Өглөөний мэнд!

Today we'll be covering some of the extra mechanics that Nomads use. We’ve already talked about the main features in our first Khans of the Steppe Development Diary, so make sure you take a look at that one first – and apologies if I repeat myself.

We shall now get into the details.

Dominance

As we have mentioned in previous Development Diaries, Nomads have their own mechanics and, when it comes to how they rule, one of the most important is their Dominance level.

Before I dive into the specifics of each level, it's important to note that Nomads have a fixed Minimum and Maximum Domain and Vassal Limit per Dominance level. These numbers can be increased only through Dominance and Yurt Buildings, and no skills or lifestyle perks affect it. We have also changed the Lifestyle Trees to better work with Nomadic mechanics, but more on that later.

Dominance represents a Nomadic ruler's perceived power. It can be increased by a prestige cost once the character reaches the necessary Herd to unlock the next level.

Rulers of Dominance 1 are typically Counts. They migrate frequently and have a maximum of 1 Vassal and a Domain limit of 2. At this point, moving to the area with the best fertility or taking over Herders’ lands is very common. Some may even offer themselves as tributaries to bigger realms, to ensure their safety during this critical time. Only the strongest are able to survive.

Rulers of Dominance 2 are usually Dukes. At this point, their Fertility Equilibrium is a bit higher, and they can stay in their lands for longer periods of time; they’ll simply likely need enough tributaries to continue growing their herd. This is also the moment when a ruler can, if they own a non-Nomadic holding, decide to Forsake the Nomadic Ways and become settled. This is one of the three ways to stop being a nomad. More on that later.

Rulers of Dominance 3 are typically Kings. This is the level that the khans of Cumania, for instance, have on game start. Vassal and Domain limits have grown significantly and now migration can target entire de jure kingdoms.

If you target a kingdom or empire during your migration, however, you must choose which duchy within that title is the one you're aiming for. If you win, you will take over the duchy and all lands the previous king held within that de jure title. If your foe held additional outside titles, they would retreat to there.

After successfully migrating thusly, you will get access to the Expand Dominance CB, which lets you de jure shift additional lands.

Rulers of Dominance 4 are akin to emperors. At this level, migration can target empires. However, rulers of this high Dominance level don't tend to migrate at all. They get most of their Herd through Tributaries, and their Fertility has reached a comfortable level where their herd can steadily grow through holding their vast territory. It is at this point that a Paiza System can be established, and access to the ‘Overrun Kingdom’ Casus Belli is granted.

Paizas were the mark of trust of a great khan. They were given to their loyal merchants and used to ensure safe travel through the Great Steppe. Granting paizas is a great way to make characters Obedient, and allows for the Summon Wealthy Visitors decision, where you can invest some gold to get special artifacts, even more gold, improvements for your Nomadic Horde, or random Innovation progress.

However, characters in possession of a paiza can use the Leverage the Khan's Authority interaction to make a different character obedient to them, or Abuse the Gurkhan's Authority through a decision that extracts fertility from someone's lands to increase their own prestige and gold. But the khan may hear of these infractions and take matters into their own hands, gaining an imprisonment, execution and banishment reason on their previously favored character.

The effects of paiza investments can be increased through the yurt buildings of the capital.

The Overrun Kingdom Casus Belli is the second path that nomads can follow to stop being nomadic. This CB can target any settled kingdom title and, if the war is won, will grant the target title to the attacker, who also converts to Feudalism, Clan or Tribal.

But coming back to Dominance. Dominance 5 is the highest level of them all and can only be obtained by the Gurkhan – that is, the ruler who possesses the largest Herd of the entire Great Steppe.

At this point, the Gurkhan can take the decision to Become the Greatest of Khans (should they fill that decision’s steep requirements). In a later Development Diary, we’ll explore this further! For now, we’ll let you know that the Greatest of Khans is well set up to both conquer the world and switch their government type, without having to leave the Great Steppe.

