Crusader Kings III features tons of characters to choose from at the beginning of the game, nearly all of them historically based with fleshed-out traits, families, and educations. As a result of these traits and other factors, the difficulty of each character varies vastly, from the tutorial rulers of Ireland to the more obscure rulers of the Steppe, and beyond. Many players find enjoyment in finding and playing the most disadvantaged, difficult characters as self-imposed challenges.
Everything about a character influences their difficulty, like their education, Development, and religion. While each character has their strengths and weakness, some have more of the latter making them feel impossible to play. Whether they’re in a low Development area, are of a rare religion, have no heir, or something else, their circumstances leaves them one step behind other characters, meaning only the most experienced and calculating players are able to lead their realm to glory.
Marzipan Wahsudan of Gilan, 867 A.D.
Marzipan Wahsudan starts as the only Zoroastrian ruler in 867 A.D., placing him in a difficult situation from the get-go. He often faces holy wars and title revocation, and the Abbasid Empire and other Muslim rulers are a looming threat on the edge of his liege’s realm. He has an army of only a few hundred, which is nothing compared to the tens of thousands in the surrounding realms. He also starts with little money and no real way to get a significant amount of it.
Wahsudan also faces difficulties finding marriages and alliances since he’s the only landed Zoroastrian, meaning he’ll have to marry into another religion to get any military assistance. Overall, playing as any dying religion leads to a lot of these same issues, but it can be very rewarding to revive them throughout a campaign. Eventually, the player can take the Become the Saoshyant decision, which is one of the most difficult decisions aside from Unify Africa, and restore Persia to its former Zoroastrian glory
Count Petro of Menorca, 867 A.D.
Count Petro starts with one county that only has one holding, meaning he can only construct four buildings. He has a tiny court and doesn’t even have enough courtiers to fully employ his council. He also has a very small army, which is only half the size of the neighboring Mallorca. Additionally, Petro faces de jure wars from Mallorca pretty early on and Muslim aggression from the Ummayad Emirate to his west, which he has trouble counters since he has little gold to buy mercenaries to defend himself. He also isn’t effective in offensive maneuvers due to the Recently Disembarked modifier that his troops get upon landing on his enemies’ shores.
The player has to build tall throughout this campaign, putting careful thought into which buildings to construct and marriages to arrange to have the highest chance of success. The player can only raise armies in their realm, so if they lose even one battle on their home island, it’ll be occupied, nearly guaranteeing a game over.
Count Smbat of Suenik, 1066 A.D.
Count Symbat starts as one of only two Incapable characters in CK3. Incapable gives a -6 penalty to all traits, a -12 to Prowess, a -25 to Dread, a +100% to Dread loss, a -1000% to fertility, and a -3 to health. It also prevents the character from taking certain actions like arranging Smbat’s marriage or taking decisions. It’s solidly the worst trait in the game, and it makes Smbat practically unplayable. His dynasty only has three people, which are his brother and nephew. He relies on his brother as his heir, as he cannot have children himself.
If this trait wasn’t bad enough, Smbat’s lands are sandwiched between the Byzantine and Seljuk Empires, which are two of the most powerful realms in the game. With such a small dynasty and the inability to marry or have children of his own, Smbat can’t access a significant amount of alliances, putting him at a huge disadvantage. However, if the player manages to revive his dynasty and power through CK3‘s lackluster warfare system after Smbat’s inevitable Incapable-induced early death, they can eventually take the Revive Greater Armenia decision.
Countess Gyda Torgilsdatter of Devon, 1066 A.D.
Countess Gyda Torgilsdatter starts as a 69-year-old woman with no children of her dynasty, which would seemingly result in a near-immediate game over. The children that she does have are constantly out for her lands and either declare wars for them or scheme against her. Even if they are unsuccessful, Gyda’s time is running out, as she has a chance to die every month due to her age.
It is possible to salvage the campaign, but it’s a complex process. The player has to make their way to Cornwall, form a duchy from the county and get enough piety to change their succession law to Tanistry Elective, so they can elect a dynastic heir. The main challenge is getting her to live long enough to make this happen, making this start a race against time.
King Aella of Northumbria, 867 A.D.
King Aella of Northumbria is well-known to Crusader Kings III fans for his difficulty. He immediately begins in two difficult wars against Northmen Invasions, leaving him at the mercy of the Norse. During these wars, he’ll also face Norse raids throughout his lands which further deplete his gold and armies. His alliances also aren’t much help since they’re all the way on the Southern end of modern-day England and often show up too late to make a significant impact on the wars’ outcomes.
If the player loses both of these wars, they face a game over. They’ll rely mostly on RNG when it comes to finding quality knights, and they’ll need to produce enough children to form alliances to ward off the wrath of the Northmen. If the player manages to get through these wars, though, the game is fairly easy, as King Aella begins with a kingdom title, plenty of claims, and plenty of religious and cultural brethren. This start also puts the player in a good position to take the Secure the High Kingdom of the North Sea decision.
Read Next
About The Author
