In Crusader Kings 3, player rulers can have one of three forms of government: tribal, feudal, and clan. Tribal governments are very different compared to the other two, especially in how limited the holding and building options are. If players want to go beyond these limitations, they'll need to adopt a feudal or clan government.
Unfortunately, doing so isn't easy. Players who start with a tribal government will need to meet a lot of requirements that can take multiple lifetimes to achieve, especially if they choose the 867 starting date. That's why this guide for Crusader Kings 3 will explain both what these requirements are and the best way to meet them.
The Feudalizing Process
Every independent feudal ruler has access to a decision called "Adopt Feudal Ways" or "Adopt Clan Ways." The requirements of these decisions are identical, with one exception: Clan Ways are only available to characters who follow an Islamic Faith. Even Faiths with the Islamic Syncretism Tenet will convert to a feudal government. However, if the ruler of a clan government converts away from Islam, they will still be a clan.
Aside from the clan/feudal split, the requirements of these decisions are as follows:
- The ruler's Authority Level must be 4 (Absolute Tribal Authority).
- The ruler must follow an organized Faith (this includes almost every Abrahamic and Eastern Faith, and can include reformed Pagan Faiths).
- The ruler must be Fame level 2 or higher (Distinguished).
- The ruler's capital county must have 5 or more Development.
- The ruler's Culture must have 70 percent of the military and civic Innovations of the Tribal Era (without mods, that's 10 out of 14 and doesn't count the Cultural and Regional Innovations).
- The ruler must have 200 Prestige to pay for the decision.
The Authority Level is easy enough to raise. Most tribal governments start at level 1, but every ruler has access to all four levels at the start of the game, and the cooldown period is 10 years instead of 20. New rulers can also increase the Authority Level immediately after taking the throne. Changing the Authority Level costs Prestige, which is often in short supply to a tribal ruler, but players can get a lot of Prestige quickly by going on hunts.
The organized Faith requirement is trickier, especially if players want their ruler to stick with a Pagan Faith. Pagan reformations are expensive in terms of Piety, even if players don't change any Tenets or Doctrines, plus the player ruler must control three of their Faith's holy sites. Still, a quick way to get extra Piety is to go on several pious pilgrimages. This costs Gold, but tribal Pagans can always raid their neighbors for money.
Still, the easiest solution is to convert to a nearby organized Faith like Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Ash'ari, or a Buddhist Faith. Rulers get big discounts on converting to an organized Faith, especially one that borders or exists within their realm, and so it's the faster and cheaper option.
The Fame level 2 requirement is another easy one. Just send the player ruler on a couple of hunts and try not to die young. Aside from that, be sure to have 200 Prestige to spare to enact the decision.
Reaching Development 5 can be tricky. Many tribal holdings start the game at 0 or 1 Development, and so the player ruler's steward will need to spend some time using the "Increase Development in County" job on the ruler's capital county. However, players can also choose to move their capital to a new county with a higher Development score, including one with castles and temples instead of a tribal holding. Moving to a feudal county won't make the ruler's government feudal automatically, but it can speed up this step of the process.
The toughest step is getting enough Innovations from the Tribal Era. Most cultures have at least three or four Innovations at the 867 starting date, but a few Siberian Cultures only have two. Boosting Development can help speed this up, as can sharing borders and/or a religion with more advanced Cultures.
Another option is to conquer a county with a more advanced Culture, convert to that Culture, and meet the requirement that way. Even so, the only Culture that starts the game with 10 tribal Innovations are the Greeks.
Feudalizing Within a Feudal Government
If a player ruler is tribal but isn't independent, and their ruler is feudal or clan, a different decision will appear: "Adopt Feudal/Clan Ways through Liege." The requirements for this decision are much lower:
- The ruler's Authority Level must be 2 or higher.
- The ruler must follow an organized Faith.
- The ruler can't have become tribal within the past 5 years.
- The ruler must have 150 Prestige to pay for the decision.
Becoming tribal is a decision available to feudal or clan rulers who only have tribal holdings in their personal domain.
One more thing to consider is what to do with new tribal holdings. When rulers change their government type, all their holdings convert from tribes to castles for free. However, any tribal holdings acquired after that point, whether through conquest or inheritance, stay as tribes. To convert these holdings into castles, players need to feudalize them.
When a feudal or clan player ruler controls a tribal holding directly, a new button will appear in the holding view menu. The button's icon is a castle, and it's on the right side of the picture. Pressing this button will convert the tribe into a castle holding, but it costs 500 Gold to do so and will destroy all the buildings. Of course, these buildings are also destroyed by adopting feudal ways normally. This button is unavailable if the holding is constructing something, but players can always cancel the construction.
Because of this steep cost, and the much lower cost of adopting a liege's feudal or clan ways, the best option in most cases is to create a new tribal vassal and let them become feudal on their own. Tribal vassals have an Opinion penalty towards clan or feudal lieges, but the Opinion bonus for handing out new titles will more than make up for this.
Crusader Kings 3 is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.