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For Court mechanics in general, see Court.

Court comprises faction leader, heir, administrators, and the most senior ministerial positions in player's faction. The court panel also displays all the characters currently employed by the faction, and presents a list of candidates who may be recruited into the faction, and offers a separate tab showing the family tree of the faction leaders.

The court is where the player can assign a character to be prime minister, heir, or council member, and manage dynastic affairs.

Overview[]

Higher-ranking and more impactful ministerial positions are unlocked as players rise through the faction ranks. Administrator positions represent the governance of commanderies, and further administrator slots are unlocked as players climb the faction ranks.

To assign a character to an open position, click on the position, then click the character from the Family and Generals section to assign.[1]

Court positions[]

People in Power[]

Faction Leader[]

Main article: Faction Leader (Total War: Three Kingdoms)

Faction Leader is the highest administrative position in factions. The character that holds such position will lead the whole faction. Faction leader can enact his/her specific faction-wide bonus and specializations from one's background.

Faction leaders are the figureheads and overall controllers of the many factions of ancient China. Each faction is named after its warlord.

Faction leaders conduct diplomacy; trading, forming alliances with, and declaring war against other warlords. Each playable warlord has its character specialization, a unique mechanic which heavily influences their playstyle. This is noted in their description before a campaign begins, and in the faction summary panel during a campaign.

If a faction leader dies and their heir assumes the title, the faction will change its name to reflect the new warlord, and the original warlord’s specialisation will be lost, though their faction specialization will remain in play.

A faction leader also grants his faction certain traits. These combine with traits granted by the faction's heir and its prime minister to grant each faction a suite of bonuses making it distinct from other factions.

Faction Regent[]

Main article: Faction Regent (Total War: Three Kingdoms)
Faction Regency

A faction regency as shown in-game. Dong Zhuo assumes the position of faction regent for Liu Xie who has not yet come of age to govern the faction.

A Faction Regent is unique in that it is not a designated nor specific court position, instead it is a temporary position that only comes into use upon the death of a faction leader whose heir is still too young to assume the position. A faction regency is established when a faction leader dies and their heir has not yet come of age and is therefore incapable of leading their faction until they have come of age, in this interregnum period a faction regent is appointed to govern in the heirs name until the faction heir has come of age.

While the faction regent is not the de jure faction leader, they retain all capabilities of a faction leader including being able to replace the current faction heir. Doing so will remove the originally designated successor and replace them with the new designated heir, essentially removing the intended inheritor to the former faction leader. Whilst the faction regent governs the faction during the interregnum period, the faction will briefly change its name to that of the regent, furthermore the designated regent's specialisation will be utilised for the time being.

The selection of a faction regent is randomised and as a result means the player is not capable of selecting their own regent, though the regent is usually either that of the faction leader's spouse or the faction's Prime Minister. However as it is a randomised selection the regency could therefore be assigned to anyone within the faction but this seldom ever occurs as it will usually be assigned to another family relative if neither a spouse nor prime minister is available.

Faction Heir[]

Main article: Faction Heir (Total War: Three Kingdoms)

A Faction Heir is the character to replace the faction leader. Only family members of the faction leader can be the heir. To make a non-family member the heir, the player must adopt the character before making it, the heir. Spies that became the heir to another faction can assassinate the faction leader if it has enough points. Faction Heir can enact his/her specific faction-wide bonus and specializations from one's background.

Prime Minister[]

Main article: Prime Minister (Total War: Three Kingdoms)

Characters assigned to the prime minister bring powerful extra bonuses to the whole faction when characters are assigned them, based on the individual’s background. Players can scrutinize these benefits before assigning characters.

Ministerial positions and faction council[]

Characters assigned to ministerial positions will benefit the whole faction by providing bonuses in certain areas. The Chancellor position, for example, grants a faction-wide bonus to faction's tax income from the peasantry. These roles will pay them an extra salary, but they will still retain their title rank and salary and can be promoted as usual via their character panel.

Characters appointed to ministerial roles in the court also become members of the faction council. The council may be invoked by the player to generate new missions, with useful rewards. When the player assigns the first minister, the faction council button will unlock at the top of the campaign screen.

Mission[]

Fates Divided SS 6

faction council interface in game

When there are characters on the faction council, players can invoke them to generate missions. The faction council button is located at the top of the campaign screen. Open the faction council panel to invoke the council.

The higher the faction rank, the greater the rewards for any missions the player completes.

Administrator[]

Main article: Administrator

The administrator is a court position that overlooks a Commandery. They sit at the bottom portion of the court panel. Characters assigned as administrators will benefit the whole faction by providing bonuses in their administered Commandery.

Family Tree[]

The family tree is part of the court screen, and it shows the family relationship within the faction.

The family tree charts faction leader's lineage and descendants. Some characters in the family tree may not exist within the player's current faction, as they may be in the employ of other warlords. This is represented by the flag behind their portrait; the player can hover the cursor over these characters for details.

Special courts[]

Imperial court[]

TW3K Royal-court

Liu Hong's imperial court[2]

When a player's faction advance into the Empire stage, either by forming through diplomacy or playing as the Han Empire in the Mandate of Heaven campaign. Players will gain access to the imperial court. The imperial court system has more ministerial positions and extensive buffs and benefits.

Military Government[]

Gongsun Zan's faction has access to the Military Government specialization. It changes the way administrators work. The Military Government limits the number of administrators players can have to five and adds five new court positions to the player's faction, which can be assigned immediately from the start of the campaign. These new court positions are unlocked similarly to administrator positions, as they can only be assigned if players have an available commandery.

Impact on character relationships[]

Main article: Guanxi

The Player's court represents a close-proximity working environment, so character relations are important to consider when choosing characters for these positions. Characters who conflict with one another may become unhappy if forced to work with a rival, and characters in ministerial positions who defect can trigger a civil war – a disastrous outcome for the player's faction.

Likewise, a character’s personality and traits should be carefully considered before selecting a character for a ministerial role. A veteran warrior for example, whose traits are combat focussed, is unlikely to thrive in a ministerial position, and they may become dissatisfied. It would be similar to recruiting a staunch pacifist as a general for leading the armies.

Media[]

References[]

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