Let slip the capricious dogs of war in Crusader Kings II

War in Crusader Kings II is a complicated thing. New players are usually shocked to discover that despite the reputation of the time period covered, monarchs can’t just declare wars willy-nilly. Casus Belli is needed. That is, you must have a justification for warfare. Thankfully, there is a loophole for leaders that want to beat the drums. Players can fabricate a claim which will eventually give them the support they need to levy troops and get folks marching, but it takes time. Time they may not have before alliances and strengths shift on the map.

According to Paradox, players expressed frustration with the way Fabricate Claim currently works, so the studio is coming up with a different way to get on war footing.

We’re going to deemphasize the “Fabricate Claim” job by giving all playable entities (including Christians) a form of “Unjustified War” Casus Belli that will allow you to seize a single County for an upfront cost of Piety, Prestige or Gold.

As the Hottentots said to the Dutch, this could be really big. Assuming Paradox doesn’t muck it up, being able to declare war with just a bit of an upfront cost has the potential to upend gameplay. There’s no word on when this change will occur, but it’s a likely bet that an update of this importance will accompany the release of a major expansion, like the next one which is supposed to cover the Himalayas.