Crusader Kings 3: 10 Rarest Formable Empires (2024)

Crusader Kings 3 is a hit medieval strategy game for players to change the course of history with the formation of never-seen-before realms, attempting to revive ancient Empires and Kingdoms of the past, or simply playing out what might've realistically happened. Forming Empires specifically can be a difficult task for players, with it usually requiring many counties. This, in turn, means a huge list of vassals that can easily start a faction against players and ultimately overthrow or gain independence from the player's empire.

The rarest of Empires in Crusader Kings 3 are even harder to control, let alone form in the first place. Highly contested locations such as Jerusalem are needed to form some of these Empires, making them extremely rare due to the pure difficulty of the region, whilst other rare Empires simply need specific circ*mstances to be formed.

Updated December 29, 2023, by Joe Grantham: Players can have many goals in their Crusader Kings 3 playthroughs, not all of them necessarily involving war. The most common objective is to reach the height of power, forming an Empire and conquering vast swathes of land. However, some incredibly rare Empires in CK3 can only be formed under certain circ*mstances, some of which may even be out of the player's control. For example, there are several Empires known as Khanates that can only be formed after the collapse of the Mongol Empire in specific regions. Additionally, some of these did not exist in real-world history but are based on alternate histories that players can create in the game.

10 Baruun Khanate

A Mongol Empire In Africa

Requirements to form the Baruun Khanate:

• The Mongol Empire must be present in Africa and then collapse.

The Baruun Khanate is a rare Empire that can technically be formed in Crusader Kings 3, but only under one circ*mstance. For the Baruun Khanate to appear, the player or AI must have formed the Mongol Empire and somehow spread their influence to the continent of Africa, which in CK3 is simply the Northern half. Then, if the Mongol Empire collapses for whatever reason, the Baruun Khanate will appear.

This is a made-up title, however. In the real Middle Ages, the Mongols never made it past Egypt, with a battle lost against the Mamluks in 1260 deterring them from trying again. Due to the geography of Africa and the Mongols' preference for land rather than water, without first taking Egypt, there wouldn't have been much chance of taking the rest of the continent, even if the Mongols had desired it.

9 Slavia

An Empire Uniting The Slavs

Requirements to form Slavia:

• Have an East, West, or South Slavic heritage.
• Control the region of Slavia.

Uniting the Slavic regions is no easy feat; with powerful kingdoms such as Kiev, Bulgaria, Bohemia, Poland, Croatia, and many more being needed to be under players' control, forming the Empire of Slavia will require a strong and large army. This Empire comes with a neat nickname depending on whether players' characters are male or female, with male characters gaining 'the Bogatyr' nickname whilst female characters gain 'the Polyanitsa' nickname.

Luckily, the list of requirements is rather short. The player's character must be of East Slavic, West Slavic, or South Slavic heritage whilst controlling all the region of Slavia. Players need 600 gold to form the Empire of Slavia officially, which isn't a too outlandish cost. The main struggle for players will be conquering the required duchies, kingdoms, and counties, as not only is Eastern Europe an ever-changing landscape, the cultures and religions are very varied, making it tough to avoid factions and dislike towards players' characters.

8 Black Horde

A Mongol Empire In India

Requirements to form the Black Horde:

• The Mongol Empire must be present in India and then collapse.

Many people have heard of the Golden Horde or even the White Horde, both of which are available in Crusader Kings 3. However, few have heard of the Black Horde as it is a made-up title for the game. In real history, the Mongols never managed to establish a proper foothold in the Indian subcontinent, despite numerous invasions in the 13th and 14th centuries.

For the Black Horde Empire to form in CK3, the Mongol Empire must first be present in the region of India, before collapsing and fragmenting into many smaller Empires or Khanates, the Black Horde being just one of these. Due to the fact that the Mongols certainly had a vested interest in conquering India (or at least parts of it), the Black Horde is one of the more realistic alternate-history realms to appear from the fracturing of the Mongol Empire.

7 Aarlud Khanate

A Mongol Empire In The British Isles

Requirements to form the Aarlud Khanate:

• The Mongol Empire must be present in the British Isles and then collapse.

Despite the impressive conquests of the Mongol Empire in the Middle Ages, they didn't quite make it to Scandinavia, and the British Isles further west naturally remained untouched as well. However, Crusader Kings 3 enables the player or sometimes the AI to alter the course of history, perhaps pushing the borders of the Mongol Empire all the way to the shores of North West Europe.

Interestingly, if the Mongol Empire then collapses while present in the regions of Scandinavia and Britannia, then an incredibly rare Empire-level title, the Aarlud Khanate, can form. The presence of Mongol culture in these coastal regions certainly makes for some unique gameplay in Crusader Kings 3.

6 Greater Armenia

The Armenian Empire Restored

Requirements to form Greater Armenia:

• Be an adult King or Queen and independent.
• Control the region of the former Armenian Empire and have a capital here.
• Have the Armenian culture or an Apostolic faith.

Sitting on the border of the Byzantine Empire, the sleeping Empire of Greater Armenia isn't in the easiest of locations. The Byzantines will most likely be a challenge that players will come across, so building up a strong military is important for this attempt.

There are many requirements needed before being able to create the title of Greater Armenia. Players need 2000 prestige and 1000 piety. Players must be a King/Queen in a Feudal or Clan government, with the capital being located within the former Armenian Empire with all of that region being under players' control. Players must also be of either Armenian culture or follow the Apostolic faith in order to create Greater Armenia.

