any son(Brother at this point) who may revolt now or in the future. I'll usually execute them so i don't have to worry about them come Ramadan.
After my ruler has at least two sons i imprison my nephews and execute them. This insures that the land that i gave out will return back to me to use for my next generation. I have a lot of land to give though, i'm Sultan from Africa to Persia.Imprisoning so many people does have its drawbacks though.
Every arrest gives the small chance of escape and they may escape to somewhere that's out of your reach. I think i mentioned earlier that i had a splinter group of my family take root in Spain and they caused me much decadence(up to.56% monthly when i finally decided enough was enough). They did quite well for themselves though and i eventually inherited a healthy chunk of Portugal. It was fortunate i had a ruler with a high intrigue/diplomacy though. I could lure them to my court and/or assassinate them. Had i not, i may have been in a bit of trouble. Pagans can't demand conversion unless they become an 'established' religion by getting 50 religious authority, holding 3/5 holy sites(something i'm not even sure is implemented for 'dead' religions like Hellenic Paganism(This is a new thing since Old Gods).
So there is the problem of that. You can convert them through your court seer(or whatever the Hellenic one would be) and the family you start out with given to you by the ruler designer will always share culture/religion with you.I don't particularly like cheating though, so it may be better to go out far from the holy wars of Catholics and expand from there, eventually coming back to reclaim the Greek lands.Interesting thing I just discovered related to this: If you click on a holding to open its build menu, you can see which religions consider that holding to be a holy site.
Do this for Rome, and you'll see that it's considered holy by Catholics, Pagans.and the Hellenic Faith. After a bit of searching around, I believe I've found them all: Rome in Rome, Piraeaus in Atheniai, Edessa in Thessalonike, Alexandria in Alexandria, and Lampsakos in Abydos.Rome and Alexandria would be fairly out of reach for a starting Hellenic pagan, but the other three are situated in Greece, and fairly close to each other. They're also all in the Byzantine Empire and Greek Kingdom, so you shouldn't have much trouble grabbing all of them on your way towards independence.
I don't know for sure if you can reform or not, but if they went through the trouble to give you holy sites, I don't see why not. Interesting thing I just discovered related to this: If you click on a holding to open its build menu, you can see which religions consider that holding to be a holy site.
Do this for Rome, and you'll see that it's considered holy by Catholics, Pagans.and the Hellenic Faith. After a bit of searching around, I believe I've found them all: Rome in Rome, Piraeaus in Atheniai, Edessa in Thessalonike, Alexandria in Alexandria, and Lampsakos in Abydos.Rome and Alexandria would be fairly out of reach for a starting Hellenic pagan, but the other three are situated in Greece, and fairly close to each other. They're also all in the Byzantine Empire and Greek Kingdom, so you shouldn't have much trouble grabbing all of them on your way towards independence. I don't know for sure if you can reform or not, but if they went through the trouble to give you holy sites, I don't see why not.Yeah, if the holy sites are there, then it's likely that i could reform. I just wasn't sure if they put in the Holy sites for 'dead' religions as the only way i know of to check holy sites is to go to the religion overlay and click on a region of the religion in question and the holy sites will appear in white. As nowhere is Hellenic at the start of the game, that method is obviously not going to work.
So thanks for the information. Now i just have to figure out either a good way to play it without getting all of my titles revoked or conquered.My best idea so far is to go visit Ireland. Yeah, if the holy sites are there, then it's likely that i could reform. I just wasn't sure if they put in the Holy sites for 'dead' religions as the only way i know of to check holy sites is to go to the religion overlay and click on a region of the religion in question and the holy sites will appear in white. As nowhere is Hellenic at the start of the game, that method is obviously not going to work. So thanks for the information. Now i just have to figure out either a good way to play it without getting all of my titles revoked or conquered.Well, on that note, I actually did a little more research and from the looks of it, while there are holy sites, you can't actually reform the religion because there isn't a reformed version of it in the code, which is unfortunate.
It does work, but you'll never be able to demand conversion. Funnily enough, apparently it is hard-coded in to allow you to change your inheritance laws without needing to reform, though, so there's that.I'd suggest looking around for a mod that fleshes out the Hellenic religion if you really want to go through with it. If there isn't one, I would probably be able to cook up such a mod myself if you wish. Just let me know if you can't find an existing one, as well as a list of what you'd want in it.
(ie: important flavor decisions and events). My best idea so far is to go visit Ireland.Really, they should just name the game Ireland Kings 2 and be done with it.Back to my Muslim campaign, I've now completely taken over the Byzantine Empire (de jure, not just what they happened to have), as well as all of Italy. I've learned that 1) Muslim rulers can't re-form the Roman Empire, or there's some other requirements that I'm missing, and 2) Being the Sunni ruler of Byzantium is hilariously buggy. As soon as I took the title, I got a bunch of events congratulating me for returning the holy sites back to the Orthodox faith, and reminding me that I needed all of them to heal the schism. My children also all have the 'born to purple' trait which seems a bit odd for Muslims to care about. I don't think it even has an effect on the Muslim inheritance laws anyways.Also, Camels are the best Retinues. Cataphracts might be stronger in a straight fight, but Camels still beat normal armies easily, and more importantly, they have a strong tendency to wipe them out to the last man in one go, two at most.
