Military leader
Military leaders come in two styles, land and naval. Land leaders can be placed in command of armies and come in 2 types – generals and conquistadors. Naval leaders can be placed in command of navies and come also in two types – admirals and explorers.
- Conquistadors and explorers can only be recruited if the nation has purchased the 1st idea from the exploration idea group. They are the only leaders capable of exploring Terra Incognita.
- A male ruler of a nation with a Monarchic government can be made into an army leader at any time. It does not cost monarch points to do so, but the chance of dying increases slightly. Female monarchs may not be made into leaders.
- A male heir in a monarchy can be made into an army leader after he has reached maturity (age 15). It does not cost monarch points to do so but the chance of dying increases slightly. Female heirs may not be made into leaders.
A leader's skill is dependent on the army or navy tradition at the time they are hired. A monarch's or heir's skill is additionally affected by their military rating.
The odds of a general or admiral dying from combat are fairly low. Most leaders last around 12 years before dying.
Land leaders that drill armies may get an increase to their pips at times. A leader may increase more than once if they continue drilling. Leaders that win a battle may be awarded a special trait that enhances their performance.
Having at least one 3-star general or admiral is an age objective in the ‘Age of Revolutions’.
Recruiting cost[edit]
Leaders can be recruited any time. Recruiting cost of military leaders is computed as follows:
The base cost for recruiting a leader are 50 monarch power - miltary power for land leaders and
diplomatic power for naval leaders.
Recruiting cost modifiers[edit]
The recruiting cost of leaders may be affected by general and type-specific modifiers which are summed.
General modifier [edit]
The general modifier ‘leader cost’ reduces the cost of all types of leaders.
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Conditions |
---|---|
−10% | with ![]() ![]() |
with ![]() ![]() |
Type-specific modifiers[edit]
Type-specific modifiers reduce only the cost of one leader type.
General [edit]
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Conditions |
---|---|
−50% | with ![]() |
−25% | with ![]() ![]() |
with ![]() ![]() |
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Traditions | Ideas | Bonuses | Policies |
---|---|---|---|---|
−33% | — |
|
— | — |
Admiral [edit]
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Conditions |
---|---|
−25% | with ![]() ![]() |
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Traditions | Ideas | Bonuses | Policies |
---|---|---|---|---|
−25% | — |
|
— | — |
Assigning and recalling leaders[edit]
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Generals and conquistadors can only be assigned to armies that are not in battle, hostile territory, or embarked at sea. They can be assigned in provinces that are owned, allied, neutral, or un-colonized. Exiled units may assign leaders in the same circumstances non-exiled units are able to. Admirals and explorers can be assigned to any fleets within supply range that are not in battle. When assigning leaders to armies and fleets, it is possible to select leaders that are already assigned to another unit, if that unit is not in battle, in hostile territory, or on an Exploration mission. In this case, the chosen leader will immediately teleport over to lead the currently selected unit regardless of where he was previously located.
The requirement for recalling leaders is the same as that for assigning them, although generals can be effectively recalled from embarked armies by reassigning them.
Abilities[edit]
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Leaders are rated on a scale of 0-6 for each of the following skills:

Shock[edit]
The leader's shock ability is added to the dice roll during the shock phase.

Fire[edit]
Like leader shock, leader fire is added to the dice roll during the fire phase.

Maneuver[edit]
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The leader's maneuver affects the movement speed of the army or fleet it is assigned to.
Each point of land leader maneuver:
- reduces unit supply weight by 1, reducing attrition in low supply provinces. (This does not negate base attrition from sieges, winters, or "Attrition for Enemies" modifiers.)
- increases local
reinforce speed by 10% in unowned (occupied, ally, subject or enemy) terrain, but not beyond 100%.
- River and strait crossing penalties can be negated if the attacking general has at least 1 more maneuver than the defending general.
- increases movement speed of armies by 5% for each pip. up to a maximum of 30%.
Each point of naval leader maneuver:
Siege[edit]
Siege pips have different effects for land and naval leaders:
- For land leaders, each siege pip adds +1 to the siege roll, making sieges go faster.
- For naval leaders, each siege pip adds +10% to the amount of development the fleet can effectively blockade.
Even with very high tradition, very few leaders have high siege pips, since siege pips are allocated a third as often as other pips (see below for details).
