In Crusader Kings 3 update 1.20, every Faith is now made of Rites: distinct traditions with their own Head of Rite, Tenets and map color, where the Faith as a whole follows its Mainline Rite. A Rite that drifts far enough from the Mainline (its Divergence) counts as heresy, a Rite that hits maximum Divergence splits off as a new Faith, and heresies now break out on their own in any Faith whose Fervor falls below 40.
All of this is free in update 1.20.0 “Crozier”, so you do not need By God Alone. Below we cover how Rites work, how Divergence and heresy outbreaks trigger, how to found your own Rite, and which parts do need the expansion. Everything is verified against Paradox’s launch changelog for Crusader Kings III, with numbers from the pre-release dev diaries attributed as such.
What a Rite Is
Every existing faith branch and school in the game became a Rite in 1.20, including Ambrosian, Mozarabic, Hanafi, Daoxue, Theravada, Rabbinism and Zurvanism. Paradox’s dev diary gives Islam as an example: Sunni and Shia communities are now subdivided into Rites such as Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, Hanbali, Ismaili and Zayidi.
Key rules from the changelog:
- Each Rite has a Head of Rite, who sits under the Head of Faith.
- State Faith is now State Rite. Gender preference laws, crimes and liturgical language are set per Rite.
- Counties follow Rites, and proselytizing travelers convert locals to their own Rite.
- New hotkeys: Paradox lists Alt+T and Alt+R for the Rite and Culture buttons on the HUD, and the Rite button now sits above Culture.
How Divergence Works
Every Tenet and Doctrine carries a Divergence score. Add up how a Rite’s Tenets and Doctrines differ from the Mainline Rite and you get its total Divergence, which you can see in the Divergence breakdown when creating or editing a Rite.
- A Rite that drifts far enough from the Mainline counts as heresy.
- A Rite that reaches maximum Divergence immediately branches off as a new Faith.
Paradox’s second dev diary put numbers on this before launch: 50 Divergence was the point where a Rite entered potentially heretical territory, and a new Rite created above 100 was declared a heretical Faith outright. The changelog now says the heresy line uses “the Faith’s current heresy threshold”, so treat those figures as a guide and check the breakdown in your game.
Fervor reacts to Rites. Per the changelog, Fervor drops when new Rites are created and falls faster as Rites diverge from the Mainline. It rises again when Rites are reined in, or declared heretical and split away.
How Heresy Outbreaks Work
Heresies now break out in any Faith whose Fervor has fallen below 40, and the chance rises the lower Fervor goes. Paradox added ten historical heresy Rites: Cathar, Waldensian, Lollard, Hussite, Joachimite, Iconoclast, Bogomilist, Paulician, Messalian and Adoptionist.
To keep outbreaks away, keep Fervor up. That means limiting how many Rites your Faith spawns and how far they drift. The free Declare a Rite Heretical decision names a divergent Rite of your Faith a heresy, which splits it off and raises Fervor for the rest of the Faith.
How to Found Your Own Rite
- Open the Rite Creation window and start the Create a Rite flow.
- Pick the Tenets and Doctrines you want to change. Paradox’s dev diary says you can only choose from Tenets and Doctrines you already know, so study other faiths first with the free Study Faith scheme.
- Watch the predicted Divergence. Each change has its own Piety cost, which the dev diary says scales with the parent Faith’s Fervor.
- Confirm. Founding a Rite converts your whole same-faith domain and court to it, and rulers who accept the founding conversion offer convert theirs too.
A Rite founded by a culture head takes its name from the religion, for example Polish Christianity. New Rites also get a grace period against instant reconversion. Use Sway to Rite afterwards to urge courtiers, vassals and rulers to adopt it; its range is limited to the acting cleric’s own realm and diocese.
In the dev diaries, Rites are founded by clergy (a Patriarch, an Archbishop or the head of a Holy Order), and a secular Christian ruler founds one through a puppeted Court Chaplain. Puppets are part of the paid expansion, so free players should check who in their realm can open the Rite Creation window.
Game Rules Worth Knowing
If your campaign feels flooded with Rites, or too static, 1.20 added game rules:
- Branched Rite Frequency: by default a Faith waits 3 to 18 years between new Rites. Options run from Much More Often (1 to 8 years) to Much Less Often (8 to 45 years), or None.
- Branched Rite Amount: by default a Faith supports one extra Rite per 70 Counties and founds its first at 140.
- Heresy Outbreak Frequency: from a quarter as likely to four times as likely.
What Needs By God Alone
The Rite system itself is free, but some Rite tools are not. The Papal Bull that declares a Rite heretical, Ecumenical Councils that rewrite Core Tenets, Clerical Regions that convert neighboring Counties to their holder’s Rite, and Puppets are all listed as paid features. Our By God Alone feature guide splits the full list, and our guide on the Great Schism covers the biggest Rite clash of all. If you want to become the one who declares heresies, see how to become Pope.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Rites free in Crusader Kings 3? Yes. Rites, Divergence and heresy outbreaks are part of the free 1.20.0 update.
Why does my Faith keep getting heresies? Heresies break out when Fervor falls below 40, and more often the lower it goes. Many divergent Rites drag Fervor down.
Can I create a heresy on purpose? Yes. Found a Rite with enough Divergence and it counts as heresy; at maximum Divergence it becomes its own Faith.
What replaced State Faith? State Rite. Laws such as gender preference and liturgical language are now set per Rite.
Will my old religion mods still work? Probably not without an update. Paradox restructured the religion database in 1.20.