The medieval simulation Crusader Kings 3 (PC, PS5, Xbox Series) has been a hit on Steam for years. There are countless achievements in the game, but players also have a self-imposed goal: to breed the Kwisatz Haderach, the Messiah from the SF epic Dune.
What is the Kwisatz Haderach in Dune?
After that you see DUNE with different eyes… – nerd culture
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What is the Kwisatz in Crusader Kings 3? In Crusader Kings 3 you play the ruler of a noble family. If you inevitably die, you continue the game as your inheritance. This can go on for 600 years and about 20 generations. As the head of the family, you decide who marries whom.
Therefore, players take on the role of the Bene Gesserit and cross bloodlines to generate better and better heirs in subsequent generations.
Because in Crusader Kings there are 6 inheritable positive characteristics – players marry an intelligent man with an intelligent woman and hope that their offspring will then be brilliant. This is the most valuable bonus in the game.
A character with every positive trait has been nicknamed “the Kwisatz Haderach” by Crusader Kings players for many years.
Crusader Kings 3 players show off their messiah and breeding programs
What proportions does this take? Looking around the community, the “Kwisatz Haderach” pops up all the time. Players are proud of their “breeding programs”.
In a September 2020 post, a player says he has completed a “breeding program” for 400 years, proudly displaying his “Kwisatz Haderach”, an Italian Emperor with outstanding stats.
In November 2019, a player showed his “Bene Gesserit Bloodlines Project”: In an Excel table, he had created which descendants were born in which bloodline, how old they are (fertility in women decreases with age, it ends at 45) and who married whom.
In August 2021, another player posted a newborn Kwisatz Haderach and demanded, “There should be an achievement for this.”
Crusader Kings 3: Genetics Made Easy – How To Make Your Own Messiah
How do you breed the Kwisatz Haderach? Incest is the easiest option, for that you have to found your own religion that allows marriage without any restrictions. Polygamy also helps (via GameStar).
Genetics is like playing Lottso: If you want to increase your chances of winning the jackpot, you have to start with as many lots as possible, i.e. produce as many offspring as possible.
That can sometimes lead to bloody inheritance battles – but something is always the case.
Crusader Kings 3: Trailer
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As a ruler, you ensure that your own treaties are given titles, because the offspring only reproduce reliably in your own duchy or in your own counties. In the first two generations, one begins to intermarry oneself and one’s offspring with strangers who have positive genetic traits.
From the 3rd generation you start to intermarry your own offspring or the AI does it by itself in the more distant branches of the family tree.
To do this, you select “Blood” for the dynasty properties, which further favors the way of playing and means that your own descendants start with better genetic properties in the rough world of the Middle Ages.
In this way you should get your own Kwisastz Haderach in the 5th or 6th generation, which will further strengthen the bloodline through an event.
In this game I got the Kwisatz Haderach in the 6th generation when I managed to cross Genial (the brain) and Beautiful (the rose) as well as the strength ability into the main bloodline. The rabbit stands for fertile, lets figures live 5 years longer and increases fertility.
Crusader Kings 3 rewards extreme incest with a special achievement: Perfect Circle
Can something happen there? Yes, of course. Anyone who crosses close relatives runs the risk of developing genetic deformities. The “Inbred” trait (incest) renders a character relatively useless with heavy penalties. He also bangs on health, so the relevant characters often die young.
On the other hand, Crusader Kings 3 offers an incentive for this way of playing. There is the ability “Pureblood”, which halves the chances of “Inbred” and gives other bonuses.
There is also one of the most coveted achievements in Crusader Kings 3 “Perfect Circle”, which alludes to the saying “when your family tree looks like a circle”.
For this achievement you need a character who has only 2 of each type instead of 14 different people in the family tree (2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents).
A player on reddit explains the plan (via Reddit):
The method of the Bene Gesserit, whose plans stretched over thousands of years, was much more sophisticated, but also took much longer.
Isn’t it all a little…sick? Yep, it is. A running gag in the Crusder Kings 3 Steam community is to post pictures of their daughter-granddaughter-great-granddaughter-sister-wife and the quirky adventures they share with them.
For more on the capers that Crusader Kings 3 can pull off if you overdo it, we’ve listed this article:
How I created a family of 977 genetically enhanced killers in Crusader Kings 3