Equally influential are poet characters who can aid your prestige and diplomacy with their stinging rebukes or swooning romantic ballads. Jomsvikings and Shieldmaidens - Holy warriors and stalwart shieldmaidens are ready to take up their arms on your behalf.A new background longhouse serves as the perfect scene and setting for your feasts and murderous schemes. New customization options - Get ready for ferocious Viking facial hair or clothe your ruler in historically appropriate wolfskin cloaks.Norse Adventurer Realms - Famous for their adventuring spirit, Norse characters may uproot their realm, conquer foreign lands, and establish new kingdoms on distant shores with the Varangian Adventure mechanic.Crusader Kings III: Northern Lords lets players enhance their base game with a host of new options, from realm-displacing Varangian adventures, runestones, Blot sacrifices, to Viking beards and brutal berserkers. The Vikings have left their indelible mark on the Middle Ages with their fantastic sagas of travel, plunder, and gods. The Northern Lords Flavor Pack is also available now.Ferocious raiders from a frigid north or a complex society filled with intrepid explorers, traders, and poets? Discover the true richness of the Norse world with Crusader Kings III: Northern Lords, the first in-depth flavor pack for the critically acclaimed Crusader Kings III. Of course, value is always somewhat subjective - whether this voyage is worth the price is up to you.Ĭrusader Kings III is out now on PC. This just feels like it ought to be a free update or perhaps part of its own subscription (I’d pay $20 a year for a new flavor pack every couple months). Yes, this DLC offers plenty of Viking flavor and fun events, but not a lot of truly new, game-changing content. That said, while my enjoyed my time with these Northern Lords, I do question the DLC’s $5 price tag (it’s also included in the CK3’s $35 Expansion Pass, which includes two flavor packs and a larger expansion). There are so many other cultures and regions crying out for their own flavor packs that Paradox could produce years worth of DLC without trouble. It’s also a promising hint at what the future of Crusader Kings III may look like. The Price of GloryĪs somebody with a keen interest in Norse lore and culture (I’ve got a touch of Swedish in me), I found the Northern Lords Flavor Pack to be charming enough. It’s a major price to pay, but hey, sometimes you just need a new set of scenery! Varangian Adventures, along with some tweaks to raiding, lets players embody that Viking spirit without all the fuss and planning usually required of overseas wars. If you win your war, you take over the new realm, but have to give up your old holdings and vassals. When you decide to go on an adventure, you’re granted a large bonus army of pissed off Vikings, allowing you to conquer realms that would usually be a bit too powerful to take on. In terms of core gameplay, the biggest new feature are the Varangian Adventures, which essentially allows rulers stricken by wanderlust to pick up their realm lock, stock, and barrel and move it overseas. Regular systems have also been given some Viking flair, as there are now Norse-themed Dynastic Legacies, Men-at-Arms regiments, and holding improvements. Sometimes the events intersect with the new features found in the 1.3 update in unexpected ways, as you may find yourself locked in a duel with an angry wandering berserker. You may find yourself having to choose whether to kill livestock or humans at a blood sacrifice, tracking mythological beasts in the forest, or just dealing with a member of your court’s penchant for stinky herring. Northern Lords serves up a steady stream of new events, many rather creative, some more than a bit tongue in cheek. That said, once you pick a Norse leader and start a game, you’ll start to see fresh content pretty quickly. Paradox doesn’t do a particularly good job of indicating what the flavor pack adds within the game itself – I had to double-check Steam to make sure it was even installed. We Come from the Land of the Ice and SnowĪs mentioned, the Northern Lords Flavor Pack adds a bit more local color and personality for those lording over a Scandinavian realm. Note: This is an opinion piece, and thus not as detailed a full, scored review would be.
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