They're also pretty great at sieges, taking very little losses. In all, they're basically Blitzkrieg Tanks, rolling through enemy territory taking every province they cover, and obliterating any stray armies that try and form up.Oh, and it also helps that I have 40,000 of them just wandering around smashing kingdoms whenever I feel like it. Who needs to raise levies? Not this guy!
Of Paradox's Grand Strategy titles, I dare to say that Crusader Kings II is the most unique. Essentially character based, it astoundingly simulates the interpersonal nature of politics in the Middle Ages before the advent of “nation-states”. The sweeping, human narratives and dramatic turns blur the line between RPG and Strategy without ever losing its 'Grand' pedigree.
To be truly successful in this game requires more than just careful logistical planning of troops and supplies: it also requires playing the great chess game of courtly life.To that end, my liege, whether you're a new count or a battle-scarred Crusader King, allow me to offer some of the most important tips for the novice and veteran alike. Advice is correct as of the most recent patch with all expansions. SUCCESSION YOUR WAY TO SUCCESSUnlike other games both in Paradox's stable and outside of it which ties your fate to a nation, in CKII, your fate is tied to a particular dynasty—and, more specifically, to one person at a time in that dynasty. Thus, even if your great nation controls the known world but your family loses control over any lands, it's “Game over, man.
Game over.”Securing that your titles are succeeded by someone in your family becomes your most primal concern at the start of the game and securing that your family succeeds to titles as it grows is one of the best strategies to “peacefully” acquire more control. This is especially important if you're starting a custom character which has no dynasty to rely on.Most of the time, accomplishing this task is simple: get married (make sure it's matrilineal if you're a woman), have children, and sit pretty as you hope your children aren't idiots. However, here are some nuances to be aware of:. Make sure your spouse loves you. Lavish him or her with gifts and other favours that will entice them to your side.
This not only mechanically improves your chances of conceiving, but it also helps to ensure that you are not a poor cuckold. There's no real harm in Family focus for a longer period while you wait for heirs. The diplomacy bonus to it is significant enough to be a good focus in and of itself while helping you to conceive children.
Don't be afraid to annul marriages that are barren. If you can get your religious head to be on your side to grant you an annulment, do not hesitate. After all, how can a realm breathe with no heir? Just be aware that divorcing your spouse will enrage their family against you. The only exception is if you're hoping to get a claim on your spouse's demesnes.Finally, and perhaps most 'importantly', change succession laws. Gavelkind is perhaps the worst possible succession law ever invented by man. Cutting up one's realm between one's heirs is not only detrimental for larger realms that might split into various Kingdoms (and basically set back all the work you've done), but it might cause rivalries between children.
Which leads us to our next major tip. ELECTIVE MONARCHY ISN'T SO BADSo long as you can control the majority of the electors through diplomacy or intrigue, Elective Monarchy almost always ensures that you select the best possible heir for your realm. Whether it's pure elective monarchy or the Imperial style of elective, I have found that this succession law helps to select not only well qualified rulers based on stats and traits (while avoiding those insane inbreds, of course), but also grants you the ability to choose young rulers which is essential for building up that long term legacy. Realms are often unstable after a new ruler ascends and Elective Succession Law helps to alleviate this concern by choosing younger candidates who reign far longer on average.The game is all about building and cultivating loyalty and leading through awe rather than mere power. This is the radial ideal of Medieval Imperial ambition. The problem, of course, is that Elective Monarchy is high risk high reward. You will want to actively kill, exile, or otherwise bribe electors who don't support your candidate or 'eliminate' your rivals that aren't your ideal candidate.
Crusader Kings 2 Remove Decadence
However, keep in mind that you don't need to worry so much if it's another family member that is being favoured. So long as your dynasty is on the throne, that's sufficient and the electors will almost never pick someone “so bad” that you'll immediately be beset by civil war. Don't be too hung up if your ideal heir is not selected so long as he's of your blood. INDEPENDENCE IS OVERRATED; CONQUER FROM WITHINSun Tzu said that to defeat your enemy through great strength is not the onus of Supreme Excellence; Supreme Excellence is to defeat your enemy without lifting a finger. Thus, learn how to “politic” your way to power.Perhaps the best way to explain this tip is to give you an example from one of my playthrough: I started as a lowly count of Santiago who managed to wrest control of the Kingdom of Asturias. Unfortunately, the Muslim neighbours to the south were poised to destroy my tiny Kingdom. Instead, as soon as I had control of the crown, I bent the knee to Charlemagne who was all too happy to be my overlord.
