Highlights
- The Intrigue Lifestyle in Crusader Kings 3 allows players to plot and scheme their way to the top, with unique bonuses and Perk trees.
- Like Weeds in a Garden Perk boosts fertility by 30%, which is useful for producing heirs and ensuring the dynasty's survival.
- The Court of Shadows Perk enhances the Spymaster's task, making it difficult for enemies to carry out hostile schemes and ensuring the character's safety.
When characters reach adulthood in Crusader Kings 3, they are able to choose from one of five Lifestyles, although they will progress faster through the Lifestyle in which they were educated as a child, especially if they received a good education. One of the most popular Lifestyles to play is Intrigue, as this allows players to plot and scheme their way to the top.
The Intrigue Lifestyle has three focuses that provide unique bonuses, and there are also three Perk trees. Completing an entire Perk tree will reward the character with a specific Intrigue Trait, and often players will want to tunnel vision on one of these. However, the order in which Perks are unlocked is important, and sometimes players will want to dip into different Perk trees to get the best Intrigue Perks in Crusader Kings 3.
7 Like Weeds In A Garden
Crusader Kings 3 is a game that only continues if players can produce an heir of their dynasty that can inherit after the death of a ruler. Sometimes, however, due to weak traits or bad luck, players will find that their character and spouse struggle to produce children.
With this in mind, the +30% buff to fertility from the Like Weeds in a Garden Perk can be very handy, and having heirs to spare is also useful when death is always so close. This Perk is easy to pick up as it's the first in the Seducer tree.
6 Truth Is Relative
The Truth is Relative Perk is one of the most useful in the game, and players not even focusing on Intrigue might want to pick it up if possible as it allows players to fabricate hooks on specific individuals. It works great alongside the Stewardship Perk Golden Obligations, which then lets players demand money for the hooks they have just fabricated.
The Find Secrets task for the Spymaster also has the option to fabricate hooks when none can be found, although gold will usually be required to seal the deal, further cementing this as a Perk that works best for those focusing on the economy in CK3 as well as Intrigue.
5 Dark Insights
Even if players don't want to fully commit to the Torturer tree and other perks which make ruling through Dread in CK3 easier, they can still pick up the Dark Insights Perk easily. This Perk gives a character a 50% chance to gain 1 Intrigue or Prowess when torturing an individual, and this can stack up to five times for each stat.
The chance to gain 5 Intrigue and Prowess cannot be overlooked, and this is on top of the secrets that players may discover while torturing individuals.
4 Court Of Shadows
For players who already have everything they want from their character and wish for them to reign for as long as possible, the Court of Shadows Perk can help keep them safe. The +50% buff to the Disrupt Schemes Spymaster task is huge and with a competent Spymaster and a decent Intrigue stat for the character, almost no enemy hostile schemes will work.
This Perk can be picked up second in the Schemer tree, which is arguably the best, and then can be followed up with the Prepared for Anything Perk, which further protects against schemes.
3 Forever Infamous
The Forever Infamous Perk is one of the last to be unlocked in the Torturer tree, but the -1000% Dread decay makes it more than worth the time investment, particularly for characters down the path of terror already. The decay reduction means that once players reach max Dread, it is almost impossible to lose.
Players with the Tours & Tournaments expansion pack, arguably the best DLC for Crusader Kings 3, will also be able to organize Murder Feasts, where they can kill one or more of the guests in cold blood.
2 Fear Tax
If players have high Dread and the Fear Tax Perk from the Torturer tree, then they can expect to rake in much more tax and levies from intimidated vassals. Having more gold and a bigger army will level up any player's rule in CK3​​​​​.
If any vassals are terrified, perhaps due to having the Craven Trait, then the contribution bonus for both taxes and levies jumps up to a massive +30%, making this one of the best Intrigue Perks in Crusader Kings 3​​​​.
1 Twice Schemed
Hostile schemes are extremely powerful and can be used to increase one's own rank drastically in Crusader Kings 3 even without war. Therefore, the ability to use two hostile schemes at once with the Twice Schemed Perk is extremely powerful. As such, it is the last Perk to be unlocked in the Schemer tree before the Schemer Lifestyle Trait is claimed.
Players will have the ability to pull off two murders at once, which can open up the path to a new inheritance, or they could fabricate hooks on all their vassals and enemies and rule a den of secrets. Of course, doing both at once and more is also possible.
Crusader Kings 3 is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.