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With over two thousand CK2 mods on Steam Workshop alone, the Crusader Kings mod community has hit a pretty significant milestone in terms of user-generated content. This impressive feat is a blessing for players but also a cause for paralysis: Which of these mods should one choose?
After all, even if one focuses on just the popular choices, so many other excellent mods might be overlooked. We’ve listed our favourite Crusader Kings II mods below for your convenience. If you’re new to modding, don’t fret! We’ve also included a guide on how to mod Crusader Kings 2 right at the bottom of the article.
Some of the mods you’ll find below are huge, total conversion mods, like the Game of Thrones overhaul. Some are simpler – but no less essential – cosmetic mods. Some are character mods, like the unlocker that allows you to customise the perfect ruler. Some are mechanical and quality of life fixes, like a mod that allows you to fully customise your own castle. They’re all worth checking out if you feel it’s something that will spice up your game. It’s also worth pointing out many of these are now porting over to the CK3 mod scene as well!
THE BEST CRUSADER KINGS 2 MODS
Here are the best CK2 mods, in no particular order:
- After The End Fan Fork
- CK2+
- A Game of Thrones Mod
- When The World Stopped Making Sense
- Elder Kings
- Ruler Designer Unlocked
- Rich Childhood
- Sketchy Traits
- Your Personal Castle
- No Inter-religious Defensive Pacts
- Improved Genetics
- Patrum Scuta
- In heavens Cartographic Map
- Anime Portraits
- Medieval Music Complete
AFTER THE END FAN FORK
This is a “fan continuation” of the original ‘After the End’ CK2 mod set in a post-apocalyptic USA. The year is 2666, and centuries have passed since a cataclysmic event knocked human civilisation back to the medieval period. You can play anywhere in North America, the Caribbean, or the northern coast of South America with over a thousand provinces, 47 different religions, and 31 different culture groups.
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One of our resident Paradox mod experts commented that he hadn’t seen a mod get as fervent a fanbase since Hearts of Iron 4’s Kaiserreich mod. Just the setting alone makes this worth checking out, not to mention all of the work that’s gone into setting up this post-apocalyptic North America. Well worth checking out if you want something completely different.
CK2+
One example of a mod not on the Steam Workshop, CK2+ is a massive overhaul that changes every aspect of the game from the map to core mechanics to events. Aimed at giving more content for the player to explore whether it’s new provinces, new interactions with other characters, or new mechanics such as a factions overhaul, there is a reason it is titled CK2+.
Related: Crusader Kings 2 DLC Guide
This mod is so venerable and respectable as a total upgrade for the game that individual mods on the Steam Workshop make CK2+ compatible versions of their mods specifically to be included in this grander Crusader Kings II experience.
Follow the link above and follow the instructions on the forum to find how to install this amazing piece of work! If you like this mod, also check out the Historical Immersion Project located in the same modding sub-forum as CK2+. It’s wort noting that since mid-2019 the team have been working on trying to rebuild this mod from the ground up, as it was proving too difficult to maintain in its current state. As such, the main mod hasn’t been updated since mid-2019.
A GAME OF THRONES MOD
Crusader Kings II is probably the best game in all of PC gaming to represent the intense political action of George R.R. Martin’s world. This mod seeks to do the universe of A Song of Ice and Fire justice with its impressively researched bookmarks and hefty focus on character interactions. It is not only a complete overhaul of the game mechanics to match the books, but the addition of other interactions such as magic and a complex system to handle massive civil wars with multiple claimants expands the CK2 experience to new heights.
WHEN THE WORLD STOPPED MAKING SENSE
Delve into the “dark” ages of late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages when the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West brought about a chaos that shook the very core of European Civilization. Pushing back the start date to 476, a whole new world of content is available to the player and a rich time extension is populated by meticulously researched settings, bookmarks, and historical persons. New decisions and mechanics bring this unique part of world history to life in stunning detail.
ELDER KINGS
Not to be outdone, the Elder Scrolls fandom has its own gorgeous and deeply detailed mod. Replete with custom events and custom mechanics, this puts the TOTAL in Total Conversion. You don’t even need to be a fan of the Elder Scrolls to appreciate a dive into this dense and fully fleshed out world.
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One of their most clever converted mechanics is the transformation of the Chinese Empire console from the base game into whole realms you can interact with ruled by their respective diety. One of the most polished mods out there, and a great way to slake your thirst while you wait for The Elder Scrolls VI.
RULER DESIGNER UNLOCKED
Finally, creating your perfect starting character has never been easier. The mod’s title is self explanatory as traits are available for your custom character without any restrictions (unless you yourself place those restrictions!). Unique playthroughs and unique dynasties are finally available to the player. A simple yet incredibly rewarding mod, this is a must for anyone who wants full control over the progenitor of their dynasty.
