Unlock the Secrets of Legendary Knights in Crusader Kings 3

The latest addition to Crusader Kings 3, "Tours and Tournaments," brings a fresh focus to the game's activities. Along with revamping existing features via the Lance Update, this expansion introduces new "Grand" activities to keep players engaged during times of peace and plotting.

One of the standout features unique to this expansion is the Accolades system. Through Accolades, Knights can earn Glory, which can lead to exclusive bonuses such as increased manpower and skill boosts for the ruler. The challenge lies in mastering the Accolade system and generating enough Glory to reap the rewards.

How to Use Accolades

Acclaimed knights are a valuable asset for any ruler, but obtaining them can be a challenge. While the maximum number of knights a ruler can have is 5, it is not uncommon for rulers to have fewer or even none at all, especially those at the lower tiers. To acquire acclaimed knights, one can obtain them through various means such as reaching the King and Emperor tiers, acquiring the Renowned Name Dynasty Legacy in the Glory tree, adopting the Bannus innovation from the Tribal Era, or implementing the Knighthood innovation from the High Medieval Era.

A count from a dynasty with a Renowned Name and a Bannus culture can have up to two acclaimed knights as part of their retinue. To create new Accolades, players can easily access the Military menu and navigate to the Knights section, also known as Champions or Faris depending on cultural naming conventions. If the player ruler has at least one acclaimed knight and the "Tours and Tournaments" expansion is active, five empty portrait slots will appear at the top of the screen. Gold frames indicate the ability to create an Accolade immediately, while silver frames indicate that this option is not yet available.

Click on any of the portraits to create a new Accolade and a list of eligible knights will appear below. Once you select a knight, a new Accolade title with primary and secondary attributes will be generated. These attributes allow acclaimed knights to grant powerful bonuses to their rulers, provided their Glory is high and they possess certain traits, skills, or experience levels.

To be eligible for a given attribute, acclaimed knights must be landless or hold a baron rank at best. It's important to note that player rulers can never be acclaimed knights, although their heirs may qualify. Once an acclaimed knight obtains a county title or higher, they will no longer hold the title of an acclaimed knight.

Primary attributes for The Accolade remain constant, while secondary attributes can change with a new knight assuming the title. However, if this occurs, The Accolade experiences a decrease in Glory rank. Certain attributes grant additional soldiers to their ruler, such as Pike Captain, which increases the size of spearmen regiments by up to 6. Nevertheless, these bonuses are only available through primary attributes, which apply at ranks 1, 3, and 5. Secondary attributes, on the other hand, provide bonuses at ranks 2, 4, and 6. Aside from regiment bonuses, the bonuses are identical for both types of attributes. It is not possible for a ruler to have two active attributes of the same type simultaneously. If an Accolade successor were to cause this situation to occur, the game may force retirement instead.

When crafting new Accolades, players should consider the importance of extra-large men-at-arms regiments. To achieve desired attributes, players can swap them using the arrow button next to the attribute name, though the available options may be limited. With a requirement of 150 Prestige, creating a new Accolade is a small price to pay for a powerful ruler.

Succession, Retirement, & Reinstatement

Players should then choose a suitable candidate to be the successor of the knight. The ideal candidate should possess similar traits and skills as the current knight, as well as a high level of loyalty to the player ruler. Once a successor is chosen, players should click on the "Designate Successor" button to make it official. This will ensure that the Accolade bonuses continue to be earned even after the current knight inevitably passes away. Properly setting up successors for each knight is crucial for maintaining a strong and successful dynasty in Crusader Kings 3.

Creating Worthy Successors

To become a successor for the title, a character must meet certain requirements which are explained on a new screen. The list of courtiers, vassals, and guests who possess the necessary traits and stats is displayed below. However, it is mandatory for the successor to be serving as the player ruler's knight already.

Players can still ensure that worthy courtiers and vassals become knights even if they don't meet the Prowess requirement by using the "Force" option next to their name on the eligible list. Once they become knights, they can be chosen as successors to continue the Accolade tradition. In the event that there are no eligible successors in the court, players can press the "Seek Worthy Accolade Successor" button on the succession screen to spawn a qualifying character who may need to be forced into serving as a knight. This decision comes with a cost of 125 Prestige and a 2-year cooldown that persists between all Accolades.

Retiring Accolades

Managing your Accolades is important in ensuring that you have the most relevant and up-to-date achievements to showcase. If you need to make room for new Accolades, retiring old ones is a simple process. By navigating to the Accolade's screen and selecting the "Retire Accolade" button at the bottom, you can remove an outdated achievement. Keep in mind that retiring an Accolade will cost you Prestige points, and the amount required will depend on the Accolade's current rank. Additionally, Accolades may retire on their own if the current holder passes away without a successor or if the successor would create an attribute conflict with an actively serving acclaimed knight. In such cases, the Accolade's rank will decrease accordingly.

Retired Accolades will not disappear and instead, players will see a new button on the knight screen labeled "Inactive Accolades." Clicking the button will reveal all the inactive Accolades of the realm. If a serving knight is eligible for the Accolade and the player does not have their maximum number of active Accolades, they can click the "Reinstate" button to reactivate it. The Glory rank of the Accolade will remain the same as when it was retired, but players may need to reinstate Accolades with valid successors that were retired due to attribute conflicts. Additionally, players have the option to permanently remove an Accolade by selecting "Destroy." If the realm has inactive Accolades but no eligible knights, the "Restore Accolades" decision will appear, spawning characters in the ruler's court who qualify for each inactive Accolade. However, this decision costs 150 Prestige and has a cooldown of 5 years.

By utilizing the retirement and reinstatement mechanics, players with sufficient Prestige and Gold can increase their men-at-arms numbers. Creating larger regiments using Accolades and subsequently retiring them will maintain the regiments' current size. By repeatedly cycling through Accolades that enhance regiment size, players can build an oversized army. In the event that a player ruler's heir possesses a title before ascending to the throne, they may bring their previous Accolades to the player's court, potentially requiring the retirement and reinstatement of celebrated knights during a succession crisis.

How to Gain Glory

Players can aid in increasing the Glory of NPC knights by participating in activities that involve acclaimed knights, such as battlefield victories, Grand Tours and Pilgrimages. The most effective way to generate Glory is through the Grand Tournament, which is likely why it is included in the expansion rather than the Lance Update. Acclaimed knights can attend Grand Tournaments during peacetime to earn Glory by participating in competitions, and players can host their own tournaments to give their knights extra Glory by selecting competitions that require experience and making strategic choices during random events.

Crusader Kings 3 is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.