https://preview.redd.it/72k155v4vs071.jpg?width=1500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f916a8df6df06a2a92582053f13d08059c215a9e
Hello all, I'm Cybrxkhan, creator of the Regional Immersion and Cultural Enrichment (RICE) mod, which adds simple "Flavor Packs'' to often overlooked parts of the world. In today's dev diary, I'll talk about RICE's newest update and flavor pack, Harran: The Last Hellenic Pagans. Usually I post a beta first, but this time you can enjoy the update right now as I've just uploaded it! (Steam link here) (Feel free to check out my mods' discord server too.)
Now, some of you may wonder what Harran is and what it has to do with Hellenic pagans. Long story short, the last Hellenic pagans were not the peasant villages in remote Greek mountains most CK fans think of - they were the cosmopolitan inhabitants of the city of Harran in northern Mesopotamia, and who even played a role in the Islamic Golden Age of learning.
If you are familiar with my CK2 mod for the Harranians, even though I am adapting most of the content from there, you'll also see some new surprises too.
Helleno-Semitic Religion
A new religion, Helleno-Semitic, is added with three faiths, all ancient syncretic polytheisms of the Levant:
- Harranism, for Harran's paganism that this flavor pack focuses on. It is a mix of Hellenism (particularly Neoplatonism) and Mesopotamian paganism. It survived into the 11th century. Tenets: Esoterism, Astrology, and Islamic Syncretism.
- Heliopolitanism, for paganism that survived in the city of Baalbek (known as Heliopolis to the Romans) as late as the Arab Conquest, and focused on a Triad of Jupiter/Hadad, Venus/Atargatis, and Mercury/Adon. Tenets: Esoterism, Astrology, and Sun Worship.
- Dusharaism, for the religion of the Nabataeans of Petra fame, which had many foreign influences and may have also survived as late as the Arab Conquest. Dushara was their chief deity, identified with Zeus. Tenets: Astrology, Aniconism, and Adaptive.
https://preview.redd.it/6dugc1l8vs071.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0c6fb1dfaa5788e5e40485cef86b518fa91c912f
Only Harranism appears on the map in only one county (Harran). Ultimately, as these pagans' survival is relatively late compared to other pagan faiths in the region, I see them as sensible additions that more realistically reflects the dynamic religious landscape of late antiquity than vanilla's Hellenism.
Followers of these faiths can take a minor decision to Pray to the Planets, where you try to get a temporary modifier representing one of the seven classical planets that lasts for 7 years. This can be done every 15 years. Muslims of the time stereotyped the pagans of Harran as having special, even mystical knowledge about the stars due their religious practices purported revolving around worship of the celestial bodies.
https://preview.redd.it/hu8bj12avs071.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a6656d163366490281620a2fe1ae7c08de1c2ded
https://preview.redd.it/l8wljxmbvs071.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6cbb8d4cec4eabebc64703c4e75446fb2f746191
Temple of Sin
There are two new unique buildings. One is in the barony of Tell Mahra in Harran, called the Temple of Sin, Sin being a Mesopotamian lunar deity. In real life, it survived into the mid-1000s - right before the 1066 start date, so it only appears in 867.
https://preview.redd.it/e49eqgwevs071.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=86044b7739938ff21b3c71f6832d72701a7074aa
If you own or have a capital close to Harran and are pagan, you'll have access to a decision, Make Offerings at the Temple of the Moon. It can be taken every five years and triggers an event that's basically a way to pay gold to get either piety or prestige.
https://preview.redd.it/ll1utc6gvs071.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1eeb58030d03f24d0922b6c271fdb23343bee27c
Conversely, if neither you or your liege or top liege are pagan, you'll have access to a decision called Destroy the Temple of the Moon which permanently disables the building (unfortunately PI has not given us modders the ability to destroy buildings for some reason). The AI will usually take this sometime in the 11th century. When you destroy it, you instantly get 500 gold, 200 prestige, and 200 piety, but also some negative modifiers for you and the County of Harran. Obviously, pagans will hate you for this (if any are still around). Once destroyed, pagans will no longer be able to take the decision - thus, if you're pagan, it's best to secure the temple's location as soon as possible!
https://preview.redd.it/gmk63p4hvs071.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=54f49e2b149e76f7891c97c531c0b8626743a365
Neoplatonic Academy
Another special building in the barony of Harran itself is the Neoplatonic Academy, which also only appears in 867.
https://preview.redd.it/sbnj1eaivs071.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8d581cf00dbd97d9acdbbdda29ad834fe3c69b36
If you own or have a capital close to Harran, you have access to a decision, Patronize the Neoplatonic Academy. At the cost of 50 gold, you get a modifier that adds to your learning and prestige; if you are Hellenic or Helleno-Semitic pagan, you will also get a bonus to piety. A bonus for patronizing the academy is that it improves the likelihood you'll get a Harranian courtier with amazing stats and traits (more on that later).
https://preview.redd.it/il69o2fjvs071.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0158126c313f0dc9477cba769809a8fc70cb329e
However, in time, as the pagan faiths decline, so too does the Academy. After 1000 CE, if Harran is not controlled by a pagan or in a realm ruled by pagans, there is an increasing chance an event will trigger which destroys the Academy. A powerful pagan ruler who owns Harran or has it in their realm can take the decision to Revitalize the Neoplatonic Academy to reverse this trend and prevent the Academy's decline permanently.
https://preview.redd.it/ei9eqv8kvs071.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fd183ee12ed1226aa8c73d3dad06e9484f3a59b5
For historical background, there is a theory that when the pagan Neoplatonic Academy in Athens (which itself claimed intellectual descent from the original Platonic Academy) was closed by Emperor Justinian's orders in the 6th century, its members fled to Sassanid Persia and set up shop in Harran before the Romans allowed them to return, and that the academy mentioned in Harran a couple centuries later is a remnant of this. Though this theory is contested in scholarly circles, the Neoplatonic influence on Harran's scholars is likely.