Dominance also affects migration range, with higher Dominance rulers being able to travel further while migrating.

Dominate Title

Migration is not the only way to increase your tier. Nomads can also use the Dominate Title decision to create the de jure title of their very own territory… they just need to fight everyone in the desired area.

Dominating a title replaces regular title creation for nomads. In the steppe, no amount of document fabrication will prove that a title belongs to you: only fighting everyone in the area will.

Fertility Equilibrium

We have already talked about County Fertility in our first dev diary, but we have not yet explained Fertility Equilibrium.

Equilibrium is the prediction of how fertile a county will become over time. It is where the Fertility Growth and Consumption meet, and it can be affected by terrain types, seasons, kurultai tasks and the holder's learning skill.

Equilibrium is higher the bigger your Domain is, representing your herd travelling through different counties to graze, rather than being confined to just one county. This means that higher Dominance rulers are able to live a more settled life within the Steppe, without having to abandon their nomadic ways.

A County will always tend towards its Equilibrium, which means that it will grow until it reaches it, or decrease if the current value is higher.

[The "Current County Fertility Modifier" represents the tendency of the county towards reaching Equilibrium.]

Settlement Issues

County Control slows down the rate at which Fertility grows by a percentage equal to the current control. So the Fertility growth will only be optimal when Control is at 100%. To address Control, we have introduced Settlement Issues.

After migrating, either peacefully or not, nomads will be greeted with some contracts regarding the problems presented by moving to a new area. These contracts will usually help increase the County Control, which allows for a better Fertility extraction and a much calmer life.

These contracts have 3 possible tiers, as usual, and some extra rewards.

Steppe Seasons

Nomads live in the Great Steppe, divided in three regions: Western, Central and Eastern. Each of these regions has its own active Season, which may or may not differ from one another's.

Seasons affect the Fertility of the region, but they also offer modifiers to how people (and even animals) behave, with additional effects on subjects, warfare, herd and characters.

There are 2 good seasons, 3 bad, 1 especially good and 1 quite bad, all of which are also reflected on the map visuals. Let's go over them.

Abundant Grazing offers 25% fertility growth to any county in the region. It's a calm time, and rulers are generally happier, with increased Vassal Opinion and more Herd given out using the Demand Herd character interaction. Men-at-Arms are also 20% cheaper to maintain, as food supplies are well stocked, and Hunts are 50% cheaper to host.

Everlasting Summer represents the perfect climate for the land. It's a time of leisure and abundance that brings 75% fertility growth. Supply limit in the Great Steppe is also 50% larger, and Vassal and Tributaries have both an increased opinion and increased herd contribution, based on their contracts.

The Severe Drought is the first of the bad seasons. Fertility Consumption is increased by 20%. However, this means that people are more willing to migrate, and every courtier will increase their opinion of you after a peaceful migration. Rulers are also more likely to accept a peaceful migration request during this time, and the Conquer Casus Belli give out Prestige in the Steppe, which they normally don't. Herd gain is slower, and so is their conversion into Horde Riders, as more resources are needed for the same result.

[A Drought reflected on the map.]

During Zud seasons, the weather is especially adverse, which pushes character to seek protection from stronger and more resourceful nomads. During these seasons, the Demand Obedience and Demand as Tributary Character Interactions have a higher acceptance chance.

Characters are also slightly more likely to gain the Ill trait.

A Cold Zud brings strong winds and blizzards. The extremely low temperatures force the livestock to use most of their energy to keep warm.

A White Zud occurs when the snow settles over the grazing lands, making it impossible for the livestock to reach the grass. This is reflected by a 40% increase in the Fertility Consumption. The Retaliation Casus Belli (given when someone moves into your Tributary's lands but refuses to pay you tribute) is free, and upgrading your Horde Riders into better Men-at-Arms 25% cheaper. However, the supply limit is 20% smaller.

A Havsarsan Zud is the combination of two or more types of natural disasters. It's a time of great adversity, with grazing land impossible to find, and hardships in every possible direction. The County Fertility is completely gone, but that doesn't mean that you're out of options.

