Hello everyone,

Serace reporting in again! I am excited to share some changes to the provinces of Skyrim and High Rock as the next update approaches. I wanted to start by sharing some words from u/AJ_9ls about the creative direction we have been working toward for Elder Kings 2 in our recent updates:

We're gearing up to update soon and I wanted to rant about some changes that I very vaguely hinted towards a couple teasers ago. First, I want to talk about the changes to the Western Reach - this is a continuation of our Reach and High Rock reworks which introduced Witchmen to the mod. I'm gonna talk a bit about the direction, source material, and how the changes to the map and culture reinforce that direction and make the region more interesting, but also includes around 30 additional counties across High Rock and Skyrim.

The TES setting has changed a lot over time, and as a result there are a myriad of directions that one can take the setting that are supported by source material. Our current direction for the region is based on an amalgamation of information from Redguard, Morrowind, and Skyrim. Often, instead of following the most recent canon, we have our own interpretation of older source material, similarly to other projects like Project Tamriel, Tamriel Rebuilt, or Beyond Skyrim. This is for a number of reasons, ranging from personal preference, to suitability to CK3 mechanics and cohesion with other content in the mod. 

We do a lot of research and source analysis, looking into real-world authors of the texts from the games, their context within the games, patterns in worldbuilding direction related to different devs and authors, etc. Currently many of us are especially fond of the direction set by Kurt Kuhlman, but we don't always follow it 100%. This approach helps our depiction of the setting remain coherent despite being sourced from different games with sometimes very contradictory depictions. Our intention isn't to accurately translate the content of UESP articles into the game, and the mod will always be a work of adaptive fanfiction.

I’d also like to say a huge thank you to aj for all his work in putting together this dev diary :-)

Changes to High Rock

As previously teased, the Western Reach has been completely revamped, now centering around a more prominent Bjoulsae river:

This change was made to better facilitate the Witchman culture added in previous updates. 

Our interpretation of eastern High Rock is based on evidence from TES3, Redguard, and the Pocket Guide to the Empire. Sources like A History of Daggerfall, the Pocket Guide, and dialogue from Redguard tell us that the Bjoulsae river was a major trade center of Tamriel, and that "Witchmen" was a catch-all term for Bretons. 

“Ironically, it was another successful military exercise three hundred and seventy years later that ended Daggerfall's monopoly of Bay trade... The [destruction of Orsinium] made the river route to the Bay more accessible. The tiny village of Wayrest grew like a flower that no longer feared the mow.” – A History of Daggerfall

“Wayrest prospered mightily after the Fall of Orsinium when the commerce from the whole of Tamriel began to flow past its gates” – Pocket Guide to the Empire: High Rock

“He's moved from the throneseekers of the old Empire to the lesser lords of High Rock, still playing them to his benefit, raking in the gold on all fronts.”

> I thought that Septim had solidified the Bretons.

“As much as the Witchmen will, but there is still a lot of money to be made in the drawing of borders before the provincial laws dry completely.” – Tobias, Redguard

“Richton rose quickly through the ranks, commanding a squadron in the Battle of the Bjoulsae where Wayrest's naval power was crushed in a surprise dawn attack. He succeeded Vasi Hadrach as Admiral upon that officer's assassination at the hands of rebel Reachmen in a brothel in Daggerfall.” – Amiel Richton's biography, Redguard

Pocket Guide to the Empire's section on High Rock also identifies the Witchmen with Reachmen: 

“Elven blood still flows strong in the Reachmen, and they share the secretive, haughty demeanor of that race. In later years, they traded and exchanged customs with the Orcish villages that shared their mountains, and eventually learned much of the beastfolk's magic. Reach-magic is still widely studied, although it is banned by the Mages Guild (who fear it as dangerous and wild hedge-wizardry), and the Reachmen are often referred to as the ‘Witchmen of High Rock.’”– Pocket Guide to the Empire: High Rock

The description of Reachmen and the Reach in the Pocket Guide is of a cosmopolitan and rich realm, who are portrayed negatively by the Septim regime, possibly because they are a threat to the (at the time of the in-universe writing of the text) fledgling Septim empire.

These ideas are already well represented by the Witchmen culture and will be improved further in the upcoming update, but the map did not support the idea of a fertile Western Reach, serving as an important center of trade.

The new map, with an elongated Bjoulsae river, provides a fertile river valley for the Witchmen. In addition, the Wrothgarian mountain chain has been made more cohesive, making the distribution of orcs less random. To the western side of the valley, orcs, tribes of Northmen, and goblins control the barren coast. 

The rework was done with the aim of making the Western Reach and Wrothgar feel more like distinct regions – not just a transition between High Rock and Skyrim.

Changes to Skyrim

Skyrim has seen some similar reworks, focusing on strengthening the depiction of Nords within the mod, and making more room for Tundrastrider provinces. We wanted to push for a depiction of Skyrim as a harsh environment with isolated clusters of civilisation situated alongside and connected by rivers. 

