Court Grandeur in Crusader Kings III: Royal Court is something that you’ll want to increase as you progress. Doing so provides decent boosts to your ruler, as well as the key personnel in your realm. Here’s our Crusader Kings III: Royal Court guide to help you with Court Grandeur, and the different types of courts that confer bonuses.
Note: For more information, check out our Crusader Kings III guides and features hub as well as our beginner’s guide/the things to do before you unpause.
Crusader Kings III: Royal Court – Court Grandeur guide
Court Grandeur Levels in Crusader Kings III: Royal Court
Court Grandeur in Crusader Kings III: Royal Court is a mechanic you’ll focus on once your ruler has a kingdom or empire-level title. It’s represented by a large bar with 10 levels, with each level also granting rewards from the previous tier. Many of these rewards are present across the board, but those at certain levels (i.e., 1, 4, 7, and 10) are based on the type of court that’s active (we’ll discuss these shortly).
| Court Grandeur Level | Required Value | Effects |
| 1 | 10 | Based on the type of court (will be discussed later) |
| 2 | 15 | Unlocks the Bestow Royal Favor task for your Chancellor |
| 3 | 20 | Unlocks the Manage Royal Guards task for your Marshal |
| 4 | 30 | Based on the type of court (will be discussed later) |
| 5 | 40 | Courtiers who’ve lived in your court for five or more years gain a special trait based on the type of court |
| 6 | 50 | Unlocks the Convince De Jure Territory task for your Steward |
| 7 | 60 | +20 Offer Guardianship Acceptance for vassals +10% imprison chance Another bonus is based on the type of court (will be discussed later) |
| 8 | 70 | Courtiers who’ve lived in your court for five or more years gain an even more powerful trait based on the type of court |
| 9 | 80 | +20 Offer Guardianship Acceptance for vassals +10% imprison chance +5% monthly renown |
| 10 | 90 | Based on the type of court (will be discussed later) |
Court Amenities, increasing Court Grandeur, and going beyond expectations
Court Grandeur will decay over time down to its baseline value. To continue increasing Court Grandeur in Crusader Kings III: Royal Court, make sure to assign Court Positions that give a flat Grandeur bonus and a monthly percentage-based boost. Likewise, you can amass powerful and Grandeur-boosting artifacts that can be placed inside your keep.
In the case of artifacts, there are those that can only be placed in your abode (i.e., banners on walls, animal trophies on pedestals, or unique kinds of thrones). However, there are gear pieces that can be reforged if you have an Antiquarian. Reforged gear pieces can also be displayed in your keep, adding Court Grandeur and other boons as opposed to directly buffing your character.
Similarly, take a look at the four Court Amenities seen in the panel. You can change the tier/level of these Amenities. Lower variants offer minimal bonuses, but they have no/low maintenance. Higher variants, meanwhile, give bigger benefits, but they can be a drain on your treasury due to the expenses.
- Fashion – Increases Court Grandeur and monthly prestige (ruler, courtiers, and guests).
- Lodgings – Increases Court Grandeur, guest acceptance to join your schemes, and the length of stay of guests. Courtiers and guests can also have the quality of Inspirations (i.e., artifacts) improved, and they don’t gain stress as much.
- Food – Increases Court Grandeur, disease resistance, and effectiveness of holding a Feast activity (when it comes to reducing stress). Courtiers and guests also gain boosts to disease resistance and stress loss.
- Servants – Increases Court Grandeur, personal scheme power, hostile scheme resistance, and discounts to guest recruitment costs. Courtiers and guests also gain boosts to personal scheme power and hostile scheme resistance.
Lastly, there’s a certain expectation when it comes to your Court Grandeur and the size of your realm. If your Court Grandeur is significantly higher compared to these expectations based on realm size, you’ll receive bonuses to monthly prestige, monthly renown, vassal opinion, independent ruler opinion, courtier and guest opinion, and popular opinion.
Court Types and Court Languages
The different court types in Crusader Kings III: Royal Court are based on your Cultural Ethos. Changing your court type costs 500 prestige, so make sure to look at the bonuses they confer from Grandeur at levels 1, 4, 7, and 10:
| Court Type and Ethos Required | Grandeur Level 1 | Grandeur Level 4 | Grandeur Level 7 | Grandeur Level 10 |
| Administrative Court Ethos: Bureaucratic, Communal, Egalitarian, or Spiritual | -10% building construction time and cost | 30% effectiveness to the Promote Cultural Acceptance task done by your Steward | +0.2 development growth in realm capital | +10% vassal tax contribution |
| Diplomatic Court Ethos: Courtly, Egalitarian, or Stoic | Increased Offer Vassalage acceptance | -20% tyranny gain | +10 councilor opinion | +1 max personal schemes |
| Intrigue Court Ethos: Bellicose or Communal | +5% scheme secrecy | +20% Support Schemes effectiveness | Increased agent acceptance for hostile schemes | +1 max hostile schemes |
| Scholarly Court Ethos: Courtly or Spiritual | Inspired characters arrive more frequently | +15 courtier and guest opinion | +10% monthly lifestyle experience | +1 learning per level of fame; +1 learning for all courtiers and guests |
| Warlike Court Ethos: Bellicose, Bureaucratic, or Stoic | +10% knight effectiveness | +10% powerful vassal levy contribution | +10% men-at-arms counter efficiency | +1 size of men-at-arms regiments |
Note: You may also attempt to learn a new language, especially if your ruler can’t speak the Court Language in the region.
Crusader Kings III: Royal Court is available via Steam. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.
