Crusader Kings 3 is a game about the weight of power and the expectations of the crown. A lord or lady manages their land, juggles the needs of vassal states, and goes to war against neighboring rivals. Compelling stories play out through a mix of strategic decisions made on the world map and random events starring the ruler, their close circle, and their subjects.
But what if you didn’t have to worry about authority, royalty, or territory? What if you were a roving adventurer, a hearty mercenary company, or a handful of scheming kingmakers? Roads of Power, the newest expansion pack for Crusader Kings 3, fulfills this fantasy. Players can, as always, choose a Ruler. Or they can start as an Adventurer — a much more humble figure who has to live in a camp, forage for supplies, and play nice with local royalty.
I’m playing Agathe Talon, a bold figure leading a gang of girl bosses in 1098, traveling between France, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire. My group, the Mace of Talon, is a bit chaotic. We will oppress your peasants, forge documents for nobles, and/or steal your girl. Thanks to a few tweaks to the real-life historical settings Paradox added in its own menu, I’ve made 1098 a much more accepting time, and my lady knights are treated with respect… at least, until we start robbing the rich.
I start with a super small band; even a small lord in the traditional game can rustle up a couple hundred men, but I have… four. I quickly realize that, despite building a character with a lot of martial prowess, I can’t pledge myself to large-scale conflict just yet. I have to pick up a few stragglers here and there, and many of them are disenfranchised women looking for work. As Agathe, I can give them that. There’s a wide variety of contracts: kidnappings, escorts, assassinations, civil contracts, and threatening revolting peasants with the sword. Each contract offers different events and options; one job might go flawlessly, allowing us to get away in the night laden with riches, while another might fall apart (and ultimately fuel the plot).
For instance, a local French lord in Toulouse sends me after a bandit woman living in the hills. Upon talking to her, I realize that instead of dueling her to the death, I could recruit her instead. This infuriates the lord, who forms a grudge against me. While I grow wealthy and strong in the southern region of France, he schemes against me, eventually sending troops after my merry band of marauders. It’s too late; we’ve packed up and headed to safer grounds in Champagne.
Champagne begins to feel like home; I even seduce the local lady on a lark, convincing her to lay with my hardened military commander in her own castle. Unfortunately, my rival has followed me and has been sniffing out secrets. He shares this tasty morsel of gossip with none other than King Phillipe, who spreads it far and wide. Ashamed and harassed, I have to retreat back into the Holy Roman Empire, where my reputation is purer and the work is plentiful. I begin to grow my base, recruiting infantry and cavalry as my Men at Arms.
The dynamic of an Adventurer run is much more hands-on than a Ruler playthrough. The Ruler has more to handle when it comes to managing their kingdom, keeping a strong council, negotiating romances for their children with other nobles, and keeping their line of succession secure. Many of these require delving deep into different menus and panels, using that info to set long-term bureaucratic goals. An Adventurer doesn’t need to worry about any of that — as long as their camp is healthy and their people are fed, they’re fine.
That being said, events like murder schemes, plagues, civil war, and betrayal can still factor into an Adventurer playthrough. At one point, my camp was afflicted with malaria, and the disease killed many children and young knights, disfigured my heir, and nearly killed Agathe. If anything, I’d like to see more random events on the road. I ran into one necromancer five times in as many hours, and the impact of seeing a profane ritual wears off if it’s one of the few encounters en route to a mission.
The Adventurer mode in Roads of Power isn’t nearly as fleshed out as the Ruler game mode, but it’s incredibly streamlined and much more accessible. If you’ve been curious about the wild stories emerging from Crusader Kings 3’s players, but starting your own realm feels like the equivalent of doing your taxes, an Adventurer run might be your speed.
A major part of Crusader Kings 3 is that death is never the end; in Roads to Power, I can pick any descendant of my original Adventurer and pick up the story from there. Agathe and her girl boss knights have built a base of power, and after her inevitable but tragic death, I’ll have her daughter pursue the goal of claiming her own land. There’s something liberating about this much lighter take on the classic Crusader Kings 3 formula, and I can’t wait to try out different specialties and stories.
Source：https://www.polygon.com/impressions/455957/crusader-kings-3-roads-of-power-adventurer-player-diary
