By God Alone DLC

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Major DLC Additions/Changes

• Playable Theocracies
  • Seems they need to be landed.
  • Can play as the Papacy.
    • You get Tithes from every Catholic Church (Theocratic Ruler?).
    • Has a custom Throne Room
    • When you become Pope, you can choose your Papal/Pontifical name
    • Some of the actions previously handled directly by the Pope are now being spread out so they can be handled by other characters, like Archbishops, so you don't get a lot of spam while playing as them.
    • Some actions you can do as Pope:
      • You appoint (and pay) Cardinals, and give them Orders
      • You call Ecumenical Councils and decide what they are about
      • You Excommunicate rulers who displease you, with all the secondary consequences that cascade through the political map
      • You approve Holy Sites for Catholicism
      • You issue Papal Bulls, powerful edicts underwritten by Rome. These include the ability to launch a targeted crusade, declaring a Rite heretical, or declaring a certain Tenet permitted or forbidden.
  • When playing as a Theocratic ruler, if your heir isn't of your dynasty, you can still continue playing as them without losing the game.
    • The "Choose Your Destiny" feature, allowing you to choose some other random member of your House to play as, will likely still be available.
    • It is unknown whether this allows you to play as a lowborn character, or if lowborn characters you would inherit as automatically get given a new Dynasty.
  • Christianity is getting it's own version of government called Ecclesiastical Government, which is mostly similar to the regular Theocratic government.
  • Succession is appointment-based, with the next holder being chosen from among the local clergy.
    • It is unknown what exactly "local clergy" means at each level. For example, can Ecclesiastical Title holders' heirs be chosen from among the currently landed clergy members in their region, or just from the courtiers they have? What about for landed Clergy holding Counties/Duchies, can they be inherited by one of their vassals, or just one of their courtiers?
  • A theocratic ruler:
    • Has a Treasury (which belongs to the Church, and works similarly to Treasury in admin realms), as distinct from their Gold
    • Has a personal clerical domicile, they can build up to better see to the needs of their flock
    • Appoints subordinates (bishops) within their own ecclesiastical hierarchy
    • Often serves as the Court Chaplain of local secular rulers
    • Cannot start wars against Christian rulers, but can gain land from Christian rulers by exploiting their inheritance laws
    • Maintains their own Church Authority law-group, the theocratic parallel to a feudal lord's Crown Authority. Raising it costs Piety but unlocks abilities, most notably the legal precondition for establishing a theocratic dynasty. Letting it slip exposes you to a new Humiliation CB that Christian neighbors with higher authority or Piety can declare (at considerable consequences, of course)
    • They remain a political actor. They can still rise, fall, and be schemed against
  • If a Theocratic ruler has a Dynasty (or creates one by raising their Church Authority (realm law?)), they can use the "Designate Theocratic Heir" character interaction, which will make the targeted character a member of their House, their designated heir, and you will being supporting them in the appointment succession for your title.
• Tenet Changes
  • Characters can adopt certain tenets as "active observances", even if they aren't core tenets of their faith.
  • Tenets will have both a faith-wide effect and personal effects when a character adopts it into their daily practice.
  • Tenets have different statuses within a faith: Core, Permitted, Prohibited, or just Known. If a Tenet is not known, the faith is genuinely unaware that it exists, and therefore can neither teach it nor forbid it.
    • These statuses also exist within characters, so it is possible for you to know about a Tenet that your faith at large is unaware of.
    • Tenets become Known to the faith via characters and their actions; for example, by an Archbishop founding a new divergent Rite and actively preaching a tenet, or someone bringing up a foreign practice they learned about in an Ecumenical Council. Once a Tenet is Known, they can be promoted to Permitted, Prohibited, or Core through Ecumenical Councils or by the Head of Faith declaring them such (in Catholicism, via a Papal Bull).
    • Adopting a Tenet that is Prohibited by your faith has you practice it in secret, which can result in characters that discover it getting a hook on you.
    • Tenets you adopt that are publicly practiced (mainly meaning they aren't Prohibited in your Faith/Rite) automatically become available to your close family, and can also spread to members of your court or other relationships you have.
