How to Gain Piety Fast In Crusader Kings 3

As a seasoned ruler with decades of governing under my belt, I must say that understanding and managing Piety has been one of the most intriguing aspects of this grand game we call Crusader Kings. The path to Piety is as varied as the tapestry of our realm itself, from the humble act of communal generosity to the more, shall we say, ‘vigorous’ Blot tenet.

In Crusader Kings 3, there must always be a justification for declaring war, yet a wide range of reasons are permissible. One particularly effective reason, known as “Holy War,” provides you with authority over every territory you seize. This allows you to distribute your newly gained land among whomever you choose.

Nevertheless, launching a Holy War depletes your Piety, and to utilize the most effective Holy War Casus Belli (declarations of war), you must reach a specific Degree of Devotion. Moreover, amassing Piety is crucial if you aspire to switch faiths, establish a new faith, or reform a pagan one. So, what’s the optimal method for gathering all the necessary Piety?

Virtues and Learning

How to Gain Piety Fast In Crusader Kings 3

In the game Crusader Kings 3, each character possesses a minimum of three distinct personality attributes and a particular level of Learning. These aspects work together to ensure that your ruler consistently gains a predetermined amount of Piety each month.

Each religious belief identifies at least three virtues and vices that are essential to its moral code. Some faiths may have additional virtues due to specific teachings or doctrines. For example, Catholicism includes Monasticism, which adds Temperance as a virtue and Gluttony as a vice, while Communion adds Honesty as a virtue and Deceitfulness as a vice. Characters within the religion gain an additional +1 Piety each month for every virtue they actively practice in public, but lose -1 Piety for each vice they exhibit.

Additionally, these traits – Zealous and Cynical – may not be virtues or sins conventionally, but they still influence rewards or penalties in your situation. Specifically, Zealous increases your monthly Piety by 20%, whereas Cynical reduces it by the same percentage.

As a devout follower, I’ve noticed that the virtues rooted in our faith don’t affect my spiritual earnings one way or another. It’s important to note that those who engage in acts like adultery and fornication may face a drop in public approval, but they never experience any reduction in spiritual standing or piety points.

The last essential factor is each character’s Learning skill. Every point of Learning gives a character 0.1 Piety per month, so a character with 28 Learning gets 2.8 Piety per month, while a character with 6 Learning only gets 0.6 Piety.

Ruler Actions

How to Gain Piety Fast In Crusader Kings 3

As an enthusiastic player, I’ve discovered that Traits and Learning Skills serve as valuable paths for any character in this captivating game to accrue Piety. Interestingly, the Rulers are endowed with additional perks that can be tactically leveraged by players.

Lifestyle Bonuses

The Theology Focus of the Learning Lifestyle branch gives you a flat +1 Piety per month. The extra 1 Learning effectively makes it a +1.1.
The Prophet perk gives you +1 percent Piety per champion you have, and the Theologian trait gives you an extra 20 percent Piety.
You can increase your Piety indirectly by taking perks that improve your Learning skill. Scholarly Circles gives you two Learning for each Level of Devotion your character has, Learn on the Job gives you a bonus to every skill based on your councillor skills, and each Learning Lifestyle trait gives you at least one point of Learning.
Several perks can reduce the cost of each major use of Piety. Apostate cuts the cost of converting faiths by 75 percent, Prophet cuts the cost of creating and reforming faiths by 50 percent, and Bellum Justum (in the Martial Lifestyle tree) cuts the cost of all casus belli in half.

Councillor Jobs

Regardless of the type of government, religious beliefs, or additional content packs (DLCs) you possess, your court chaplain or realm priest advisor is always capable of managing ‘Spiritual Matters.’ Beyond any benefits this role may offer in terms of relationships, your chaplain will increase your Piety by 0.05 per month for each point they have in the Learning skill.

As a loyal subject, I found a unique opportunity to enhance my Ruler’s abilities and, indirectly, my own. My Ruler’s trusted advisor or spouse can serve as a catalyst for improving the Ruler’s attributes, such as Learning, which in turn affects my monthly Piety bonus. The role of Assist Ruler grants a slight boost to all skills, while Patronage offers a more targeted enhancement to the Learning skill.

Items

Whether you have the “Royal Court” DLC or not, your ruler has the ability to acquire items that boost their monthly Piety income. These items include religious artifacts, certain books which provide a specific Piety bonus, and various trinkets that enhance your Learning skill.

Traditions

A few cultural traditions can also increase the Piety you gain from otherwise normal activities:

Religious Patronage: Building temples gives you a set Piety boost when the construction finishes. This tradition makes this bonus bigger, and adds to the passive boost each building provides.
Sacred Hunts: Along with their normal bonuses, the hunt activity also provides characters of this culture with a Piety reward, and the Hunter trait becomes Virtuous.
By the Sword: This Tradition comes with a 20 percent Piety penalty, but it makes it easier to declare more Holy Wars with fewer Levels of Devotion.

Tenets

Beyond simply making virtues part of their character, some religious teachings offer more methods for a leader to boost their spirituality or righteousness. Let me share a few examples:

Communal Possessions: Rulers can gain Piety by sending gifts and artifacts to others, and by marrying Lowborn characters.
Hedonistic: Rulers gain Piety when hosting feasts.
Pacifism: Rulers who have been at peace for two or more years get +1 Piety per month.
Sacred Childbirth: Along with making the Pregnant trait a Virtue, this tenet gives both parents Piety when their children are born.
Blot: Executing prisoners gives you extra Piety instead of costing Piety.

Buildings

Constructing a temple outside your personal domain will earn you 500 Piety upon completion. Additionally, each temple features a distinct building called a Monastery, which boosts the owner’s Piety by 0.1 to 0.8 points per month. However, only rulers whose faith includes the “Lay Clergy” doctrine can personally own and thus receive this bonus from temples.

Legacies

In the Erudition Legacy series, each character within your ruling family benefits from multiple Faith-based advantages.

Ordained Rulership: Provides a flat 10 percent Piety bonus.
True Believers: This Legacy gives you a 20 percent discount on faith creation and reformation, along with a 30 percent bonus to the Piety you get from pilgrimages.

Pilgrimages

If you’re looking for a large dose of piety quickly, embarking on a pilgrimage is your ideal choice. The expansion pack “Tours and Tournaments” has improved the game’s pilgrimage system, but it isn’t necessary to own the DLC to go on a pilgrimage.

Each time you complete a pilgrimage, you get a set amount of Piety based on how far you had to travel and the Pomp level you chose at the start. More Pomp means more Piety, but it also makes your pilgrimage more expensive.
“Humble” Pomp also gives you more Piety, but it makes the journey more dangerous instead.
You get Piety from pilgrimages either way, but the Pious Pilgrimage gives you a Piety bonus depending on how many “Pious” choices you make along the way. The Worldly Pilgrimage gives you a Culture Acceptance bonus instead.
The Zealotry intent tends to give you more opportunities to get Piety compared to the other options.
The pilgrimage activity has no cooldown period, so you can go on pilgrimages as often as you like. Your only limitation is the amount of Gold each trip costs.
Even if you make frequent journeys to a nearby holy site, you can count on getting a few hundred Piety from each pilgrimage.
Pilgrimages also build up the Pilgrim trait. Once maxed out, Pilgrim gives you +3 Learning and 25 percent extra Piety.
If you do have the “Tours and Tournaments” DLC, you can access the Activities line of dynastic Legacies. The second Legacy, “Walking the Sacred Path,” makes pilgrimages cheaper, makes the Pilgrim trait increase faster, and gives you extra Learning for each holy site you visit.

2024-09-03 10:04