Rescue & Vengeance (R&V) – Rework

Some wrongs cannot be paid in gold.

This is a fan-maintained rework of Rescue & Vengeance for Crusader Kings III, focused on private rescue wars, private revenge wars and stronger personal consequences for captivity, murder and bloodshed.

The goal of this rework is to keep the spirit of Rescue & Vengeance alive on current CK3 versions while making the systems more stable, readable and roleplay-friendly.

This is a working rework, but it should still be considered a work in progress.

The goal is to keep Rescue & Vengeance playable and stable on current CK3 versions while gradually improving polish, balance and long-term stability.

Feedback, bug reports and screenshots are very welcome.

Original mod & concept: Big Uncle
Full credit for the original concept, systems and foundation goes to Big Uncle and the original Rescue & Vengeance work.

1.18 continuous work: Clem
Special thanks to Clem for the continuous work and update for CK3 1.18, which helped keep Rescue & Vengeance alive for later versions.

Rework & maintenance: Elchman69
This rework updates, stabilizes and expands the mod for current CK3 versions.

I do not claim ownership of the original mod, name, concept or design.
If the original author or previous maintainers want this version removed, renamed, credited differently or changed, I will respect that request.

Rescue & Vengeance adds private wars for deeply personal conflicts.

When someone imprisons those close to you, you may be able to raise your banners to bring them home.

When someone murders your family or loved ones, you may be able to demand vengeance.

Declare a private rescue war when another ruler holds someone close to you in chains or forced bondage.

Rescue options can include:

• spouse
• heir
• children
• kin
• lovers
• soulmates
• friends
• best friends

Before the war begins, you can choose who you are fighting to free.

Examples:

• Free my spouse
• Free my heir
• Free my children
• Free my kin

Prestige costs scale depending on the importance and number of captives.

Declare a private revenge war against those who murdered or executed someone close to you.

Revenge is not only about winning the war.
It is about deciding what justice looks like after victory.

After a successful revenge war, you may choose how the debt of blood is paid.

Possible judgement paths include:

• imprisonment
• public shame
• religious judgement
• mercy
• blood for blood

Characters with suitable traits may demand harsher vengeance.

Depending on the situation, this can involve targeting the defeated enemy or someone close to them.

Choosing public shame can damage the defeated enemy’s authority for years.

A shamed ruler may suffer from reduced diplomacy, lower prestige, weaker vassal opinion and damaged dread.

This mod works standalone.

If you want deeper social reactions, family-friend recognition and additional relationship-based consequences, you may also want to use:

When Social Relations Expanded (SRE) – Rework is loaded together with this mod, additional social features can become available.

Current optional SRE-gated features:

• Blood-Stained Letter for Private Revenge Wars
• friends of the family can be recognized in rescue and revenge logic

Without SRE, these features remain inactive and Rescue & Vengeance continues to work as a standalone rework.

Inheritable Relations is a separate rework focused on inherited friendships, rivalries, grudges and social memory between heirs and the relations of their predecessors.

All of these mods can be used separately.

When used together, optional cross-mod features may become available where appropriate.

The main mod currently includes:

• English
• German

Thanks to the community, additional translations are available as separate submods:

• Russian translation by yua
  Subscribe to the Russian Translation
• Chinese translation by 牛奶大魔王
  Subscribe to the Chinese Translation

A huge thank you to everyone helping make the mod accessible to more players.

This rework exists because personal conflict should matter in CK3.

A murdered spouse should not be forgotten.
A child in chains should not be just another ransom payment.
And some debts can only be answered with banners, blood and vengeance.