Decadence will be the new core mechanics for Muslim rulers

Jun 25, 2012 13:56 GMT  ·  By

Crusader Kings II was one of my favorite strategy experiences of the year, and the development team at Paradox Interactive is now working on an expansion to the game, called Sword of Islam, which will focus on making Muslim rulers interesting and exciting to play.

Henrik Fahraeus, who is the leading designer on the expansion, has told Destructoid that one of the interesting changes for Sword of Islam will be the way the succession is handled, with a new rule that will only be offered to Muslim rulers.

He stated, “there is a succession law called the Turkish Succession Law, which is reminiscent of the old Elective Law where the guy with the most land succeeds.

“So you can influence who you want to be your heir by giving him more land than your other sons. Also, Muslims pass laws just by spending piety, they don't have to hold a vote.”

The developer also talked about how wars will work for Islamic political entities, adding, “As I mentioned before, they have an easier time conquering territory, so they have other rules for their casus belli, so it's easier for them to just take stuff.

“For instance, they have a border conquest casus belli, which means they can just take any province on their border even if it's from brothers of the faith, so to speak. However they do take a hit to their piety when they are fighting other members of the faith.”

Muslim dynasties will also be affected by decadence if the family members become complacent and fail to gain more power and territory, which leads to penalties and creates the possibility that another tribe will rise up and replace them.

Sword of Islam will also introduce a number of new events for all nations and a strong and weak claim system for Western powers.

The expansion will be delivered during this week via digital distribution.