Eastern denominations

Buddhist denominations[edit | edit source]

Mahayana[edit | edit source]

Mahayana is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism. The goal of its adherents is to achieve enlightenment, possibly even achieve Buddhahood.
In the game only Dai Viet and Pangasinan start as Mahayana Buddhist as many countries where it was dominant are instead categorized as Confucianist.

All Mahayana countries receive:

+2 Tolerance of heretics
−5% Idea cost

Theravada[edit | edit source]

Like all Buddhist branches, Theravada stems from the teachings of Gautama Buddha in the 5th century BC. The followers of Theravada Buddhism rely on the Pali Canons for religious and legal guidance and emphasis is put on Monastic duties and reaching the status of Arhat or enlightenment.
In the game Theravada Buddhism is primarily practiced in Sri Lanka and South East Asia.

All Theravada countries receive:

−10% Advisor cost
+2 Tolerance of heretics

Vajrayana[edit | edit source]

Also known as Tantric Buddhism or even Lamaism, Vajrayana is a branch of Buddhism where the goal of the adherents is to become a Bodhisattva through use of Tantric Techniques. It is believed enlightenment cannot be reached simply from lone study but must be taught by a teacher.
In the game Vajrayana Buddhism is primarily practiced in Tibet and to some degree on the North Asian Steppes.

All Vajrayana countries receive:

+5% Morale of armies
+2 Tolerance of heretics

Karma[edit | edit source]

The Buddhist religions have a Karma slider. Positive karma is mostly gained from releasing nations and returning cores, which uniquely never costs diplomatic power cost for Buddhist countries, and honoring military alliances. Negative karma is incurred from declaring wars and demanding non-core provinces. This means that expansionist Buddhist nations will either need to accept a perpetually low karma rating or make creative use of diplomacy and vassals to maintain neutral karma: weak or small nations released as technically 'independent' in peace deals (therefore increasing karma) may be diplomatically willing to become vassals of the Buddhist nation that demanded their release. Buddhist nations that release a vassal from their own provinces (this notably includes provinces that the overlord has no cores on) will also be refunded for any karma lost from seizing those provinces in a peace deal. The ruler of a nation with strongly positive karma will gain a small buff to diplomatic reputation. A ruler of a nation with strongly negative karma will gain a small buff to discipline. Neutral karma gives a stronger buff to both discipline and diplomatic reputation.

Low Karma^[1]

Neutral Karma^[2]

High Karma^[3]

+2.5%

Discipline

	+2%	Diplomatic reputation
	+5%	Discipline

+1

Diplomatic reputation

Action	Effect on current karma
Honoring an alliance	+25
Releasing a vassal	+1 per development of released vassal
Releasing nation in a peace deal	+1 per development of released nation
Returning a core	+1 per development of returned core province
Converting a province	+0.10 per development of converted province
Electing a new ruler when the current one could be re-elected in a republic	+10
Building or destroying a Temple while the Clergy estate privilege 'Monastic Temples' is active	+3 / -3
Owning The Emerald Buddha	+0.1 or -0.1 monthly depending on its renovation
Having the current ruler die	The karma slider will advance 25 points towards 0 karma, stopping there
Starting a war	−10
Taking a province in a peace deal	−1 per development of province taken
Re-electing the same ruler in a republic	−10
Events, missions, and decisions	Varies

There also exists modifiers to yearly karma decay. Yearly karma decay brings the Karma value closer to 0 by the absolute value of your Karma multiplied by your yearly karma decay modifier every year. This means that high negative or positive Karma can quickly decay closer to neutral Karma. Thus, stacking yearly karma decay modifiers can allow even expansionist Buddhist nations to maintain a neutral level of Karma. The following modifiers affect yearly karma decay:

	Conditions
+10%	with Religious idea 4: Devoutness
+5%	with Divine-Diplomatic policy: Faith Advisors
+5%	with the Clergy estate privilege 'Clerical ministers'

If Leviathan is active, 5 great projects provide bonuses to Buddhist nations yearly karma decay as long as the province's religion is in the Buddhist group.