Demanding Tributaries still has a higher acceptance chance, and the Desperate Times Decision becomes available. In it, you can pay some Prestige and make all of your people Obedient, as well as unlocking the Invasion Casus Belli to try to get you out of the Steppe, no matter your situation.

The Retaliation and Humiliation Casus Bellis (used against a Nomadic ruler of higher Dominance than you) are free, and characters have a 30% increased Stress gain.

The other special season is the Blessing of the Blue Sky, which is much nicer to everyone involved. During a Blessing, Fertility grows with a 300% increase. The Supply Limit within the Great Steppe is also 100% higher, Tributaries and Vassals have a better opinion of their overlords, and characters have 25% less Stress gain.

We have nudged these seasons so they're more likely to happen after the Mongol invasion of China, and the Mongol invasion of Europe, as climate change was one of the factors that drove them out of the steppe. They can only happen once in the entire game, and their chances also grow each 100 years after each game start date.

It matters not if the 10 years of the previous season haven’t concluded: these seasons will take over whenever they reach their turnover point, and propagate to all regions. If you are blessed, you can grow an enormous herd that will help you take over the world; if you encounter the Havsarsan Zud, you will soon discover that the only possible way is out.

Rulers will also try to migrate to other regions if the local season is much better than theirs, and they have the necessary resources.

Stargazer

The Stargazer is one of the main tools that Nomadic rulers have when it comes to predicting upcoming seasons. This Court Position also acts as a substitute to the Court Chaplain, as they have been replaced by the Kurultai, and can help guess what the next season is based on their aptitude.

However, if the Stargazer’s aptitude is poor, there's a chance that they will predict two entirely wrong seasons, or one right and one wrong. Their reasoning is unpredictable.

They come with two Court Position Tasks: Oversee Preparations and Guide Shepherds.

Oversee Preparations is a bit of a special one, and its effects change based on seasons, as they're trying to ensure the best possible outcome. Therefore, they may help manage fertility during a Cold Zud, or increase piety gain during a Blessing.

The Guide Shepherds task helps Herder subjects gain the Seasoned Pastoralist trait, which increases the rate at which they replenish fertility of their held counties.

Kurultai Succession

All nomads have a unique and new succession law: the Kurultai Succession.

During a Kurultai Succession, your two oldest children of eligible gender and the four members of your Kurultai will either approve or disapprove of your choice of heir. Their approval depends on whether they are Obedient or not, so ensuring an obedient kurultai should be among your highest priorities if you are aiming for a smooth succession.

During a Stable Succession, all of your titles go to your preferred heir, with no partition or harsh consequences.

If one or more members of your Kurultai are not obedient, you will be facing a Chaotic Succession instead. The consequences are unpredictable, but they go from losing some Legitimacy or Prestige, to one of your vassals stealing part of your herd, to even facing a realm fractioning disaster like the splitting of the great Mongol Empire.

The consequences are not completely arbitrary, though, and they scale with your title tier, realm size and the number of your disobedient Kurultai members. So if you are a Duke with only one disobedient member, you will not be punished as severely as a hated Emperor.

If the season is a Havsarsan Zud, the realm stability is shaken and the succession will always be chaotic!

[Example of some medium consequences.]

[Example of some harsher consequences.]

Nomadic Lifestyle Trees

Some changes were done to the Lifestyle Trees to make sure the perks would be adapted to the Nomadic government and its needs. I apologise in advance for the ugly changelog, but this is easier and more to the point than me writing complicated explanations for all.

