he character interface is accessible from the Character button on the Main Map. If you want to view your own dashing nobleman, you can also click on his portrait at the top-left of the Main Map. You can also access the Character Interface for any other character in the game by clicking on their portraits wherever you encounter them. Here, you will find information on your character’s personal relationships, including their family,vassals, court, allies, and any members of the court who are currently residing abroad, whether taking their education at a foreign court or a prisoner of war. You can also see your character’s titles, claims, heirs, and spouses. You also get general information about the character: their culture group and religion, their role in the world, and their attributes and traits. Hovering over any of these items will give you some additional information in a pop-up. There are three especially fascinating buttons here as well. The Wikipedia Link will take you to the Wikipedia article for that historical character, if there is one, so you can learn more about them and the situations they faced in life.
The other two buttons, Dynasty Tree and Family Tree, will take you to beautiful tables where you can view the whole family and history of your character, arranged as an interactive family tree. To their right is your dynasty’s Coat of Arms, which is distinct from any titles they may hold. Clicking on the pen-and-scroll button just to the bottom-left of the portrait will take you to the Diplomacy Interface where you can interact with that character. Right-clicking on the character’s portrait brings up several shortcut buttons, which allow you to speed through the actions you can take with that character.
Here, you can see and change the members of your court, and send them out on various missions.
Here, you can view and change the current Succession Laws. The possible Succession Laws will be laid out in detail in the Appendix, but you want to tread lightly here. These laws are difficult to change because the different laws can have a significant impact on the game’s dynamics. Be prepared, too: any changes to the Succession Laws are going to anger a significant group of people in your realm and in your court. You can also see your current heir as well as any potential pretenders to the throne. You can also make changes to your domain’s laws here. If you are a King or Emperor, there are additional laws available as well. The two laws which can only be set by a King or Emperor, known as Crown Laws, are:
The rest of these laws can be set by any level of ruler:
It is important to remember that whether you are Count, Duke, King, or Emperor, you are not an absolute monarch. There is a very important check on your authority to set these laws, as your vassals get to vote. A majority must approve the proposed change before it can take effect.
In the technology interface, you can set your realm’s focus and see how far technologies have developed not only within your demesne but within your entire realm. Technology in the Middle Ages progressed very, very slowly. The game does an excellent job of simulating this gradual growth as well as its spread, as advances are discovered and slowly drift, on their own, across the game world. The three different trees are Military, Economy, and Culture. While you cannot directly affect the speed of technological growth, the skills of your ministers and the technology in each tree you choose to focus on will have an impact on the speed of development, the chances of making a new discovery, and the chances of discoveries spreading to your provinces from neighboring lands. You set the focus for each tree by clicking on the area of research you want to develop the fastest.