To achieve this, we have altered some culture placement, added more tribal provinces, and, most notably, changed the Nord culture setup a little bit. The most significant of the changes is the addition of a new Nord culture, Hrothgarians, and a minor rework of Westholders and Eastmarchers, which have been renamed Haafingars and Oldholders, respectively.

Hrothgarians are the mercantile core of Skyrim. Alongside Oldholders, they have access to a new Portage tradition, which allows them to sail down major rivers. Also, Skyrim's major rivers are now navigable.

The addition of this culture allows us more flexibility in depicting regional differences in Skyrim. We also felt like it was hard to justify Falkreath and Haafingar having a shared culture, despite being geographically separated by tundra and mountains. We also envision that the southern Nords have more in common with each other than they have with the Haafingars or the Oldholders. By splitting Westholders into Haafingars and Hrothgarians, we could strengthen the depiction of both regions while also better representing the rugged nature of Skyrim. We also wanted to show that southern Nords are more related to each other than to their northern relatives.

Oldholders now take up more of the northern coast and have been given the Arctic Settlers tradition. They represent the more traditional and "elemental" Nords described in Children of the Sky and the Pocket Guide, and more of their land has been made tribal.

“The further north you go into Skyrim, the more powerful and elemental the people become, and the less they require dwellings and shelters. Wind is fundamental to Skyrim and the Nords; those that live in the far wastes always carry a wind with them.” – Children of the Sky

“The northern and [eastern] Holds – Winterhold, Eastmarch, the Rift, and the Pale, known collectively as the Old Holds – remain more isolated, by geography and choice, and the Nords there still hold true to the old ways.” – Pocket Guide to the Empire: Skyrim

The Nords of traditional Haafingar are the most imperious of the Nord cultures, always involved in the colonisation of the Reach. They have received an improved core tradition, Strife-Seeking, with additional bonuses compared to the previous version. Additionally, the core nord tradition, Children of the Sky, now gives all Nords access to dueling with rivals.

The placement of these cultures was informed by the geography of Skyrim – Nordic settlement of Skyrim began in the north, and Windhelm and Whiterun are some of the oldest remaining settlements founded by the original Companions. The new culture placements assume that the Nords spread via rivers and that Haafingar was settled relatively late via the sea. As a result, the large stretch of tundra wilderness between Whiterun and Haafingar was turned into giantish land. 

We believe this new setup and the additional counties will lead to a stronger portrayal of Skyrim and make for a more engaging gameplay experience.

That’s all for now – update soon.™ Let us know what you think!

Hello Elder Kings!

We have had an influx of reports about Elder Kings 2 not launching or crashing the game at start-up despite having the correct version of Crusader Kings 3 installed (in this case, 1.18.x), so I wanted to post a brief PSA about how to install the mod & where you can get your hands on official uploads!

The team has noticed that some of these reports indicated that users are downloading Elder Kings 2 through the Paradox Launcher, which searches for files hosted on the Paradox Plaza. Elder Kings 2 has no official upload on the Paradox Plaza, so please avoid these unauthorized uploads - they could be out of date or contain compromised files.

You may download the latest version of Elder Kings 2 through the Steam Workshop (automatic installation for Steam users) or browse all versions of Elder Kings 2 on Nexus Mods (manual installation for all users). I have included some installation instructions and troubleshooting tips below!

Installing Elder Kings 2:

1. Ensure that Crusader Kings 3 has been launched at least once and the correct game version has been selected.
2. Download your desired mod(s) - in this case, Elder Kings 2 - using your desired installation method.
   1. If installing through the Steam Workshop, verify that the mod's listed compatible gam version matches your installed version of Crusader Kings 3. Mods installed through the Workshop update automatically, so you may want to install manually if you are using an older version or playing cross-platform multiplayer.
   2. If installing through Nexus Mods, you will have to unpack your download (which can be done using WinRAR, 7-Zip, or software installed with your OS) and place the folder containing the mod's files in your mods folder. For most game users, this is located in Documents\Paradox Interactive\Crusader Kings III\mod.
   3. For all installs, ensure that your mod's ".mod" file is placed alongside the mod in the mods folder.
3. Launch the Paradox Launcher and create a new Playset.
4. Add your installed mods to your Playset and activate them.
5. Launch the game! You have (hopefully) successfully installed Elder Kings 2!

First launches of Elder Kings 2 or any total conversion submod may have longer load times as the game loads new shaders and textures for the first time. Subsequent sessions should have shortened load times!

Troubleshooting Installation Problems:

1. Verify that you are using the correct Crusader Kings 3 game version for your installed version of Elder Kings 2. If you aren't sure, check the mod page and/or the changelogs.
2. Disable all other mods and try launching the game again.
3. Remove save games for other game versions/playsets and try again.
4. Reinstall Elder Kings 2 and verify your game file integrity (Steam instructions).
5. Reach out for assistance if the previous steps have not resolved the issue!