Crusader Kings II: Sons of Abraham

Sons of Abraham for PC is the fifth major expansion pack for Crusader Kings II - an acclaimed strategy game created by Paradox Interactive. This expansion focuses on religion-related aspects of gameplay, adding new elements referring to the three main religions of the Middle Ages - Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

Mechanics

When it comes to the first of the religions mentioned, what was mainly extended in the expansion is a set of mechanisms regulating the administrative sphere of papacy, but most importantly however, the College of Cardinals was introduced. This institution consists of 9 people and has nearly as large influence on the Church's policy as the Pope has himself. From now on, the player has to place their bishop in the said College in order for their family member to be capable of becoming the Pope. However, the profits for achieving that have become even larger. Elements such as heresies or holy orders were also significantly extended - for instance, the player can now get rid of "a redundant" descendant by sending them to such an institution.

In terms of Islam, Sons of Abraham for PC focuses mainly on extending the elements introduced in the first major DLC - Sword of Islam. Playing as the Sunnis was enriched in this expansion - the player now has voice in the dispute between the two branches: the Ash'arites (focused on scientific progress) and the Mu'tazilites (conservatives, faithful to the holy law). Interestingly, Muslims are now capable of creating their own political structures in the form of caliphates.

Sons of Abraham brings an innovation, for this expansion introduces playable Jewish characters to Crusader Kings II. Playing as a Jewish character means leading the Khazar Khaganate here and the campaign begins in 867 (the Khazars dropped Islam to Judaism back then). The key aspect of playing as an Orthodox Jew is an opportunity to restore the ancient Kingdom of Israel.

Last updated on August 23, 2016