Harranian Courtiers and Treatises
Every now and then, Harranian courtiers will randomly spawn in realms in the Middle East. They typically have decent stats, particularly in learning. There is also a high chance they will also spawn with a unique modifier representing their background, and what they did before they arrived at your court, such as being a devotee to the deity Tanmuz or being an ostracized Harranian.
https://preview.redd.it/gw8psmelvs071.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=41b1f01239888e623d75b3463cb3ec446e31d2f6
Keeping Harranian courtiers around is advantageous not just because they often make councillors, but also because they can sometimes publish academic treatises on various topics. In game terms, you receive a modifier. There are several types of books you get is random, and there are several books with their own unique bonuses.
https://preview.redd.it/9tcrkg5nvs071.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=adeae930403063ebd6592163b936c22890257b75
If you are a Harranian Pagan yourself, and have at least 12 Learning, you can take the decision to Write a Scholarly Treatise. This will earn you one of the modifiers above, as well as some prestige and piety. If you pay a little bit extra you can get more prestige. Anyhow, in the future, after the Royal Court DLC is out, hopefully I can turn these books into artifacts.
https://preview.redd.it/pyl25rvnvs071.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3c382906eba6b2f436c294b39e3567df70992af3
Playable Harranians
There is one playable, semi-historical Harranian at the 867 start date: Thabit ibn Qurra, a famous scholar from the House of Wisdom at the Abbasid Court, and perhaps the most famous Harranian. He is not playable via the normal menu; instead, you need to first play as a ruler close to Harran, which will trigger an event offering you the opportunity to switch playing to Thabit ibn Qurra. Though a wonky method, it is necessary to ensure maximum compatibility with other mods. Like the CK2 version of the mod, if you play as Thabit, there is a CYOA event chain at the start of the game which will change your starting situation depending on your choices.
https://preview.redd.it/g8fggz1pvs071.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=08f0446cbbb3995901e91399137792dddcacb825
https://preview.redd.it/wmzwk0xpvs071.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=03bf39fbcd418b7e325493575b1b66297e770d2a
But there's more! Unlike the CK2 version of the mod, at the 1066 start date, after the Temple of the Moon and the Neoplatonic Academy are gone, there is a playable, semi-historical Harranian… sort of: Abu 'Ali Muhammad Ibn Nabhan, a 7th generation descendant of Thabit ibn Qurra. His grandfather, Thabit's 5th generation descent Hilal, converted to Islam in the early 1000s, but a few of Ibn Nabhan's relatives might have remained pagan - perhaps the final Harranian pagans. At any rate, while Ibn Nabhan is Muslim and staunchly defended his grandfather's conversion in real life, perhaps there is more to him than meets the eye…. If you choose to play as him, you'll go through an event chain and an associated decision, where you choose to embrace your pagan heritage to try to bring it back against all odds. I included it as a difficult but semi-plausible way to embrace a form of paganism.
https://preview.redd.it/sr8f412rvs071.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=01d578f273d0ed264898369741e197e25b418dfd
By the way, there is a game rule to disable the pop-up events asking if you want to play as these characters if you find it annoying. Note that the events will only trigger when starting near Harran.
Miscellaneous
Like all other Flavor Packs, this one will also have accompanying flavor events and music.
To round it off, I want to address a potential question some may have as to why I had Harranians separate from vanilla's Hellenic or Sabians. Sabians are portrayed in vanilla CK3 as obscure gnostics, which the Haranians were not - they adopted the label of "Sabian" to be classified as People of the Book under the Abbasids, but had distinctly pagan practices. While I could make them Hellenics (like in my CK2 mod), I decided not to as I wanted to make them more distinct, such as portraying how they (or at least their elites) were part of the Islamic world, and partly because I feel vanilla's Hellenism doesn't capture the varieties of ancient Greek and Roman paganism well.
All in all, my CK2 version was one of the first mods I made after I returned from a hiatus for CK2 modding several years back, so it has a special place in my heart - returning to Harran to not only adapt my CK2 mod but expand on it is cool. Not to mention this is the first full adaptation of my CK2 work to CK3. I've spent a lot of time researching this seemingly unassuming city, and I hope you'll appreciate delving into this city's history, too. Speaking of which….
Selected Sources for Further Reading
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/6prywd30fv071.jpg){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/6uy79se6at071.png){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/7ge5yd0ayu071.jpg){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/jdyz3r7saw071.png){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/8hcq7sejgw071.png){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/xulpvmq3kw071.png){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/ju2vrqajps071.png){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/qi0zhr36zt071.png){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/a0pcnq982x071.jpg){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/paoer6o3zv071.png){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/9sbpdp4rwv071.jpg){kind=link}
No comments:
Post a Comment