Holding Angkor Wat grants +5/+10/+15% yearly karma decay
Holding Bagan Temples grants +5/+10/+15% yearly karma decay
Holding Imperial City of Hue grants +10/+15% yearly karma decay
Holding Swayambhunath grants +5/+10% yearly karma decay
Holding Jokhang Temple grants +1/+3/+5% yearly karma decay
Holding Erdene Zuu grants +1/+3/+5% yearly karma decay
Holding Mount Fuji grants +10% yearly karma decay at Magnificent level (religion of province and country must be Mahayana)

Heretic Rebels may be named:

Zen

Confucian[edit | edit source]

Confucianism is the term for the philosophies of 5th century BC philosopher Confucius and stresses personal development and the importance of good government.
In the game China and Korea starts as Confucian countries, with some spread among the Jurchen states in Manchuria.

Confucianism is represented in game as a religion, but it is just as often described as a non-religious philosophy. It was the philosophy of Chinese statecraft for centuries. As such, it coexists with other religions, represented in game by the Harmonization mechanic.

All Confucian countries receive:

+2 Tolerance of heretics
−10% Administrative technology cost

Harmony[edit | edit source]

Confucian countries start with 50 Harmony^[4] and may gain a maximum of 100, with a minimum of 0 Harmony. By default, the value increases by 0.25 per year.^[4] The following also modifies the Harmony value:

	Conditions
+0.25	yearly per point of positive stability yearly with clergy estate and ‘Clerical Ministers’ privilege
+0.01	yearly per 1% of Religious Unity. +1 at 100% Unity.
-1	per 1 development when a province is converted to Confucian.
-3.25	yearly while Harmonizing a religion.

The following ideas and policies also give yearly harmony:

	Traditions	Ideas	Bonuses	Policies
+0.50	—	—	—	Divine-Diplomatic: Faith Advisors
+0.25	—	—	Full Humanist	—

If Leviathan is active, 2 great projects provide bonuses to Confucian nations yearly harmony increase as long as the province's religion is Confucian and is also the state or syncretic religion of the owner.

Temple of Confucius +0.25/+0.33/+0.50 yearly harmony increase.
Imperial City of Hue +0.25/+0.33/+0.50 yearly harmony increase.

Converting the religion of provinces to Confucian will reduce harmony by -1 per point of development.^[4] This malus is suffered even if the converted province is owned by a vassal state.

Countries receive scaling effects based on their harmony^[5]. At 50 harmony, there are no effects. Below 50 harmony, a country receives bad effects which become worse and above it, it receives good effects which become better:

Harmony	Effect
100	−10% Development cost +3 Tolerance of the true faith −0.50 Yearly corruption +50% Religious harmonization speed +1 Yearly meritocracy +0.50 Yearly legitimacy +1 Yearly devotion
0	+20% Stability cost +1 Yearly corruption −2 Yearly meritocracy −1 Yearly legitimacy −2 Yearly devotion

Note: Harmony does not give any bonuses or maluses for Republican Tradition or Horde Unity.

Harmonize with Religion[edit | edit source]

When a Confucian nation has 20 or more total development of provinces that are following a different religion, it will be possible to Harmonize with that religion. When a religion is harmonized, it is tolerated as if it were Confucian, will not harm religious unity, give a permanent bonus and provinces belonging to the religion can have their culture converted as if such provinces were Confucian. Harmonizing with other Eastern Denominations gives you access to their monuments. For Buddhist monuments it is enough to harmonize one of the Buddhist faiths and the province religion can be any harmonized faith in this case^[6].

During harmonization of a religion and after the religion has been completely harmonized, it will be impossible to send missionaries to any owned provinces following it. This restriction does not extend to any provinces owned by a vassal state.