Ideas that improve leaders' abilities[edit]
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The following ideas improve new leaders' abilities (up to the usual maximum of 6):
- land leader fire
- land leader shock
- land leader maneuver
- leader siege
- naval leader fire
- naval leader shock
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Traditions | Ideas | Bonuses | Policies |
---|---|---|---|---|
+1 | — |
|
— |
|
- naval leader maneuver
Formulas for stars[edit]
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The formula that gives the total number of stars on a general is:
where
refer to the general's pips.Formulas for point distribution[edit]
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This section is based on actual game code, not experimentation.
Summed up, a pool of points is generated, and then semi-randomly distributed between the different abilities.
Pool[edit]
First, a pool of points is generated using the following process:
- Start with .
- chance of +1.
- chance of +1.
- chance of +1.
- chance of +1.
- chance of +1.
- chance of +1.
Effective tradition is computed as follows:
Leader type | Effective tradition |
---|---|
Generals | |
Conquistadors | |
Rulers/heirs | |
Admirals | |
Explorers |
Below is the ranges, mean values and probabilities for pool generation a number of different military tradition levels:
Tradition | Min | Max | Mean | Percentage probability of rolling pool of at least: | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | ||||
0% | 1 | 7 | 4 | 100 | 91.67 | 75 | 58.33 | 41.67 | 25 | 8.33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
20% | 2 | 9 | 5.2 | 100 | 100 | 93.33 | 78.33 | 61.67 | 45.00 | 28.33 | 11.67 | 1.67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
40% | 3 | 11 | 6.6 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 96 | 84.33 | 68.33 | 51.67 | 35 | 18.33 | 5.67 | 0.67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
60% | 4 | 13 | 8.2 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 98.4 | 91.33 | 77.93 | 61.67 | 45 | 28.33 | 13.27 | 3.67 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
80% | 5 | 15 | 10 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 99.68 | 96.99 | 88.65 | 74.68 | 58.34 | 41.67 | 25.32 | 11.35 | 3.01 | 0.32 | 0 | 0 |
100% | 7 | 17 | 12 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 99.68 | 96.99 | 88.65 | 74.68 | 58.34 | 41.67 | 25.32 | 11.35 | 3.01 | 0.32 |
Distribution[edit]
This pool is then distributed between the different stats.
If the pool is larger than 10, it is reduced by 4, and 1 point added to each ability. Since the maximum pool is 17, this can only happen twice.
Bonuses (see #Ideas that improve leaders' abilities) are then added.
Then, the remaining pool is distributed point by point as follows:
- If land leader, and which = 0, and siege < 6:
- Else, if which < 4, and shock < 6:
- Else, if which < 7, and fire < 6:
- Else, if maneuver < 6:
- Else, go back to generating a new
Effectively, this means that each point has a 10% chance of being assigned to siege, 30% of shock, and 30% of fire, 30% of maneuver, but when individual abilities are capped the probabilities change:
- If siege is capped (extremely unlikely), the 10% goes to shock instead
- If shock is capped, the 30% goes to fire instead
- If fire is capped, the 30% goes to maneuver instead
Types of leaders[edit]
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Ruler[edit]
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A country's ruler can be turned into a general - in any form of government other than papacy and theocracy, but for males only. A ruler leading troops into battle faces the risk of dying on the battlefield. This can be used to shorten the reign of a bad ruler for a better one, particularly if the country is a monarchy and the heir has decisively better stats (likewise, this can be used to get rid of a bad heir in the hope of a better one). Do note however, monarchies face an additional -1 stability hit if their ruler or heir dies on the battlefield, for a total of -2 stability in the case of the ruler. The chance of a ruler or heir dying in battle is directly proportional to the number of days a battle lasts.[1]
Heir[edit]
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An adult male heir may also be converted into a general, and like its ruler counterpart, also faces the risk of death on the battlefield. Heirs that will die this way will also cause a -1 stability hit upon death. Republics cannot use this option as they have no Heir.
General[edit]
Generals are the ordinary leaders of land armies and give them bonuses, which are based on the general's stats. They cannot explore Terra Incognita unless they are at war with the owner of the province.
Conquistador[edit]
Only troops led by a conquistador can enter and explore land provinces classified as "Terra Incognita". (Although regular generals can do it too if the country is at war with the nation controlling the terra incognita.) A conquistador gets 20% fewer pips (before idea modifiers and similar) than a general.
Admiral[edit]
Admirals are the ordinary leaders of fleets and give them bonuses, which are based, like generals, on the given admiral's stats. They cannot explore Terra Incognita.
