Crusader Kings 3 has a lot of family, and Dynasties are a big part of what makes them work. To make things simple, the Dynasty is your family tree and is ruled by a Dynasty Head. Each Dynasty can have multiple Houses, each with a House Head, and these Houses are free to split off into more Houses.
CK3 Renown
Renown is the currency of the Dynasty and is earned through the Titles held by its members. All renown generated goes to the ruler serving as the Dynasty Head.
As with Piety, as well as being a currency, the total you've ever had adds to a level, in this case, your Dynasty's Splendor. This usually begins at Obscure and can gain another ten levels until it reaches Legendary. Each level increases the amount of Prestige a child from the family is born with, how much Prestige marrying into the Dynasty is worth, and the maximum bonus opinion from long reigns.
CK3 Dynasty Head
Dynasty members are not really controlled by their Heads, but are instead bound by loyalty to them. This doesn't mean you can't be both a Dynasty Head and a Liege, more that as Dynasty Head you can't wield much power over those outside your Realm.
Instead, a ruler who is the Dynasty Head gains and controls the Renown for the whole. This means that Legacies are decided by the ruler of the largest House. They can also use their Renown to Disinherit members of the family, a useful trick to help manage succession.
One further use of the Dynasty Head power is to gain a Claim on Titles you may want to usurp. For example, if you were to win a religious Crusade and place a family member on the throne of wherever, you could then Claim that Title for yourself at the cost of Renown. This would allow you to declare war and bring it under your direct control.
CK3 Houses
When a ruler decides they would like to be a House Head of their own, they can choose to leave their current House and form a new Cadet Branch with themselves at the top.
These Houses remain as a part of the family Dynasty, but are no longer subject to the influence of their former head. As a House Head themselves now, they gain the right to legitimise Bastards, demand religious Conversion of their Landed members, call their House to war, and gain an automatic Weak Hook on any children born while they are Head.
CK3 Legacies
Legacies are what the Dynasty Head spends their renown on - if they haven't blown it on other things - and these Legacies affect all members of the Dynasty, regardless of House. While Legacies can offer a lot, they are a long-term goal and because of their permanence, they tend to offer less than you could get through Perks and Traits.
There are seven tracks available and you can go down multiple paths if you want. With how slow you gain Renown, you won't be able to get them all, but you should get enough to go through one whole track, maybe even two if you are careful.
Each Legacy takes more Renown than the last, with the first costing 250 and each subsequent one costing 500 more... 250 / 750/ 1,250 / 1,750 / 2,250 / 2,750 / 3,250 / 3,750 / 4,250 / etc.
1 branch....... 250+750+1,250+1,750+2,250=6,250
2 branches... 2,750+3,250+3,250+3,750+4,250=17,250
This means getting 5 tier 1 Legacies costs the same as getting one branch all the way to tier 5 at a cost of 6,250 Renown. This increased the cost of 5 tier 1 Legacies, but more than halved the cost of completing your first branch from pre-1.3. Despite this (and the ever increasing costs) it is now easier to pick up a variety of mid-tier Legacies during your campaigns.
Patch 1.3 Corvus also dramatically improved the bonuses from every branch. However, the Bloodline path is still one of the best if you are interested in genetics and getting the most out of every family member.
If you're looking for more Crusader Kings 3 guides, you might want to check out our Console Commands and Cheats page.
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