Grand strategy games might not be up everyone's alley, but Crusader Kings III is such a great and intuitive introduction to this form of gameplay that players can actually contemplate the idea of getting into a series that has felt ridiculously convoluted for the longest time. The combination of better gamer design, informative tooltips, and helpful notifications has turned Crusader Kings III into one of the greatest strategy games ever made.
Players who get into this title will find themselves enjoying hours upon hours of amazing gameplay... although they might reach a saturation point after a while. However, there's no need to worry — the modding community for Crusader Kings III is extremely active and allows players to reinvigorate the gameplay of this title with a host of stellar changes. Some of the best mods in this regard are listed below.
Updated September 3rd by Harry Alston: With the first major DLC patch on its way for Crusader Kings 3 (sometime soon, we hope) we're updating this list with some of the brand new mods that have been introduced to the workshop since we last published this article. There are some great additions in here that completely transform the base game and a couple that are the perfect quality of life changes.
15 Biography Mod
The Biography mod is a simple but very useful mod that lets you get more information about the various characters in your campaign.
This works for your own playable characters as well as other rulers and commonfolk you encounter during your game. Just click on their name, hit the Biography button, and you'll get info like wars won, empires conquered, and more. Gives you great insight into the history of the character.
14 Sinews Of War
Sinews Of War is a relatively recent addition to the workshop, but it is already extremely popular. The attention to detail in its fresh population system and empire management completely transforms the base game of Crusader Kings 3. Your sprawling empire will feel and behave more like a living, breathing entity.
Citizens can die. Fertility rates are judged on the nearby environment, like the access to water, and the general climate. Brand new city and empire management let you pass edicts that can both help and hinder your population. Sinews Of War is a complex mod currently still in its open beta period, although it is compatible with some of the other popular mods on this list.
13 The Bronze Age: Maryannu
While this mod hasn't seen an update for a few months now, it's still one of the most impressive overhaul mods on the workshop. Just as an aside: you need to revert your game back to 1.2 to play this mod. Maryannu is an ancient word for a group of hereditary warrior nobles that covered most of the Middle East - it literally means "a nobleman, a chariot warrior of a high status."
The Maryannu mod takes Crusader Kings back through the annals of history, including many new features of Bronze Age history. Follow ancient Sumerian mythology or build a line of powerful pharaohs: this is a completely different game.
12 Shogunate
Shogunate is a conversion mod that takes place in 16th Feudal Japan. You can play as any of the historical Japanese lords, as well as any other landed character.
While the mod is still in development, the map, characters, and some flavor details have already been incorporated. Still on the to-do list are things like custom unit models, custom building models, and overall map improvement (there currently any mountains.) However, it's still a great little mod if you're looking for something different in CK3.
11 Historical Figure Mod
This Historical Figure mod is surprisingly huge and very intuitive. It basically introduces over 40,000 historical figures into your campaign of Crusader Kings 3. That includes people like William I and Richard the Lionheart.
It then draws information about these characters from Wikipedia and creates little bios for them. This adds another level of historical accuracy to the game, although these characters can still randomly die, be captured in sieges, and otherwise disappear into the fog. Catch 'em while you can.
10 Fervour Inversion
Crusader Kings III might be one of the most immersive games out there, but one can't deny that the game does end up doing some odd things that make no sense. One of the more noticeable immersion breakers in this regard is the fact that players who win Holy Wars end up losing Fervor!
This obviously makes no sense, so it's a good thing that modders have come to the rescue here. The Fervour Inversion mod makes it so that things work out as they should and players gain Fervor after winning Holy Wars.
9 Less Old Wives
Crusader Kings III is all about establishing legacies and strengthening dynasties. So, it's rather odd to see the AI working against this notion at times.
Several times, the AI will marry off their teenage sons to older wives, which makes no sense from the angle of furthering lineages. This mod corrects the issue so that AI-controlled dynasties don't end up pulling such hare-brained maneuvers.
8 War Alerts - Customizable War Notifications
Taking control over kingdoms and holding on to territories is the bread and butter of Crusader Kings III. For the most part, players have total control over their areas and their defense... barring one annoying exception.
Sometimes, vassals under the player will end up losing their territories to peasant uprisings, bandits, or anyone else along the same lines without the player being able to intervene in time. This mod prevents something like this from happening and notifies the player whenever their vassal is at war.
7 Rob's Less Boring Tweaks
Players who want their copy of Crusader Kings III to feel as immersive and realistic as possible should definitely try out Rob's Less Boring Tweaks. This mod adds a large number of small changes to the game that end up making a world of difference.
From changing human behavior to altering how wars play out — Rob's Less Boring Tweaks is a great mod to try out. Some of the changes might not be to everyone's tastes, so make sure that you read up on every change brought about by this mod before trying it out.
6 Advanced Character Search
Searching for characters in Crusader Kings III is something that players will be doing quite frequently. It's a great way to get a lay of the land and the people that reside within it.
With Advance Character Search, players can improve the functionality of this search even further. Now, players can choose from a wider variety of filters, with examples of the new inclusions being gold, prestige, piety, military strength, dread, progeny, and claims.
5 Better UI Scaling
The UI of Crusader Kings III is definitely one of the most massive and welcome improvements over the previous game in the series. However, one has to admit that there are times when this UI ends up feeling somewhat lacking or takes up too much space.
The Better UI Scaling mod aims to rectify this issue. Now, players can see more of the map and have a clearer view of things while flipping through the various menus of the game.
4 Community Flavor Pack Official
Crusader Kings III offers up a large variety of options when it comes to customizing characters. However, most people can attest to the fact that no amount of customization options is truly enough for PC gamers.
So, to satiate the appetite of these players, the official Community Flavor Pack is a perfect solution. Not only does it touch up and combine some of the accessories from the base game, but it also adds a whole bunch of hairstyles, beards, armors, crowns, and everything else along the same lines.
3 LotR: Realms In Exile
Conversion mods have proven to be some of the most popular mods for Paradox Interactive's titles. So, it was only a given that a conversion mod based on Lord of the Rings was bound to be wildly popular as well.
LotR: Realms in Exile is an excellent mod that allows players to control titles and areas in Middle-earth. Any fan of this high fantasy series should definitely download this mod for Crusader Kings III.
2 Princes Of Darkness
Another conversion mod that has become intensely popular amongst fans is the Princes of Darkness mod. This mod adapts the World of Darkness and integrates them with the gameplay mechanics of Crusader Kings III.
The end result is an excellent romp as players assume the role of an immortal vampire as they war against other princes to establish dominance. It's a great combination that makes for a stellar mod.
1 VIET Events
The simulation mechanics in Crusader Kings III are extremely addictive. In fact, players can get hooked on the game to such an extent that some of the events and happenings in the game end up repeating at times.
Players who want to avoid this circumstance can download the Very Immersive Events and Tales (VIET) mod. It adds various events about everyday life that makes characters feel more alive than ever before in Crusader Kings III.