Diplomacy:

• Added Fellow Tributary Opinion and Fellow Confederation Member opinion to Defensive Negotiations
• Added increased aptitude to Boyan/Cherbi Court Positions in Praetorian Guard
• Added Renown if you have a Blood Brother to Inspiring Rule
• Added increased acceptance to Demand as Tributary and Offer Confederation to True Ruler
• Added Monthly Prestige per Blood Brother to Bound by Blood
• If you have a Blood Brother you get one extra random skill point from Friendly Counsel

Martial:

• Added Horde Riders bonuses for Organized Retreat for Nomads
• Added Horde Riders bonuses for Hit and Run for Nomads
• Made Nomads able to duel rivals from the get-go
• Changed Stalwart Leader so it allows nomads to duel any non close family member martial gender character
• Made Loyalty and Respect increase Obedience of Spouse and Vizier
• Added a discount to converting Horde Riders into MAAs for Prepared Conscription

Stewardship:

• Added Tributary taxes to Heregeld
• Added Domicile herd gain to Detailed Ledgers
• Changed Cutting Cornerstones to Cutting Wood and added extra 10% discount for Domicile Buildings for Nomads
• Added Domicile building speed bonus to Professional Workforce
• Added Herd gain to Centralization
• Added Herd to Horde conversion to Organized Muster Rolls
• Changed Large Levies to Planned Herd and added income from Herd and Herd from vassals
• Added Tributary Opinion to Likable
• Added happy powerful vassal Herd contribution to Honored to Serve
• Added higher Obedience from Councilors from Honored to Serve
• Added Tributary Opinion to the Administrator trait

Intrigue:

• Added bonus to the Capture raid intent for Kidnapper
• Added Herd gain from Intimidated/Cowed vassals to Fear Tax

Learning:

• Made Religious Icon make obedient characters converted via the Inspire Conversion interaction
• Zealous Proselytizer increases the acceptance for the Inspire Conversion interaction
• It also increases the piety gain from the Aid Stargazer task by 10%
• Planned Cultivation increases Fertility Growth

Wandering:

• Changed Development for County Fertility gain when hosting activities in No Stone Unturned
• Changed Souvenirs Aplenty for Changing of the Seasons and added Fertility and Control bonuses whenever the seasons change
• The Of the People perk increases the speed of the Explore Cultures Kurultai task

Nomadic Legitimacy

Nomads have a new Legitimacy type, which differs in some ways from the settled one.

The first big difference is that, while settled Legitimacy is much nicer to lower tiers (allowing Count and Dukes to get bonuses in the first levels), Nomadic Legitimacy is the same for all tiers, representing the harsher judgments of the steppe.

However, we have made the way of obtaining and losing it be also in accordance with the nomadic way of life. Nomadic rulers gain double Legitimacy from winning wars, but they also lose double on defeat. They will also gain Legitimacy from Duels and marrying noble-born Courtiers of someone of equal or Higher Dominance.

Nomadic Legitimacy also affects Tributary and Confederation acceptance, as well as Herd gain and Tributary opinion. The effects on Casus Belli costs and creating new Titles have been removed, as Nomads get CB discounts from Seasons, and they do not create higher tier titles the usual way, but through the Dominate Title decision.

Nomadic Faction

Peasant and Populist factions do not make much sense within the steppe, instead there will be Nomadic factions.

These factions can happen for any type of ruler, settled or nomad, but are more likely for settled rulers. They are very powerful, comparable to Populist armies, composed of nomadic riders, horse archers, and other nomadic Men-at-Arms. Similarly to Peasant factions their discontent will always rise, and it'll rise fast. The goal is to make it unattractive for settled rulers to hold nomad lands, as they will be attacked by revolting nomads on a semi-regular interval - feudalizing the holdings will be crucial to stop this. Of course, defeating them will pacify their lands for a while.

If a Nomadic faction is successful, they will rip any duchy that had a county part of the faction out from your realm, and each of them will get a new nomadic ruler generated.

Belligerent Vassal Stance

We decided that most vassal stances made little sense for nomadic people, so we have added a new one called Belligerent, more commonly found within the steppe.

Belligerent vassals want to see their liege as a powerful and strong leader, and enjoy shows of both physical and military might.

Thanks for reading and getting into the depths of the steppe with us! Next DD will go over the flavour and warfare of the Great Steppe.