5 High Kingdom Of The North Sea

An Empire Of Scandinavia And England

Requirements to form the High Kingdom of the North Sea:

• Own the Northern Lords DLC.
• Have a culture of North or West Germanic heritage.
• Be in the Tribal or Early Medieval eras.
• Control the Region of North Sea Heartlands.
• Have controlled the Kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and England for at least 30 years.
• Have a level of fame of Illustrious or higher.

Having an Empire centered around Vikings and gaining the nickname 'Sea King' is surely something that players will want to experience in Crusader Kings 3. This is possible with the extremely cool Empire that is the High Kingdom Of The North Sea, which can only be accessed if Players have the Northern Lords DLC Pack. However, creating this Empire is not exactly a walk in the park.

Players must control the Kingdoms of England, Norway, and Denmark for at least 30 years each whilst also controlling the region of the North Sea Heartlands. Players must be of North Germanic or West Germanic heritage, along with 200 gold, 1000 prestige, and a prestige Level of Fame being at least 'Illustrious'.

4 Outremer Empire

A Crusader Empire In The Levant

Requirements to form the Outremer Empire:

• Be an adult Catholic King or Duke (or female equivalent) and independent.
• Control the region of Outremer and have a capital here.
• Have the Living Legend level of fame.

An Empire that engulfs the Kingdoms of Arabia, Jerusalem, Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Israel is a powerful but difficult-to-form Empire. With Christian and Muslim countries participating in Crusades for Jerusalem often, being able to not only take, but hold Jerusalem along with powerhouses such as Arabia, Egypt, and Syria makes forming the Outremer Empire one of the toughest challenges in the game.

To form the Outremer Empire, players must be an independent ruler of at least the title of a Duke. Players must be Catholic, with the formation of the Empire being at the same time period as Crusades being available. Players' realm capital must be in the Outremer region whilst also having the fame level of 'Living Legend'.

3 Bactria

Empire In The Middle East

Requirements to form Bactria:

• Be an adult king or queen and independent.
• Control the region of Bactria and have a capital here.
• Have a level of fame of Illustrious or higher.
• Have the Afghan or Tajik culture.
• Have a Buddhist or Zoroastrian faith.

Available only to Buddhist or Zoroastrian Kings, the Empire of Bactria is in a tough spot. All of Persia and the Afghanistan region need to be conquered to make forming Bactria possible. Additionally, succession is difficult to control, with the Afghan culture system in CK3 being mostly limited to Clan governments, thus a confederate partition succession law.

It isn't impossible, though. Players must be of Afghan or Tajik culture whilst being of Illustrious fame and controlling the whole region of Bactria. Players must have their realm capital in the Bactria region, along with being an independent ruler.

2 Roman Empire

Restore The Roman Empire From Antiquity

Requirements to form the Roman Empire:

• Be an adult and have the Living Legend level of fame.
• Control the correct duchies (shown below).
• Either own the Byzantine Empire and have a Christian or Greco-Roman faith or Roman culture.
• Or own the Holy Roman Empire as a Christian after unifying Italy, and also have the Roman culture or a culture with Latin heritage.

A highly famed Empire with rich historical background, the Roman Empire is a fun Empire to form. Players gain the 'Glorious' nickname to their character along with the 'Augustus' trait, which is a cool touch to really make players feel Roman. The Roman Empire is one of the harder Empires to form on this list, with the requirements not only featuring a huge amount of counties and duchies but also being surrounded by the chaos of a broken Italy and an extremely powerful Byzantium Empire as its main neighbor.

Players must control the duchies of Latium, Venice, Romagna, Sicily, Genoa, Apulia, Thrace, Antioch, Palestine, Alexandria, Athens, Tunis, Thessalonika, and Croatia. There are two options players must take to form the Roman Empire, with one way being either of Christian or Greco-Roman faith whilst owning the Byzantine Empire. The second option requires players to unify Italy, own the Holy Roman Empire, be of Latin heritage with either Christian or Greco-Roman faith, or simply have a Roman culture.

1 Indian Empire

An Empire Spanning The Indian Subcontinent

Requirements to form the Indian Empire:

• Be an adult, independent, and have a capital in the region of India.
• Control the Deccan Empire, the Empire of Rajastan, and the Bengal Empire.
• Be a Religious Icon.
• Have a Buddhist, Hindu, or Jainism faith.

An Empire that covers the Deccan Empire, Empire of Rajasthan, and the Bengal Empire -- the Indian Empire is a real powerhouse Empire that players can grow exponentially. Once formed, players' characters gain the Chakravarti trait, which essentially means the person who united the center of the world.

The checklist for forming the Indian Empire isn't too long. Players need to completely control the Deccan Empire, Empire of Rajasthan, and the Bengal Empire, whilst also following Buddhism, Hinduism, or Jainism. Players' realm capital must be located in the region of India, and players must have the piety level of 'Religious Icon'. It costs 500 piety to form the Indian Empire; however, this shouldn't be hard for players as they need to be a 'Religious Icon'; therefore, players will likely have much more than the needed 500 piety. If not, then players can do pilgrimages to build up piety.

Crusader Kings 3

Platform(s)

PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , PC

Released

September 1, 2020

Developer(s)

Paradox Interactive

Genre(s)

RPG , Grand Strategy