RICH CHILDHOOD
Rich is the right word for it. This mod brings to life the interim years of a young man or woman’s rise to adulthood. Instead of a tiny whelp that eventually becomes a “real” character, this mod seeks to make the experience of growing up as exciting as adult life. There is no downside to this mod. The events offer a playful and intriguing encounter for the player for those (hopefully) rare times where regencies must be in charge of a young prince or princess.
SKETCHY TRAITS
Another simple mod that adds a plethora of interesting and necessary traits available for characters to have. Physical traits such as fluency and fertility as well as personality traits such as psychopathy and creativity are some of the additions that puts another dimension to the already character-oriented nature of CKII. Whether it’s seeking extra bonuses or looking to generate a compelling narrative, this mod helps to add texture to the character trait system.
TRAIT SOFTCAP EXTERMINATED
All that hard work making all the “right” decisions to develop the character and personality you’ve always wanted is now finally preserved! CKII intrinsically has a hidden limit for character traits and this mod simply eliminates this cap. With this mod, a player’s actions finally stick and personalities culminate in grandiose and memorable characters. Available here.
YOUR PERSONAL CASTLE
Isn’t it strange that your capital holding is almost completely indistinguishable from anyone else’s? Your Personal Castle addresses this issue by allowing the player to build bonus-creating additions to their home holding. Whether it’s secret passages or studious libraries, not only are these great for customising one’s capital experience, but the mod also provides associated events to each addition to the castle that immerses the player in what it means to build a grand stronghold. By far one of the most popular mods out there!
NO INTER-RELIGIOUS DEFENSIVE PACTS
A lesser known and small mod, but one I believe that truly makes sense. This mod disallows defensive pacts to form between different religions. There has been plenty of discussion about the game-mechanic known as defensive pacts while some saying it artificially hampers gameplay by gaming the system to resist the player. While other mods do away with defensive pacts in totality, I believe this small mod finds the better middle ground.
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Defensive pacts will form, but at least you won’t have to worry about Richard the Lionheart and Saladin somehow joining forces to stop you. While some players might want that challenge, this mod is for those who want a slightly more historical treatment of expansion.
IMPROVED GENETICS
Using scientific data to bring more realism to CKII’s genetics is the stated purpose of this mod and while it’s a subtle change (since CKII’s genetics system is not that far from ‘reality’), this mod actually helps to make heredity in the game more reliable, stable, and predictable (thank you, science). The creator is not just versed in Mendelian genetics, but has factored in polygene inheritance for a truly fascinating if not invisible experience of heredity.
PATRUM SCUTA
What would the Middle Ages be without the glorious beauty of heraldry? This mod takes this basic premise and turns it into a rich aesthetic experience. This is not simply a graphic pack that adds hundreds of new heraldic styles as well as enriching the present options, but this mod also implements them in a historically researched way.
True to history coats of arms are restored as well as dynamically generated crests are in line with researched records. This also presents a plethora of different options for custom dynasties that the only drawback is that it makes the selection menu for a heraldic shield over a thousand clicks!
IN HEAVENS CARTOGRAPHIC MAP
While Paradox’s choice to present an abstracted three dimensional contour map is beautiful enough as it is, this mod brings the player back to a cartographical setting. It is as if the player is pulled into a map room with his or her closest advisers reviewing the state of the world on a map worthy of the timeframe. Let this graphical upgrade help to immerse you into the world of CKII!
ANIME PORTRAITS
I was surprised to discover this mod years ago and equally ashamed to admit that I love it. Who knew that Crusader Kings II could be a unique anime experience? Oddly perfect portraits for every type of character and character condition make this mod both dazzling and frightening. Even if one is not a fan of the style, it stands as a testament to an impressive graphical upgrade.
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While not everyone’s cup of tea, it also serves as an indication that there are plenty of mods out there that modify and improve character portraits to suit the player.
MEDIEVAL MUSIC COMPLETE
We can never overlook the rich musical history of the Middle Ages. From chants to poetry, this mod is one example of the plethora of auditory enhancements that reintroduces a bit of history to the game. While Paradox provides impressive music for its games, it commits a crime by not including period songs like it used to do for games like Europa Universalis II. Mods like this fix this disparity.
HOW TO MOD CK2
For first timers wanting to modify their game, Steam Workshop has thankfully made the whole process as easy as clicking the subscribe button on the mod you want and Crusader Kings II will automatically download it and add it to its launcher. From there, the player can choose to enable or disable any mod of their choice.
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For mods too large for Steam, you can usually hunt for their pages on the Paradox Forums and find the instructions on how to install from there. We hope you enjoyed this guide to CK2 mods. Don’t forget to check out our Crusader Kings 3 review, the mod scene over there is popping!
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