Explorer[edit]
Explorers are essentially admirals who can enter and explore sea provinces classified as "Terra Incognita". They will die if their entire exploration fleet succumbs to the sea and all ships sink (without El Dorado) and can conduct Exploration Missions to reveal territory (with El Dorado). An explorer gets 20% fewer pips (before idea modifiers and similar) than an admiral. Explorers can only be made available through the Exploration Idea group unless you are playing as Portugal, which starts with one, and Norway, whose second national idea allows recruitment of explorers and conquistadors, or Russia, who can gain one from completing a mission in Siberia.
Leader upkeep[edit]
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All countries have a base value of 1 leader without upkeep. Further free leaders are granted by the following:
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Conditions |
---|---|
+1 | for all AI controlled countries |
with difficulty set to ‘very easy’ for human players | |
for embracing ![]() | |
as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire | |
as Curia controller | |
with at least ![]() | |
as ![]() |
Ideas and policies:
Events and estate interactions:
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Event modifier | Trigger | Duration |
---|---|---|---|
+1 | Dhimmi Nobles | ![]() ![]() |
for 30 years. |
−1 | Reduced Number of Generals | Tribes estate event: ‘Demands of the $ESTATE_NOMADIC_TRIBES$’
|
for 5 years. |
Each leader more than the free leaders of a country will cost 1 military power per month as upkeep. Rulers and heirs that have been turned into generals do not count, and will also never cost any upkeep.
Chance of death and life expectancy[edit]
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Every day, a military leader that has been employed for at least 5 years has a daily chance of death
where is the number of years elapsed since the leader was hired, is 1 if assigned to an army and 0 otherwise, and is 1 if in a battle or siege and 0 otherwise.Years since hiring | Yearly chance of death | Life expectancy | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unassigned | Assigned | In battle/siege | Unassigned | Assigned | In battle/siege | |
0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 24.2 | 20.4 | 11.9 |
1 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 24.2 | 20.4 | 11.9 |
2 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 24.2 | 20.4 | 11.9 |
3 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 24.2 | 20.4 | 11.9 |
4 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 24.2 | 20.4 | 11.9 |
5 | 2.0% | 3.9% | 13.1% | 24.2 | 20.4 | 11.9 |
6 | 2.0% | 3.9% | 13.1% | 24.5 | 21.0 | 12.8 |
7 | 2.0% | 3.9% | 13.1% | 24.9 | 21.6 | 13.8 |
8 | 2.0% | 3.9% | 13.1% | 25.2 | 22.2 | 14.7 |
9 | 2.0% | 3.9% | 13.1% | 25.6 | 22.7 | 15.6 |
10 | 2.0% | 3.9% | 13.1% | 25.9 | 23.3 | 16.6 |
11 | 2.0% | 3.9% | 13.1% | 26.2 | 23.8 | 17.5 |
12 | 2.0% | 3.9% | 13.1% | 26.5 | 24.3 | 18.4 |
13 | 2.0% | 3.9% | 13.1% | 26.8 | 24.8 | 19.3 |
