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You always need a reason to declare war inCrusader Kings 3, but all sorts of reasons are acceptable. One of the best reasons, or casus belli, is “Holy War,” which gives you direct control of every county you conquer. This means you can hand out your newly acquired land to anyone you like.
However,declaring a Holy War costs Piety, plus you need to reach a certain Level of Devotion to use the best Holy War CBs in the game. You also need piles of Piety if you want to convert to a new faith, create a new faith, or reform a pagan faith. So what’s the best way to get all the Piety you need?
Virtues and Learning
Every character inCrusader Kings 3has at least three personality traitsand a certain amount of Learning. These features combine to give your ruler a guaranteed amount of Piety every month.
Each faith has at least three personality traits it considers Virtues, andthree traits it considers Vices. Some faiths have more than three Virtues thanks to special Doctrines. For instance, Catholicism has Monasticism, which adds Temperate as a Virtue and Gluttonous as a Sin, and Communion adds Honest as a Virtue with Deceitful as a Sin. Every character gets an extra +1 Piety per month for each Virtue they have in their publicly practiced religion, and -1 Piety for every Sin they embody.
You also get a bonus or penalty from the traits Zealous and Cynical, even though they usually aren’t a Virtue or a Sin. Zealous gives you a 20 percent bonus to your monthly Piety, while Cynical gives you a 20 percent penalty.
Notably, traits based on religious doctrines don’t change your Piety income. Adulterers and Fornicators receive opinion penalties, but never Piety penalties.
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
Traits and the Learning skill are ways for every character in the game to get Piety. Rulers get a few more options that players can take advantage of.
Lifestyle Bonuses
Councillor Jobs
Your court chaplain or realm priest councillorcan always perform the “Religious Relations” job, no matter which form of government you have, which tenets your faith offers, or which DLCs you own. Aside from any relationship bonuses this job provides, your chaplain will give you 0.05 Piety per month for each Learning skill point they have.
Your ruler’s confidant or primary spouse also provides you with a way to boost your ruler’s stats, which can include your Learning skill (and thus your monthly Piety bonus). Assist Ruler gives you a small boost to every skill, while Patronage gives you a focused boost to your Learning.
Items
With or without the “Royal Court” DLC, your ruler can get items that increase their monthly Piety income. In particular, religious artifacts and certain books often give you a specific Piety bonus, and several types of trinket give you a bonus to your Learning skill.
Traditions
A few cultural traditions can also increase the Piety you gainfrom otherwise normal activities:
Tenets
Aside from making certain traits Virtuous,several religious tenets can give your ruler additional ways to increase their Piety. Here are just a few:
Buildings
If you pay to build a temple holding, even if the holding is outside your ruler’s personal domain, you get a flat 500 Piety when construction finishes. Temples also have a unique “Monasteries” building, which provides the direct owner with +0.1 to +0.8 Piety per month. However, playable rulers can only hold temples (and thus get this bonus) if their faith has the “Lay Clergy” doctrine.
Legacies
The Erudition Legacy line has several Piety bonusesthat apply to every character in your ruler’s dynasty:
Pilgrimages
If you need a big lump of Piety all at once,a pilgrimage is your best bet. The “Tours and Tournaments” DLC revamped the game’s pilgrimage mechanics, but you don’t need the DLC to go on a pilgrimage.