Harmonizing a religion takes 34 years by default, and decreases the harmony of a country by −3.25 yearly while harmonizing.^[4] The speed of religious harmonization can be changed by event decisions; events that speed up harmonization require stated provinces with the religion being harmonized. The Humanist Idea Local Traditions can increase religious harmonization speed by +25%, while having high Harmony can increase the rate by up to +50%.

Harmonizing bonuses[edit | edit source]

The following permanent bonuses can be obtained from Harmonizing with Religions^[7]:

Name	Effect
Christian group	−10% Stability cost
Dharmic group	+1 Diplomatic reputation
Muslim group	+10% Trade efficiency
Pagan group	−1 National unrest
Shinto	+10% Infantry combat ability
Mahayana	−10% Idea cost
Theravada	−10% Advisor cost
Vajrayana	+10% Production efficiency
Judaism	+15% Institution spread
Zoroastrianism	+10% Goods produced modifier

Heretic Rebels may be named:

Taoist

Shinto[edit | edit source]

Shintoism is the ancient ethnic religion of Japan which over the centuries have come to coexist with Confucianism and Buddhism on the Japanese islands.
In the game all of Japan starts out Shintoist to signify the special mix of Buddhism, Shintoism and other traditions of the Japanese people.

All Shinto countries receive:

+10% Morale of armies
+2 Tolerance of Heretics

All Shinto provinces receive:

-2% Local missionary strength^[8]

Isolationism[edit | edit source]

Shinto nations have an isolationism level; 5 stages from Open Doors to Closed Doors each giving their own national effect. Japan starts in 1444 under the Ashikaga Shogunate before their Sakoku period of isolation and as such is at an "adaptive" level. Periodically, this Isolationism level will be affected by Incidents. Up to 8 of these Incidents can trigger throughout a campaign, depending on the situation in and around Japan. Each Incident has three possible outcomes: increase isolationism by 1, decrease isolationism by 1, or no change, depending on the choices made in the triggered events.

Level	Name	Effect
0	Open Doors	+10% Trade Efficiency −5% Technology cost +2 Diplomatic Reputation
1	Adaptive	−5% Idea Cost +10% Institution Spread
2	Selective Integration	−10% Construction cost −20% Promote Culture Cost
3	Isolationism	+1 Missionary −15% Culture conversion cost
4	Closed Doors	−10% Development Cost +1 Tolerance of the True Faith +0.50 Global Prosperity Growth

The isolation level of a country is only changed through incidents, which will occur rarely throughout the game when their triggers have been met.