    • Faiths are limited to 3 Core Tenets. The amount of Tenets a character can adopt can change with things like their Level of Devotion.
    • According to this comment, it seems like you might be able to adopt ALL Tenets as Personal Tenets, regardless of your Faith. It also implies that all Faiths/Rites can get any Tenet, meaning they aren't locked to specific Religions/Faiths (i.e. A Christian Faith being able to get Sun Worship, which currently is locked to only Zunbil/Zunism).
  • You can learn more Tenets/Doctrines through things like the "Study another Faith" scheme, through friends/family, Ecumenical Councils, etc.
    • It seems like Merchant Families from Silk and Silver will likely end up learning quite a bit about other Faiths through their work, but it is unknown how they spread that knowledge to other rulers.
    • You can become a Herald through becoming a renowned theologian to gain access to Tenets nobody has heard of before. (It is unknown as of now whether that means there are specific Tenets only available through this method, or if it means you can somehow "learn" about Tenets of distant Faiths without having to study them occasionally.
• Rites
  • Subdivisions of a faith representing the slight, local variations in religious practice.
  • Some base game faiths are being remade into Rites, like Insular and Mozarabic for Catholicism.
  • Clergy characters can start new Rites which make changes to which Tenets are emphasized.
  • Dynamic Heresies and Schisms
    • As long as the changes a Rite makes are modest, the Pope won't care too much. But, if a Rite begins promoting forbidden practices, or it Diverges too much from the mainline Faith, that begins causing issues.
    • Rites will have a Divergence score compared to their mainline Rite. The Divergence is determined based off how the Rite and the mainline Faith view each other's chosen Tenets/Doctrines.
      • If the Rite and the mainline Faith both view a specific Tenet as Core, that will generate no Divergence. But, if one views it as Core while the other Prohibits it, that will generate a lot of Divergence.
      • When a Rite's Divergence is at least 50, it can be declared heretical.
      • If you try creating a Rite that immediately has a Divergence above 100, you will immediately be declared a heretical faith outright.
    • The Head of Faith can declare a Rite a Heresy through a Papal Bull decision or Ecumenical Council. The Rite Head then chooses to either disband their Rite, or split from the old Faith, creating an entirely new Faith.
    • Powerful Rites can turn Schismatic. They can't directly be declared heretical, and instead trigger a theological crisis within the faith which can be healed, or lead to the faith being split in two.
  • Rites spread along Ecclesiastical Title (Archdiocese) borders.
  • Faith creation now uses the Rite system. Instead of being able to click a button and create an entirely new faith, you now need to properly setup a Rite, change it, and have it grow until it can Schism on it's own, or be declared heretical by your old Head of Faith.
  • It seems like everything surround the new Rite system is available to all Religions. The biggest difference is that Christianity has access to the Ecclesiastical Titles, allowing Rites to spread differently through those, while it seems like other Religions will likely have to spread their Rite solely through rulers converting their vassals, and trying to get neighboring rulers to agree to convert to their Rite.
  • Making changes to a Rite functions similarly to creating a new Faith now, with you picking which Tenets/Doctrines to elevate or demote. But, the Piety cost to enact the changes depends on things like the Faith's fervor, and how the mainline Rite views the Tenets being elevated/demoted: if you are elevating a Tenet the mainline Rite permits, it'll cost less than trying to promote a Tenet the mainline Rite views as prohibited. You will also see an approximation for how much Divergence your Rite will have after making those changes.
  • When making changes to a Rite, you can only choose Tenets/Doctrines known to you, or your clergy puppet if you had them create/modify a Rite. (It is unknown if you have your clergy puppet modify a Rite, if you can still use Tenets/Doctrines you know, or just the ones they know).
  • Other faiths are utilizing the new Rite mechanic, with some old Faiths being remade into Rites.
    • Islam has been merged into larger Faiths according to the major branches/schools of law, like Sunni or Shia, and a lot of the old Faiths were instead made Rites under these new Faiths.
