Dev Diary #5: Tedjin Turmoil news - LotR: Realms in Exile mod for Crusader Kings III

Dev Diary #5: Tedjin Turmoil

"Bellakar would have scant time for respite from their grievous losses, for a new threat came out of the Dune Sea... they were the Tedjin, an Easterling people numbered among Sauron’s forces in the Last Alliance, whose name meant “Valorous in Battle". Alone of the many foes of Bellakar they would claim the honor of being its (albeit temporary) conqueror, though that remained many centuries off…” - Loremaster Azûlkhôr of Ûrêzâyan, The Birth of the Kingdom of Bellakar

Hello everyone, Vector here, bringing you a look into the Tedjin at our WOTR start.

The Tedjin are the descendants of Easterling Mercenaries that were in the employ of Sauron during the Last Alliance. After Sauron's defeat, in the scattered retreat they went south, rather than east, eventually ending up in the service of Haradrim and Khandish lords in Lurmsakun and Khand. However, they chafed at this servitude, and set out to forge themselves a mighty realm, crossing the Dune Sea and smashing into Bellakar, depleted from its own efforts during the Last Alliance. While repulsed at great cost, the Tedjin remained long a thorn in Bellakar's side, even completely conquering it for a brief 50 year span around the year 900.

However, the Tedjin have long fallen from that golden hour, pushed back into the rugged and harsh lands between Bellakar and Umbar. Since the collapse of their empire, they have been squabbling and disunified, eking out an existence as hired arms in the armies of Bellakar and Umbar. Only relatively recently (roughly 300 years before our start) have they achieved some semblance of unity, in the form of the the Tedjin Confederacy. Founded by the relative upstart house of Thezij, it has been a loose and decentralized realm, but a stable one.

But now the Confederacy is on the verge of crisis. Kataj Ayal has ruled long and well, carefully managing the power blocks both internal and external, aided by the support of the House of Azumen. But now, Ayal is in the embers of his life, and his son Bór desires to chart a new course for their people. He wishes to embrace the Batan an-Izindi faith, which has spread among the more urbanized of his people, and to guide them into a new era of prosperity, looking to the example of Bellakar. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this is not enthusiastically supported by the combatative, mercenary Tedjin...

Upon the deaths of Ayal and his old ally Gyuruchill II (Lord of the House of Azumen and Bór's father-in-law), Bór's wife Bulga will attempt to mend the break between her husband and her brother Azumen. They were once friends, after all, before Bór's crisis of faith in his people and their ways. If this petition is successful, the brewing civil war will be defused, as the combined forces of the Houses of Thezij and Azumen are put to work implementing Bór's reforms. If Azumen remains set in his ways then Bor shall have to consider what to do...

If his wife's pleas aren't successful, Bór will have to decide how to proceed. He can continue ahead as planned, with his reforms, he can choose to moderate his approach (defusing the civil war, but he also receives none of the unique bonuses centralizing will give him), he can choose to return to his people's ancestral ways, or he can take his ball and go home, splitting the Confederacy in half between the conservatives and the Reformists.

If Bór remains true to his heart and continues his reforms, then he will raise the ire of the Tedjin Reactionaries. This faction will attempt to reverse the religious and centralization reforms that you are putting in place - if they force Bór to accept their demands or win in the civil war, Bór will be deposed and lose all his titles.

While the faction is brewing and preparing to revolt, you'll have a period where both sides can receive foreign support - Bellakar and Felaya supporting Bór, Umbar, Mordor, and Abrakhân supporting the Reactionaries. Upon victory, both the reactionaries and reformists will unlock a decision to begin a migration/invasion into a particular region. The reactionaries will attempt to recreate the ancient Tedjin conquest, and invade Felaya and Bellakar. The Reformists, on the other hand, will attempt to take Umbar and Mardruak. Which side wins could have drastic impacts in the wars unfolding in the North and South - a reformist Tedjin Confederacy is a dagger towards Umbar, whereas a hostile reactionary one is a threat Bellakar can ill-afford.

The Succession Question

And now for something completely different

For a long time now, succession has been universally locked to Primogeniture in Realms. Many people have commented it does not make a great deal of sense, and that succession types are part of the challenge/fun to CK3. Well, we have heard you, and have worked towards diversifying the succession types you will see in-game, bringing title inheritance more in line with the vanilla experience. Now, only specific cultures will start with Primogeniture (primarily Númenórean-descended ones, Elven, and Ainur ones). We hope this will result in a more fun and dynamic experience.

I hope you all have enjoyed today's deep dives into one of the new cultures and their start in the War of the Ring Bookmark!

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