14 | 2.0% | 3.9% | 13.1% | 27.1 | 25.3 | 20.1 |
15 | 2.0% | 3.9% | 13.1% | 27.3 | 25.7 | 21.0 |
16 | 2.0% | 3.9% | 13.1% | 27.6 | 26.1 | 21.8 |
17 | 2.0% | 3.9% | 13.1% | 27.8 | 26.5 | 22.6 |
18 | 2.0% | 3.9% | 13.1% | 28.0 | 26.9 | 23.4 |
19 | 2.0% | 3.9% | 13.1% | 28.2 | 27.2 | 24.1 |
20 | 2.0% | 3.9% | 13.1% | 28.4 | 27.5 | 24.8 |
21 | 3.9% | 5.8% | 14.8% | 28.5 | 27.8 | 25.5 |
22 | 5.8% | 7.7% | 16.5% | 28.8 | 28.2 | 26.2 |
23 | 7.7% | 9.5% | 18.1% | 29.2 | 28.7 | 26.9 |
24 | 9.5% | 11.3% | 19.8% | 29.7 | 29.2 | 27.7 |
25 | 11.3% | 13.1% | 21.4% | 30.2 | 29.8 | 28.4 |
26 | 13.1% | 14.8% | 22.9% | 30.8 | 30.5 | 29.2 |
27 | 14.8% | 16.5% | 24.4% | 31.5 | 31.2 | 30.1 |
28 | 16.5% | 18.1% | 25.9% | 32.2 | 31.9 | 30.9 |
29 | 18.1% | 19.8% | 27.4% | 32.9 | 32.7 | 31.8 |
30 | 19.8% | 21.4% | 28.9% | 33.7 | 33.4 | 32.6 |
31 | 21.4% | 22.9% | 30.3% | 34.4 | 34.2 | 33.5 |
32 | 22.9% | 24.4% | 31.6% | 35.2 | 35.1 | 34.4 |
33 | 24.4% | 25.9% | 33.0% | 36.1 | 35.9 | 35.3 |
34 | 25.9% | 27.4% | 34.3% | 36.9 | 36.8 | 36.2 |
35 | 27.4% | 28.9% | 35.6% | 37.8 | 37.6 | 37.1 |
36 | 28.9% | 30.3% | 36.9% | 38.6 | 38.5 | 38.0 |
37 | 30.3% | 31.6% | 38.2% | 39.5 | 39.4 | 39.0 |
38 | 31.6% | 33.0% | 39.4% | 40.4 | 40.3 | 39.9 |
39 | 33.0% | 34.3% | 40.6% | 41.3 | 41.2 | 40.8 |
40 | 34.3% | 35.6% | 41.8% | 42.2 | 42.1 | 41.8 |
41 | 35.6% | 36.9% | 42.9% | 43.1 | 43.0 | 42.7 |
42 | 36.9% | 38.2% | 44.1% | 44.0 | 44.0 | 43.7 |
43 | 38.2% | 39.4% | 45.2% | 45.0 | 44.9 | 44.6 |
44 | 39.4% | 40.6% | 46.3% | 45.9 | 45.8 | 45.6 |
45 | 40.6% | 41.8% | 47.3% | 46.8 | 46.8 | 46.5 |
46 | 41.8% | 42.9% | 48.4% | 47.8 | 47.7 | 47.5 |
47 | 42.9% | 44.1% | 49.4% | 48.7 | 48.7 | 48.4 |
48 | 44.1% | 45.2% | 50.4% | 49.7 | 49.6 | 49.4 |
49 | 45.2% | 46.3% | 51.4% | 50.6 | 50.6 | 50.4 |
50 | 46.3% | 47.3% | 52.3% | 51.6 | 51.5 | 51.3 |
51 | 47.3% | 48.4% | 53.3% | 52.5 | 52.5 | 52.3 |
52 | 48.4% | 49.4% | 54.2% | 53.5 | 53.4 | 53.3 |
53 | 49.4% | 50.4% | 55.1% | 54.4 | 54.4 | 54.2 |
54 | 50.4% | 51.4% | 56.0% | 55.4 | 55.4 | 55.2 |
55 | 51.4% | 52.3% | 56.9% | 56.4 | 56.3 | 56.2 |
56 | 52.3% | 53.3% | 57.8% | 57.3 | 57.3 | 57.1 |
57 | 53.3% | 54.2% | 58.6% | 58.3 | 58.3 | 58.1 |
58 | 54.2% | 55.1% | 59.4% | 59.3 | 59.2 | 59.1 |
59 | 55.1% | 56.0% | 60.2% | 60.2 | 60.2 | 60.1 |
60 | 56.0% | 56.9% | 61.0% | 61.2 | 61.2 | 61.0 |
61 | 56.9% | 57.8% | 61.8% | 62.2 | 62.1 | 62.0 |
62 | 57.8% | 58.6% | 62.5% | 63.1 | 63.1 | 63.0 |
63 | 58.6% | 59.4% | 63.3% | 64.1 | 64.1 | 64.0 |
64 | 59.4% | 60.2% | 64.0% | 65.1 | 65.1 | 65.0 |
65 | 60.2% | 61.0% | 64.7% | 66.1 | 66.0 | 65.9 |
66 | 61.0% | 61.8% | 65.4% | 67.0 | 67.0 | 66.9 |
67 | 61.8% | 62.5% | 66.1% | 68.0 | 68.0 | 67.9 |
68 | 62.5% | 63.3% | 66.8% | 69.0 | 69.0 | 68.9 |
69 | 63.3% | 64.0% | 67.5% | 70.0 | 70.0 | 69.9 |
70 | 64.0% | 64.7% | 68.1% | 71.0 | 70.9 | 70.9 |
71 | 64.7% | 65.4% | 68.7% | 71.9 | 71.9 | 71.9 |
72 | 65.4% | 66.1% | 69.4% | 72.9 | 72.9 | 72.8 |
73 | 66.1% | 66.8% | 70.0% | 73.9 | 73.9 | 73.8 |
74 | 66.8% | 67.5% | 70.6% | 74.9 | 74.9 | 74.8 |
75 | 67.5% | 68.1% | 71.1% | 75.9 | 75.9 | 75.8 |
76 | 68.1% | 68.7% | 71.7% | 76.9 | 76.9 | 76.8 |