    • Buddhism is also being redone so a lot of it's old Faiths are being made into Rites according to it's major branches, like Mahayana or Theravada.
• Faith Conversion
  • A new scheme is being added called "Study Faith" that allows you to learn the Doctrines and Tenets of another faith.
    • The scheme can only target characters within your diplomatic range.
    • There are "secret paths" in the scheme that allow you to find followers of dead religions (both historically dead and dynamic faiths that die out in game), so you can convert to dead faiths.
  • You can integrate the practices you learn through studying another Faith into your own daily practices, or try and have them integrated into your Rite.
  • At the end of the scheme, you have the option to fully convert to the Faith you were studying, with the transition to it changing depending on how much common ground there was between the practices of your old Faith and the new one.
    • Converting has no upfront Piety cost. Instead, depending on things like how many of it's Core/Permitted Tenets you know of or it's Doctrines you already practice, you can lose Piety and/or Levels of Devotion.
  • Converting counties is faster if the Rite they are being converted to belonged to the same Faith they already had.
  • Archbishops are likely to try and convert rulers/characters in their Archdiocese to follow their Rite.
  • There won't be landless missionary characters, but there will be a new Mass Conversion Great Project.
    • Relevant rulers can contribute to this Great Project, which is an abstraction for missionaries.
    • It is unknown as of now whether this allows you to convert other independent realms (like Christians sending missionaries to nearby Pagan rulers), or just your own realm.
• Holy Orders
  • Holy Orders won't be playable.
  • Each Holy Order has it's own Rite.
    • They can become centers of divergent thought.
  • Monastic Holy Orders
    • Focused more on Learning/Theological Development.
    • They lease temples, instead of castles.
• Spiritual Fulfillment
  • How "internally fulfilled" your character is in their religious practice.
  • Influenced by which religious practices (Tenets) you personally adopt as convictions, how those align with your personality traits/lifestyle, choices in events, and how close your actions correspond with the beliefs of right practice in your faith.
  • Christians have 7 tiers of fulfillment, while other religions have a simpler 3 tier system.
    • For Christians, different tiers have different modifiers, like stress increases/decreases, and unlock special decisions/interactions. High fulfillment characters will be given temptations to overcome but have the ability to help others deal with spiritual conflicts, while those with low Fulfillment can try to repent, but have the ability to interfere with the Church more readily.
    • For non-Christians, it seems like the tiers mainly just give stress modifiers.
• Christianity
  • Ecclesiastical Titles/Archdioceses
    • The base game will only allow Christians to use Ecclesiastical Titles, but it can be added to other Religions/Faiths through modding.
      • According to this message from PDX-Trinexx on the CK3 Discord, it seems like Ecclesiastical Titles are set per Religion, so the ones from Christianity won't interfere with the ones from Islam (if it was given the ability to use them).
    • Each Title has a capital seat corresponding to a metropolitan city, and an archbishop/patriarch who holds it. They collect a share of all bishopric taxes in their region.
    • The capital seat of an Ecclesiastical Title can be the site of a Cathedral (Great Project). They are represented by a Domicile, which can be upgraded to serve a variety of functions.
    • The holder of an Ecclesiastical Title is typically chosen from among the local clergy members in the Archdiocese, though it is possible for the Pope to intervene and appoint their preferred Cardinal to become the next holder.
    • Ecclesiastical Title holders have more leeway than other characters in practicing/teaching Rites that diverge from the main Faith.
    • Ecclesiastical Title borders are dynamic. New ones can be created and they can be merged.
      • It seems like Christian Faiths can exist outside of an Archdiocese (as Ireland is Insular, but not part of any Archdiocese), but it is unknown whether an Archdiocese is destroyed once all Christian counties in it are converted away.
      • An Ecclesiastical Title's borders don't line up with those of secular/political realms, so a single political realm could have multiple Archdioceses in it, and a single Archdiocese can cover several political realms.
    • Holders of Ecclesiastical Titles have a new Church Treasury, where they collect some taxes (tithes) from the Bishops in their Archdiocese, and then send some up towards their Head of Faith. (It is unknown whether this new Treasury is only for Archbishops & Head of Faiths, or ALL Theocratic rulers).