The Caliphate to the south would not dare entrench themselves in a war against a whole empire so I was safe to scheme from within. Since I was already a Kingdom with various demesnes, I was one of the most powerful vassals of the Emperor and set to work befriending enough nobles in the Empire to be crowned Emperor not too long after.If I had remained independent, I would have had no hope against the Caliphate to the South and the Empire to the North. Instead, by working from within, I was crowned by the Pope.
Not too bad for a lowly Count to accomplish in the span of twenty years. Which leads us to our next tip. TARGET CHARACTERS, NOT INSTITUTIONSYou don't need to win over everyone. Simply win over the appropriate people to get your job accomplished. For example, if you need someone dead, befriend their spymaster. If you need someone deposed, befriend the most powerful vassals in the Kingdom.
Crusader Kings 2 Reduce Decadence
Focus on quality of characters rather than quantity. Focus your money on those who have influence and focus your military forces on those who are weak and you will find yourself rising to the heights of power.Learn how to eliminate your rivals and to be selective about who you place in power even if they have great stats. Which dovetails nicely into one of the most important parts about managing your court.CKII IS AN ARTIFICIAL EVOLUTION CHAMBERLike learning how to breed beautiful flowers, playing CKII also invites the player to generate genetically favourable traits. Unlike some traits which are based on personality and experience (like the virtues and vices), some traits are genetic. These include Genius, Tall, Strong etc. If possible, learn how to consistently include these genetic markers into your family line.This hoarding also applies to Bloodlines.
Avoid bad traits and bolster good traits. Always avoid detrimental genetic traits like inbred, but, keep in mind, that choosing between a spouse that might be great genetically and one who has no negatives but is the heir or heiress to a title, it's almost always better to choose to pursue the title to expand your realm. Once you have control of most of the realms of your religion, that's when you can focus on genetic supremacy. SOMETIMES, REBELLION IS A GOOD THINGStrange, you might say. Yet, I have often intentionally triggered civil wars for myself. If you can be sure of winning a civil war by inciting a faction against yourself, you can actually eliminate the power base of rival dynasties. Whenever you win against a faction or vassal in a war, you can strip their members of one or two titles without suffering penalties and, thus, install one of your loyalists (preferably family members) in their place.
This is especially useful if you're looking to replace cultures.Learn how to properly prune out factions in your realm by targeting opponents and inciting them to rebellion by getting reasons to arrest them and attempting to arrest them with an intentionally low chance of success forcing them to raise arms against you. This is also a great way to accelerate cultural assimilation as you can choose a top tier vassal of your culture to lead the new viceroyalty or duchy.Keep in mind that you can also raise your levies and position them in their demesnes even before you send out the arrest order so you can have a huge mobilization advantage over your opponent right in the beginning. WINNING WARS IS SIMPLER THAN YOU THINKUnlike other Paradox titles which require you to strategically deploy troops against fortresses and achieve wargoals, CKII rewards a player for winning decisive engagements. Huge amounts of “warscore” is awarded if you manage to defeat an enemy “doomstack” (their combined armies in one location): sometimes by as much as fifty percent. By capturing only one castle and squashing the rest of the armies, you could sometimes force a peace.
Crusader Kings 2
Thus, with no fortresses to get in the way of mobilization, squash the enemy army first, attain a massive advantage in warscore, then while the enemy army is trying to regroup, capture enough castles to force a peace. Take note that you ought not pursue an enemy army too far into enemy territory as attrition will kill you. Wait until the doomstack is visible and then pursue it on your territory.This is, of course, assuming you can defeat the enemy army. Thus, target opponents weaker than you are. It's easy to check by looking at their ruler and seeing how many levies they can raise in their character profile.
Usually, most armies are equivalent in strength so determining by numbers is easy enough. Avoid fighting those with similar sized armies if you can help it since chance may easily turn your parity into a route. Almost always fight those significantly weaker.If you can't find someone significantly weaker, either wait until they are involved in another war with a powerful opponent, raise religious levies against them if they're of another religion, or build up a massive war chest to employ mercenaries. Mercenaries are more unforgiving in CKII than in most other Paradox games so be careful.The only exception to these tips is for fighting the “bosses” such as the Mongol Hordes, Aztec Invaders, and China. These entities with their special “event troops” don't suffer attrition and are generally of higher quality troops. Defeating them is the true test of a Crusader King and requires careful planning and preparation.Unfortunately, Crusader Kings II is so vast that all the possible tips can't fit into one reading, but we shall cover some more in other articles including tips on how to defeat “bosses” such as China, how to navigate some of the more convoluted event chains (such as the Immortality event chain) as well as the mystic orders and their rewards, and a how-to-guide on creating an immersive storyline to maximize your CKII experience.