77 | 68.7% | 69.4% | 72.3% | 77.9 | 77.8 | 77.8 |
78 | 69.4% | 70.0% | 72.8% | 78.8 | 78.8 | 78.8 |
79 | 70.0% | 70.6% | 73.4% | 79.8 | 79.8 | 79.8 |
80 | 70.6% | 71.1% | 73.9% | 80.8 | 80.8 | 80.7 |
81 | 71.1% | 71.7% | 74.4% | 81.8 | 81.8 | 81.7 |
82 | 71.7% | 72.3% | 74.9% | 82.8 | 82.8 | 82.7 |
83 | 72.3% | 72.8% | 75.4% | 83.8 | 83.8 | 83.7 |
84 | 72.8% | 73.4% | 75.9% | 84.8 | 84.8 | 84.7 |
85 | 73.4% | 73.9% | 76.4% | 85.8 | 85.7 | 85.7 |
86 | 73.9% | 74.4% | 76.9% | 86.7 | 86.7 | 86.7 |
87 | 74.4% | 74.9% | 77.3% | 87.7 | 87.7 | 87.7 |
88 | 74.9% | 75.4% | 77.8% | 88.7 | 88.7 | 88.7 |
89 | 75.4% | 75.9% | 78.2% | 89.7 | 89.7 | 89.7 |
90 | 75.9% | 76.4% | 78.7% | 90.7 | 90.7 | 90.6 |
91 | 76.4% | 76.9% | 79.1% | 91.7 | 91.7 | 91.6 |
92 | 76.9% | 77.3% | 79.5% | 92.7 | 92.7 | 92.6 |
93 | 77.3% | 77.8% | 79.9% | 93.7 | 93.7 | 93.6 |
94 | 77.8% | 78.2% | 80.3% | 94.7 | 94.7 | 94.6 |
95 | 78.2% | 78.7% | 80.7% | 95.7 | 95.6 | 95.6 |
96 | 78.7% | 79.1% | 81.1% | 96.6 | 96.6 | 96.6 |
97 | 79.1% | 79.5% | 81.5% | 97.6 | 97.6 | 97.6 |
98 | 79.5% | 79.9% | 81.8% | 98.6 | 98.6 | 98.6 |
99 | 79.9% | 80.3% | 82.2% | 99.6 | 99.6 | 99.6 |
Footnotes[edit]
Declaring war | Alliance • Casus belli • Claim • Peace • War exhaustion • Warfare |
Defense | Fort • Zone of control |
Land warfare | Army • Condottieri • Discipline • Drilling • Land units • Land warfare • Manpower • Militarisation • Mercenaries • Professionalism |
Naval warfare | Flagship • Naval blockade • Naval doctrine • Naval units • Naval warfare • Navy • Sailors |
Other | Force limit • Military leader • Military tradition |
Colonisation | Exploration • Colonisation • Colonial nation • Tariffs • Trade company |
Economy | Debase currency • Development • Economy • Privateering • Production • Raid coasts • Tax |
Trade | Trade • Trade company • Trade goods • Trade nodes |
Diplomacy | Diplomacy • Diplomatic feedback • Envoy • Espionage |
Other | Defender of the Faith • Great power • Hegemon • Prestige • Regions |
Political structures | Emperor of China • Holy Roman Empire • Papacy |
Relations | Personal union • Relations • Subject nation |
Concepts | Corruption • Governing capacity • Overextension • Power projection • Rebellion • Regions • Stability • States and territories |
Court | Advisors • Consort • Monarch power • National focus • Ruler • Ruler personalities |
Estates and Factions | Base estates • Cossacks estates • Dharma estates • Estates • Factions |
Events and Missions | Decisions • Disasters • Events • List of decisions • Missions |
Goverment | Absolutism • Culture • Government • Government rank • Modifiers • Policies |
Province mechanics | Autonomy • Buildings • Canal • Capital • Core • Province |
Religions | Christian denominations • Eastern denominations • Muslim denominations • Other denominations • Pagan denominations • Religion |
Specific governments | Native council • Parliament • Steppe hordes |
Ideas and Policies | Idea groups • National ideas • Policies |
Ages and Institutions | Ages • Institutions |
Innovativeness and Technology | Innovativeness • Technology |