      • If an Archbishop is also the Court Chaplain of a King/Emperor, they have both a source of Gold and Treasury income.
      • The Treasury can be used for a variety of things: title creation, holding construction, mercenary contracts, Holy Order endowments, calling Ecumenical Councils, contributing to a Cathedral somewhere far from Rome, and it can be siphoned by the Archbishop to gain some Gold.
      • Powerful secular rulers with theocratic vassals can take a "Levy the Tithes" decision, making every clerical vassal give them a one-shot tribute payment, which is likely to anger the Pope.
  • Cathedrals & Holy Sites
    • Cathedrals can become associated with certain saints or holy figures, leading to them becoming Holy Sites.
      • Cathedrals, and other Great Buildings designated as religious sites, can be turned into Holy Sites. This requires the Head of Faith to bless the site as such, and also demands it contain a holy relic of some kind.
    • Cathedrals are built via Great Projects, and can technically be built anywhere, but are more likely to appear in the designated seats of an Archdiocese.
    • The wealthier and more built-up a Cathedral is, the more important that Archdiocese, and it's holder, is seen. It seems like they will have more influence in the Church and in Ecumenical Councils than those of poorer, smaller Cathedrals/Archdiocese.
    • Holy Sites will be dynamic, changing over time as a faith grows/shrinks.
      • This is available to all Religions/Faiths, not just Christianity, but whether it happens exactly the same way as in Christianity is unknown.
  • Saints
  • Ecumenical Councils
  • College of Cardinals
    • Cardinals appointed by the Pope, who then later vote on his successor.
    • There are three candidate tracks for who succeeds the Pope:
      • The obvious choice (Cardinal most entrenched in the Church power structure)
      • The pious choice (Cardinal with the highest level of Devotion)
      • The powerful choice (Rite Head with the largest flock)
      • Cardinals will select their preferred option based on typical parameters like opinion, but also how their teachings align with the cardinal's traits. Every papal candidate has the opportunity to switch one Core Tenet as they rise to the seat, and if this change sits well with a particular cardinal, they're more likely to align with that candidate. Spiritual Fulfillment thereby becomes the driving force of the evolution of the Christian faith.
    • Rulers can interact with Cardinals to try and sway the vote on who becomes the next Pope.
    • In 867, only clergy in Rome/Italy can vote on who becomes Pope. But, by 1066, this expands across all of Europe.
  • Chalcedonian & Great Schism
    • In 867, Europe starts united under Chalcedonian Christianity, instead of split between Catholic/Orthodox.
    • Some relevant Rites at game start are Insular, Mozarabic, and Carolingian Christianity.
    • There is no Head of Faith, and the Patriarchates of Constantinople, Antioch, and Alexandria exist.
    • Christianity Situation tracking the tensions within the faith and with its neighbors. Influenced by the actions of various central figures, and the outcomes of Ecumenical Councils.
  • Antipopes
    • There will be antipopes, but no info about them has been revealed yet.
• Puppets
  • Only two being added with DLC (both clergy related), but it is open to modding
  • It seems like the main function regarding puppets is having them take specific actions. When they take the action, the game recognizes it as originating from the puppet, and they deal with the costs/consequences accordingly.
    • It seems like this system can be used for a variety of actions such as character interactions, decisions, great projects, etc.
  • In order to properly take advantage of a puppet (have them actually do stuff for you), they need to be Compliant. There are various ways to make them Compliant, like having a hook on them, them liking/fearing you, etc., and it seems like each puppet type can have different conditions for what makes them Compliant.
  • Clergy (Court Chaplain) Puppet
    • Can also be Compliant by having high devotion.
    • Some of the actions they can do include:
      • Found a Rite - the secular ruler's only legal route into the Rite system you saw last time. Now you know who's holding the pen.
      • Plan and Construct a Grand Cathedral as a Great Project, funded out of the Church Treasury rather than your purse.
      • Mass-convert neighboring pagans through a Great Project.
      • Excommunicate a character in the same Archdiocese, with the request lodged under his name rather than yours.
