what is the trigger for A.I rulers abandoning their pagan religions?

[dwarfpcfan]

So I'm doing a new baltic run. Started in 867 as the duchy of Samogatia, formed Livonia with the proclaim Terra Mariana decision, then added the kingdom of Lithuania to my realm and eventually formed the baltic empire. Things have been trucking along pretty well and I now control a sizable portion of the Russian region, Finland and Poland on top of it.

So obviously when I started I was surrounded by pagans. But come around mid 900s it seems every independent ruler around me, no matter how powerful or successful or even if the ruler has zealous as a trait and was pagan, suddenly all converting to catholicism.

This seems to always happen, is it pre-programmed that all the region just will eventually switch to catholicism unless the player owns the region or is there a specific trigger in the game files?

It just seems so silly sometimes for example you'll have the king of Danemark a brutish berserker norse pagan who is powerful, constantly goes on raids and stuff, he really has nothing to worry from any catholics south of his borders yet like clockwork come mid 900s he will convert to catholicism regardless of his traits or his comparative strength to nearby christian rulers.

[Igg12]

AI converts in order to become feudal, turn clan etc, so that he can escape tribal tech, he converts to an organized religion of neighboring realms, in your case Catholicism, since you are playing Scandinavia-Baltic region.

[armyissue69]

It depends on how many holy sites /decision to reform appears to the larger (kings/emps) appears. They will reform IF they have an opportunity but, I have only seen it once. For them to Feudalize will take them time as well (around the second era) since they do not have the necessary research complete.

[CrUsHeR]

Using any mods?

Because i have over 2000 hours playtime, and never seen a "pagan" switch to another faith.

They won't even adopt the upgraded version if you do the reformation. These were all features in CK2, including the proselytize task for the chaplain.

[armyissue69]

Originally posted by CrUsHeR:

Using any mods?

Because i have over 2000 hours playtime, and never seen a "pagan" switch to another faith.

They won't even adopt the upgraded version if you do the reformation. These were all features in CK2, including the proselytize task for the chaplain.

I also have over 2000, maybe JP might get in on this as he has over 8k ... lol ... Anyways I have seen both. I have seen even more oddly, I was doing the Poland Run (Start as Piast where you need famed/illustrious items) and reformed but, some folks way out in nowhere and not adjacent to me adopted....thought it was odd but, it could have been a stress conversion or something dunno.

[CrUsHeR]

Maybe something they added recently. Like the event to reform without owning enough holy sites, as long as a fellow ruler holds the missing one.

[jpcerutti]

Originally posted by armyissue69:

Originally posted by CrUsHeR:

Using any mods?

Because i have over 2000 hours playtime, and never seen a "pagan" switch to another faith.

They won't even adopt the upgraded version if you do the reformation. These were all features in CK2, including the proselytize task for the chaplain.

I also have over 2000, maybe JP might get in on this as he has over 8k ... lol ... Anyways I have seen both. I have seen even more oddly, I was doing the Poland Run (Start as Piast where you need famed/illustrious items) and reformed but, some folks way out in nowhere and not adjacent to me adopted....thought it was odd but, it could have been a stress conversion or something dunno.

Not all of that is playtime, some is just runtime; I have a sweet/cursed job where I mostly monitor process and equipment all by my lonesome and can set a laptop up on the desk and play a game, on and off, all shift.

It is not like the adopting of court language, which the eastern tribals seem to do a fair amount of for as far away they are from the court of origin, but I have seen them adopt religions. I think it is mostly adopting spouse religion when they are trying to gain favor and not specifically trying to pull themselves up out of tribal. Adoption/changing your religion to include Syncretic Folk traditions and marrying off the family tree/court to random eastern lords is when I've seen it.

That whole 'process' doesn't usually last much longer than a Lollard or a Waldensian; their tribal neighbors eat them up when they start 'putting on airs' and becoming all 'Persian court speaking Muslim' or 'Greek speaking Christians' all by themselves in the middle of Siberia unless you ally and support them - if you really want an ally/vassal all by itself in the Eastern map.

[brownacs]

Originally posted by CrUsHeR:

Using any mods?

Because i have over 2000 hours playtime, and never seen a "pagan" switch to another faith.

They won't even adopt the upgraded version if you do the reformation. These were all features in CK2, including the proselytize task for the chaplain.

Really? You've never seen the Scandinavians convert to Catholicism? Because that happens in all of my games. I also often get a mix of Mongol successor states; usually one's Muslim and I sometimes get a Christian one. It's also not rare in my games for the Turkic rulers in the steppe to convert to Islam. I think the Scandinavian/Turkic conversions are scripted just based on the rate at which they seem to happen... at least in my games.