Incident	Trigger	MTTH	Effect	Description
Neo-Confucianism	The country: did not have an incident in the last 30 years.	200 months	The country: gets the Moral Guidance in an Era of Turmoil.	Neo-Confucianism is not new to Japan, it spread to from China in the Kamakura period and like many aspects of Chinese and wider East Asian culture it quickly took root. Its rationalistic outlook is above all very well suited for strengthening the authority of the ruler and if we were to encourage its development in Japan we might create a stronger principle for controling our people.
Nanban Trade	Colonialism has been discovered. The country: did not have an incident in the last 30 years. has at least 1 home port. If playing with normal or historical nations setup then Japan has encountered the West.^[9] else this country must have knowledge of a country from another continent.	200 months Modifiers: The country has at least 5 home ports: ×0.7	The country: gets the Arrival of European Traders.	Western Traders have arrived in our lands, bringing goods, ideas and even weapons that we have not seen before. These foreigners are lacking in manners and even hygiene but how we handle these merchants could well have a lasting impact on our society.
Proliferation of Firearms	The country: had the ‘Nanban Trade’ incident. did not have an incident in the last 30 years.	150 months	The country: gets the Firearms.	The gunpowder weapons that the western traders brought to our shores are clearly very dangerous to our society. As local variants of these guns, Tanegashima, have begun to be produced it stands clear that there will soon be a large supply of weapons with which even a common peasant can defeat the most well trained of Samurai.
Spread of Christianity	It is not the ‘Age of Discovery’. The country: did not have an incident in the last 30 years. has knowledge of a Christian country. If playing with normal or historical nations setup then Japan has encountered the West.^[9]	100 months	The country: gets the Dainichi?.	Missionaries bearing word of a strange western religion have arrived at our shores and their words have struck home among a suprisingly large segment of the Japanese population. Christian congregations are being formed all over the island and Japanese converts are themselves converting more of their compatriots by the day.
Rising Shogunate Authority	It is ‘Age of Reformation’, ‘Age of Absolutism’ or ‘Age of Revolutions’. The country: did not have an incident in the last 30 years. is daimyo At least one of the following is true: The country has at least 50 absolutism. The country is not revolutionary. The overlord of this country has at least 50 absolutism and is not revolutionary The overlord of this country has at least 90 legitimacy.	200 months	The country: gets the The [Root.Overlord.GetName] Shogunate.	For centuries the Shogun, rather than the Emperor, has been the true power in Japan. The authority of the Shogunate has however itself not been strong for a long time. It seems our current Shogun has taken it upon himself to change this, demanding obedience and strengthening old laws and traditions to exert greater control over this war-torn land.
Ikko - Ikki	It is not the ‘Age of Discovery’. The country: did not have an incident in the last 30 years.	200 months	The country: gets the Free Land Buddhism.	Free Land Buddhism is no new religion to our island yet during the civil war that has plagued Japan many more have flocked to its principles. This group movement is becoming increasingly militarized and their promises of salvation is drawing in farmers, priests, monks and even nobles. The authority of ancient traditions are being challenged by their strong conviction.
Wokou Pirates	The country: did not have an incident in the last 30 years. has at least 1 home port. has knowledge of at least 1 country that: has at least 1 home port. is not Shinto. has at least 1 neighbor.	200 months	The country: gets the The Wokou Pirates and the Bahan Trade.	The relationship between China, Korea and Japan has always been troubled. The decaying authority of the central state in Japan has lead to a large number of pirate societies being formed, some even funded by outside investment. As our ports are being used by these sea-robberers we need to take a stance on this piracy.
Urbanization	The country: did not have an incident in the last 30 years. has embraced ‘Global Trade’. has at least 2 cities.	200 months	The country: gets the The Jokamachi.	Society is changing quickly as more and more people migrate from the countryside to the great Castle Cities of the country. The power of the ancient trade guilds is on the rise and landowners are complaining that farmers do not stay in their plots.

NB: Shinto and Confucian countries are not allowed to convert to another religion through the religion interface, and can only convert to Catholicism through a decision.

Heretic Rebels may be named:

Shugendo

References[edit | edit source]

↑ See in /Europa Universalis IV/common/static_modifiers/00_static_modifiers.txt (Static modifiers#Low Karma).
↑ See in /Europa Universalis IV/common/static_modifiers/00_static_modifiers.txt (Static modifiers#Neutral Karma).
↑ See in /Europa Universalis IV/common/static_modifiers/00_static_modifiers.txt (Static modifiers#High Karma).

↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 ^4.3 See in /Europa Universalis IV/common/defines.lua:

MIN_HARMONIZE_DEVELOPMENT = 20,
STARTING_HARMONY = 50.0,
YEARLY_HARMONY_INCREASE = 0.25,
HARMONY_LOSS_PER_DEV_CONVERTED = 1.0,
YEARLY_HARMONY_INCREASE_WHEN_HARMONIZING = -3.25,
YEARLY_HARMONIZATION_PROGRESS = 0.03,

↑ See high_harmony and low_harmony in /Europa Universalis IV/common/static_modifiers/00_static_modifiers.txt.
↑ See province_is_buddhist_or_accepts_buddhism in /Europa Universalis IV/common/scripted_triggers/00_scripted_triggers.txt
↑ See in /Europa Universalis IV/common/event_modifiers/00_event_modifiers.txt at line 9004.
↑ This means that these provinces are harder to convert.
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 I.e. the global flag “japan_has_encountered_the_west” is set. This is done by the event Japan Discovered!.