Crusader Kings 3: Worst Traits

Summary

Some traits in Crusader Kings offer trade-offs with both benefits and penalties, while others are entirely negative.
Characters with negative traits like Paranoid or Feeble can face challenges in gameplay that impact their health and relationships.
Diseases like Smallpox and Leprosy, along with negative traits like Inbred and Infirm, can severely impact a character's attributes and survival in the game.

Paradox Interactive's Crusader Kings sees players take control of a medieval dynasty spanning multiple generations, as they seek to shape the destiny of their family and their kingdom. Each character is a complex mixture of traits and attributes, with each one playing a factor in how they will interact with the game world, as well as other characters around them.

While many traits are positive and provide great benefits to that character, there are just as many negative traits, which can severely impact a character with a range of penalties and undesirable effects. Though some traits will offer a trade-off of positive and negative effects, some are entirely negative, and should be avoided at all costs if possible.

10 Paranoid

Seeing Enemies in Every Shadow

The Paranoid trait does offer some benefits in the form of +3 Intrigue and -25% to Enemy Personal Scheme Chance. However, the massive 100% increase in Stress Gain can make characters with this Personality Trait very difficult to play.

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In addition to the health difficulties and events that Stress can bring, characters who spend more of their life with higher Stress levels are likely to die at a younger age, which is not ideal for either a ruler or their heir. Having said that, it can be fun to play as a Paranoid or Lunatic character, though Paranoid certainly contains the more damaging penalties of the two.

9 Compassionate

Merciful, Sympathetic, and Warmhearted

While compassion may seem like a positive quality, there are a lot of negatives that come with it, too. While gaining an advantage in areas such as Diplomacy and the opinions of Courtly or Minority vassals, characters with the Compassionate trait will take a huge penalty to Dread, which can make enforcing a lot of things very difficult.

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Depending on the character's religion, they may also receive some Piety benefits if Compassion is one of the core virtues of that religion. Overall, this is not a terrible Personality Trait to have, but not necessarily desirable either.

8 Feeble

Ailing, Weak, and Wasting Away

On the surface, the penalties of the Feeble trait may not seem too severe, particularly for characters who are not involved in combat of any sort. However, it will leave characters more susceptible to weakness and death when coupled with almost any other ailment, be it illness or injury.

This trait will also reduce attraction opinion by 10, which could make all the difference when trying to secure a tricky alliance or improve a relationship with another faction. Since this is a Congenital Trait, it can be passed on over multiple generations and inherited.

7 Slow

6 Ill

Plagued by Indeterminate Bad Humors

Illness is a part of life, more so in medieval times than perhaps any other. There are many ways in which players may contract illnesses, but most commonly this will occur during events such as Pilgrimages, Hunts, or Feasts during the journey itself.

Once ill, players might be cured by the Court Physician if one has been appointed, and sometimes characters may recover of their own accord. In other circumstances, however, the consequences can be disastrous and lead to further worsening of the illness and even death in some unfortunate cases. It is most likely to impact older characters in a worse way than younger ones, and some characters can defend against this with traits granting Health bonuses.

5 Wounded

Will Probably Heal Fine... Probably

This temporary trait is similar to Ill, only this time the injuries are typically sustained in battle, or during activities in which combat occurs such as Tournaments or journeying events. Wounded characters will take a penalty to Martial, Intrigue and Prowess, as well as severe penalties to both Health and Dread, making them vulnerable to further deterioration.

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If healed, characters may develop either the Scarred or Disfigured trait. Scarred is positive and adds attraction opinion, while Disfigured will do the opposite. Wounds can also likewise be fatal or be healed by a Court Physician. THe biggest difference is that these can also effect younger characters just as severely as older ones.

4 Brutally Mauled

Broken, and Clinging to Life

One level above being Wounded is being Brutally Mauled. Characters who are unfortunate enough to suffer this trait have likely had an encounter from which they were very fortunate to escape at all. This trait will inflict huge penalties of -4 Martial and Intrigue, -8 Prowess, -75% Fertility, -20 Attraction Opinion, and a Catastrophic penalty to health.

Even following these encounters, these characters have a high likelihood of succumbing to their wounds and dying, or at the very least developing some kind of Disfigurement or injury-related physical trait. It is as unpleasant as it sounds: Brutally Mauled!

3 Smallpox/Leper

Riddled by Scars, Rashes, and Bumps

Leprosy and Smallpox were prominent, vicious diseases during the Middle Ages that claimed the lives of untold numbers throughout history. Fortunately for fans of historical authenticity, the developers at Paradox Interactive included both in Crusader Kings 3.

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Smallpox will be more common in colder climates and leprosy in the Mediterraneans region. Still, characters can still develop these diseases seemingly at random. Both will inflict the character with an array of severe penalties to all their attributes, and in most cases they are unlikely to survive excepting a miracle from a Court Physician.

2 Inbred

When Families Are a Little Too Familiar

One of the main things most players will seek to avoid in Crusader Kings 3 is the development of incestuous relations. As well as increasing the likelihood of negative Congenital traits being passed on, these relations can also foster their own negative traits, irrespective of those of the parents.

The worst of these traits is the Inbred trait, which carries a suitably uncomfortable icon of tangled cartilage to represent it. This trait will hinder the character with severe penalties to all Attributes, Fertility, Health Attraction Opinion and Vassal Opinion.

1 Infirm

Not Fit for Much Except Waiting for Death

One sure sign that a character is nearing the end of their tenure is the development of the Infirm trait, represented by a shattered wine glass. Characters with this trait are incredibly frail, and even the mildest event such as a mosquito bite could be enough to finish them off.

Infirm will reduce all key attributes by 3 and Prowess by 6, with additional penalties to Fertility and Dread and a severe penalty to Health. Even Court Physicians will struggle to remedy this condition, so if it develops, it is best to begin preparations for the process of succession.

Crusader Kings 3 is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.