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Crusader Kings 3 is a game that really cares about its historical accuracy. It tries to emulate the cultures, religions, and warfare strategies of the medieval age as best it can. One aspect of this is raiding, something most commonly associated with the Vikings.

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In Crusader Kings 3, raiding is a great way for certain characters to bump up their stashes of gold, take revenge on an enemy, or simply have something to do during a slow couple of years. That said, there are restrictions as to who can raid and how they go about it.

Who Can Raid?

Crusader Kings 3 Norse Leader
A norse leader in Crusader Kings 3

There are only three types of characters who may raise up their army as raiders:

  • Unreformed Pagans. This encompasses all religions that aren't Abrahamic or Eastern in origin. If the faith is reformed, you will be unable to raid.
  • Tribal leaders.
  • Any character of a dynasty with the Legacy of Piracy modifier. This modifier is granted to the dynasty that takes the decision to "Elevate the Kingdom of Mann & the Isles."

How Do You Raid?

Crusader Kings 3 Raiding Menu Military
The "Raise all as raiders" option in the military menu of Crusader Kings 3

If you are playing as a character who is able to raid, you can raise an army of raiders in the Military menu. When placed into a province that is not owned by you, this army will raid them automatically, sieging the holding as if you were at war.

  • Once a raid has begun, you cannot move your army out of that province and they can be attacked by the province's owner even if you aren't at war.
  • Raiders will earn loot once raids are successful, but they must return home before the loot is added to your coffers. If they are killed before returning home, the loot will be recovered by its rightful owner.

Once raided, a province is immune to further raiding for a period of five years. It will, however, receive maluses to building construction time, taxes earned, and development growth. This way, raiding can be very damaging to a ruler's economy.

It is also possible to sack a province once it has been successfully raided. This can happen (at a 30 percent chance) if the raiding army is led by your character. Sacking a province will provide you with a few options - there will always be an option that grants you more gold and prestige, but sometimes you may be able to capture slaves, which will boost the development growth in your realm's capital substantially.

Provinces that get sacked are immune to sacking for a period of 20 years, but receive larger maluses in the meantime.

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How To Get The Raider Trait

Crusader Kings 3 Raiding Loot
A raiding party returning with loot in Crusader Kings 3

The Raider trait is available to characters who lead their armies to multiple successful raids. If your character is of a culture with the Longships innovation, this trait will instead be called Viking.

The Raider trait provides the following buffs:

  • +2 Martial skill
  • +3 Prowess skill
  • +0.3 Monthly prestige gain
  • +5 Same trait opinion
  • The chance of a province being sacked after a raid increased from 30 percent to 50 percent when this character is leading the raid

In order to get the trait, a character must lead a raid at least 20 times. Once this milestone has been reached, every future raid has a chance to grant the trait, with the chance being equal to the number of times the character has successfully raided.

Raiding Tips

Crusader Kings 3 Raiding Tips
Raiding army options in Crusader Kings 3
  • You can only raid provinces that have holdings. Many provinces at the beginning of the 867 start date do not have holdings, so don't waste your raiders in them.
  • The owner of a holding that you have raided will dislike you a lot.
    • It is also possible for raiders to capture and imprison them and their family.
  • You cannot raid provinces with which you have a truce.
  • Turning a raiding army into a regular army can only be done inside a province that you own.
  • You will need either the Longships or the West African Canoes innovation to allow raiding armies to embark onto waters.

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