      • Request a new Ecclesiastical Title, splitting their current region in two
      • Request an Elevation to the See for your Puppet, i.e. make them an Archbishop or Patriarch.
      • Turn him into the Head of Faith of a Faith that doesn't currently have one (such as 867+ Chalcedonian Christianity).
      • They say almost every new action being made for Theocratic rulers can be done through your Court Chaplain puppet as well.
  • Pope Puppet
    • It seems like this type of puppet is gained by either having your Court Chaplain puppet get chosen as the Pope, or by declaring them an Antipope and deposing the current Pope.
    • Not much information about this puppet has been given yet.

Need to Figure Out

• How much of this applies to ALL faiths, not just Christianity/Catholicism?
  • It seems like Rites are available to all Religions, since they say faith creation is being replaced by the Rite system. But, they also have said a Rite is declared heretical by the Head of Faith through a Papal Bull decision or Ecumenical Council. Will other religions' Head of Faiths just have a generic decision/interaction to declare heresies? Will they have their own form of "Ecumenical Councils"?
  • Are all faiths able to utilize Ecclesiastical Titles the same way? What happens if there are two different Faiths/Religions within the same Ecclesiastical Title region? Are they able to properly have their own Rites? Does only one actually get to utilize the Ecclesiastical Title to it's full extent (like setting up the Domicile/Cathedral)? Does each Faith/Religion have it's own set of Ecclesiastical Titles?
• Can Rites be predefined the same way Faiths are, or do they need to be setup entirely with script effects?
• Can Rites only exist within their respective Ecclesiastical Title region? Can a Rite exist without being associated with a specific Ecclesiastical Title?
• What really influences are Rites begin to develop? For example, if Catholicism begins spreading to the various Berber cultures, are Rites there likely to develop choosing Tenets aligning with their cultures' Traditions, to represent how different peoples/cultures still integrated some of their own traditions/practices even when converting to Christianity?
• Does the "Study Faith" scheme allow you to integrate Tenets not normally allowed to your Faith/Religion? Does it allow syncretic faiths to be setup?
• Can Holy Orders now directly own land/counties?
• Are Ecclesiastical Titles static, or can they be created/destroyed throughout a game?

Additions/Changes for Converter

• Should any existing converter Faiths be remade into Rites?
  • eleusinian_mysteries?
  • mithraic_mysteries?
• How much railroading should be done Faith-wise (mainly relevant for Christianity here)?
  • Right now, the converter assumes Christianity will always split the way it did historically, depending on things like region/conversion date. Rome could have been destroyed right at game start, and all of the Greeks could be converted away throughout the entire world, but converting would still result in the typical Catholic/Orthodox split despite no Latin/Greek influence.
  • For example, if Carthage dominates Western Europe, Christianity there likely wouldn't evolve to become exactly the same as Catholicism.
  • Another example is Rome & Constantinople being considered important in Christianity. That mainly happened because of the Roman Empire adopting/spreading Christianity. If the Roman Empire never adopts Christianity (or if it isn't even really relevant), why would those places be considered relevant in Christianity at all?
  • Should strict railroading like this be left as a converter option (like heresiesInHistoricalAreas)?
• The DLC is adding Saints, but the Dev Diaries have mentioned other "holy figures". I am unsure if this means other Faiths/Religions will also have their own version of "Saints", but if it does, should Deified characters from Imperator be converted as Saints/Holy Figures?
• Should we look into changing how Religions/Faiths are setup at game start based off things that happen in Imperator?
  • For example, if a large realm becomes an Imperial Cult, and they are the only tag of their Religion, should their Religion/Faith be made to have Temporal Head of Faiths?
    • A big issue with this would be making sure the proper Religion/Faith is checked and changed. For Religions in Imperator that map to multiple Faiths in CK3, we'd have to make sure changes like this only apply to the relevant Faith.
    • We could maybe work around this by having the change occur at game start in CK3. In this example, if a Tag converted over from an Imperial Cult, that would be saved as a variable on that ruler, and on game start, the script would check for any such rulers, and make any relevant changes.