fisherman. What’s especially nice
about it is that it uses your actual
ruler’s 3D portrait (with its back
turned) on the screen instead of some
generic model, so it really does feel
like your character is fishing. Yes, you
can even use a child if you happen to
be playing as one, though it won’t
show the rod or fishing animations.
Is your character a nudist? One of
my characters is a nudist, part of a
religious sect that doesn’t believe in
wearing clothing, and I sent him
fishing, too. Sure enough, his bare
butt was showing the entire time. I
hope he’s particularly careful
with those fishhooks...
CHUG, CHUG
Once you’ve caught all the fish you
want, it’s time for something a bit
more competitive. How about a
drinking contest? This Tavern Game
mod is called Drink Up! and you can
use it to invite someone to visit the
pub and engage in a frenzied bout of
chugging ale. Find a character in the
game you want to drink with, and
right-click on them. If it’s possible
to challenge them (the Pope,
for instance, would not accept my
challenge) you’ll see the option there
in the drop down. Depending on how
far they live from you, it may take a
few days for them to reach the pub.
But once they’ve arrived, it’s time
to get thirsty.
And you’re not just drinking,
you’re betting. You can set your
wager on the right side of the screen
and adjust the amount of gold you
want to bet. Then start the drinking
game. A circle will appear on the
right side of the screen, and will
immediately begin shrinking. Click
the drink button when it’s as small as
possible. It’ll reappear at full size and
begin to shrink again. Keep in mind,
this happens very, very quickly.
It’s like trying to time the beats in a
rhythm game, and the smaller the
blue circle is when you click the
button, the more you’ll gulp down.
You’ll also see a meter showing how
much ale is left in your mug, and
your opponent’s, and you’ll refill it
when it’s empty. The game lasts for
three drinks, and the first one to
finish, wins. It’s not a bad way to
make some gold if you’re quick
enough, but it’s just as easy to
lose everything in your purse.
Maybe you’re looking for a
minigame that actually has an effect
on your story in Crusader Kings III?
Another Tavern Game mod can win
or lose you some gold, but also some
prestige. It’s called Big Shot! and it’s
an archery competition mod. It’s also
extremely difficult. Again, begin by
finding another character and
challenging them. If they accept (and
you both have the 50 gold required as
stakes) you’ll meet them on the range.
There you can engage in a bit of
practice, which I would recommend,
before the tournament starts.
Move your mouse around to
aim high, medium, or low, depending
on where the archery dummy is
(and how big it is). Hold the left
mouse button to ready an arrow,
which will also set a target moving
up and down along the dummy.
When the target aligns with the small
red zone on the dummy, that means
you’ve maxed out your accuracy.
But that’s not all you need to do to
win. You’ll also need to hold down
the space bar to build up power,
represented by a meter on the right
side of the screen. It takes lots of
practice to learn how to achieve both
the accuracy and power that you
need to get a bullseye, and the
dummy changes position and
sometimes even size in each round,
so it’s really quite tricky.
The faster you are, the better,
as the winner is decided by whoever
hits the most targets in 60 seconds.
The victor not only takes the prize
money, but also gains prestige, so the
outcome can not only help out your
treasury but your standing.GAME OF DEATH
And finally, there’s a Tavern Game
mod that can have major
repercussions on your character and
others in the world. Joust is exactly
what it sounds like – two characters
riding toward each other on horses
with giant lances aimed at one
another. And as you might guess,
it can be fatal. Challenge anothercharacter, and you’ll meet in an arena.
As your horses ride toward each
other, a box will appear on screen
with two circles in it, red and blue.
Click the arrow keys to move the
blue dot over the red one, and if you
do it in time the box will turn green.
Click the green box once and you’ll
land a successful hit on your
opponent. First to five hits wins.
Again, you need to be a quick-
clicker to pull off a hit, and you only
have a few seconds to move the
randomly placed dots and click the
green box. Fail, and your opponent
will strike you instead. The winner of
the match will gain both prestige and
gold, plus the victor gets to choose
how smug they are about the victory.
You can display good sportsmanship,
taunt, or ‘strongly taunt’, and that
will determine how the character’s
opinion of you will change. If you
really taunt someone, they will
absolutely hate you, their families
will hate you, and they’ll become
your rival, and vice-versa.
What’s more, if it’s a joust to the
death, the consequences can be even
more drastic. The victor in a
deathmatch may show mercy (which
will gain them a lot of renown and
warm opinions), the victim can
bargain for their life (with a hefty
offer of gold), or the killing blow can
be delivered. That’s how my
clothes-hating ruler died...
The Tavern Games mods can all
be found in the Steam Workshop –
either search for Tavern Games or
Castox’s Workshop. The only other
mod you’ll need to get them working
is the Fullscreen Barbershop mod
(it allows fullscreen portraits of your
characters), which you can also find
in the Steam Workshop.STRESS MESS
How my time is spent in Crusader Kings III18%
Stressing out
because I keep
forgetting what
“Demesne too
big” means.6%
Stressing out because
my spymaster found a
plot against me.12%
Stressing out
because my
spymaster didn’t
find a plot
against me, but I
bet there is one.28%
Stressing out
because I’m sure
none of my
children are
actually mine.36%
Getting stressed
out about how
stressed out my
character
actually is.1%
Dying of stress.SURE ENOUGH,
HIS BARE BUTT
WAS SHOWING THE
ENTIRE TIMEMAJOR MODS, ANALYSED
MOD SPOTLIGHT