Imperial Beasts

Your court deserves more than crowns, banners, and gold. It deserves a beast that people will whisper about.

Imperial Beasts expands the pet system in Crusader Kings III, allowing rulers to purchase and keep impressive animal companions — from a quiet palace cat to a lion, tiger, bear, or wolf whose presence changes the entire atmosphere of the court.

This mod adds new pets, events, decisions, animal portraits, maintenance costs, gift interactions, and game rules. A pet is no longer just a small bonus on your character sheet — it becomes part of your ruler’s story. You can name it, see it in story panels, experience events around it, and eventually say farewell when its time comes.

• New Buy Pet interaction for the player.
• Ability to gift pets to other adult characters.
• 8 types of animal companions: cat, dog, eagle, warhorse, wolf, bear, lion, and tiger.
• 52 unique animal visual variants.
• Custom icons for pets, modifiers, and decisions.
• New event chains for different animal types.
• Special decisions for exotic beasts.
• Maintenance system for rare and dangerous animals.
• Game rules for economy and event frequency.
• Localization support for multiple languages.

Common and noble companions:

• Cat — a quiet palace companion, bringing comfort, observation, and a little chaos.
• Dog — a loyal friend for council halls, hunts, and long roads.
• Eagle — a proud hunting bird, belonging half to your hand and half to the sky.
• Warhorse — a symbol of knightly strength, campaigns, and victory.

Exotic beasts:

• Wolf — a wild-eyed guardian that inspires fear in your enemies.
• Bear — a heavy symbol of brute strength and authority.
• Lion — a royal beast worthy of a crown.
• Tiger — a rare striped shadow that turns your palace into a place of legend.

Each pet can have its own appearance or breed.

• Cats: black, tabby, white, ginger, grey, tuxedo, calico, tortoiseshell, spotted, cream, Siamese, long-haired, smoke, scarred.
• Dogs: hound, mastiff, greyhound, spaniel, wolfhound, alaunt, terrier, deerhound, boarhound, sheepdog, lapdog, Siberian dog, turnspit dog, water dog.
• Eagles: golden eagle, imperial eagle, steppe eagle, white-tailed eagle.
• Warhorses: black, brown, spotted, white.
• Wolves: grey, black, white, forest wolf.
• Bears: brown bear, black bear, giant panda, polar bear.
• Lions: golden lion, black-maned lion, white lion, sand lion.
• Tigers: Amur tiger, Siberian tiger, black tiger, white tiger.

Pets are purchased through a new interaction with your own character. You can only keep one living pet at a time, so your choice matters.

Base prices:

• Cat — 20 gold.
• Dog — 30 gold.
• Eagle — 60 gold.
• Warhorse — 90 gold.
• Wolf — 120 gold.
• Bear — 160 gold.
• Lion — 180 gold.
• Tiger — 180 gold.

Some animals are not available to every ruler. The mod is designed to preserve the atmosphere and internal logic of the CK3 world.

• Cat — available without additional requirements.
• Dog — requires hunting grounds, a royal forest, or a master of the hunt.
• Eagle — requires a steppe region or cultural traditions connected to horses and the steppe.
• Warhorse — requires stables in your domain.
• Wolf — requires hunting grounds, a royal forest, or the Caucasian Wolves tradition.
• Bear — requires hunting grounds or a royal forest.
• Lion — requires royal or imperial rank and a location in Africa or the Middle East.
• Tiger — requires royal or imperial rank and a location in India or Asia.

You can order a pet as a gift for another adult character. The gold is only paid if the gift is accepted.

The recipient may refuse, especially if:

• they have a poor opinion of you;
• they cannot afford the animal’s upkeep;
• the beast is too dangerous for their personality;
• they have recently refused a similar gift.

Friends, spouses, lovers, close family members, and characters with a high opinion of you are more likely to accept. Brave, ambitious, sadistic, and hunter characters are more open to dangerous beasts, while cowardly or suspicious characters may consider such a gift a threat.

Exotic beasts unlock unique decisions:

• Threaten with the Wolf — gain dread and slow hostile schemes against you.
• Call the Bear Warriors — raise a small special heavy infantry force.
• Hold a Lion Procession — gain prestige, dynasty prestige, and legitimacy at the cost of stress.
• Prepare a Tiger Hunt — make your next hunt free for one year.
• Rename Your Pet — available during the first year after purchasing an exotic beast.
• Release Your Pet — permanently part with your companion, gaining stress depending on its rarity.

Exotic beasts are not free bonuses. They are deliberate luxuries.

They grant prestige, military advantages, or unique opportunities, but they also require maintenance and may unsettle your court. A wolf, bear, lion, or tiger impresses visitors — but not every courtier feels safe beside a predator.

The mod adds two customizable game rules:

Imperial Beasts: Pet Economy

• Generous — prices and maintenance costs are reduced by half.
• Normal — the intended balance of the mod.
• Strict — prices and maintenance costs are increased by 50%.

Pet Event Frequency

• Rare — pet events happen less often.
• Normal — the standard Imperial Beasts event rhythm.
• Frequent — pet events happen more often.

Pets are not just modifiers attached to your character. They appear in stories, receive names, and occasionally become the center of courtly scenes.

A cat may disturb palace life, a dog may show loyalty, an eagle may become a symbol of hunting authority, and a warhorse may remind the realm of war and glory. Wolves, bears, lions, and tigers create an almost legendary aura around your ruler — dangerous, expensive, and unforgettable.

The mod includes localization for:

• English
• Russian
• German
• French
• Japanese
• Korean
• Simplified Chinese

Supported game version: CK3 1.19.*

The mod expands and modifies the pet system, including vanilla story cycles for cats, dogs, eagles, and warhorses, in order to use new portraits and interface elements. Conflicts may occur with mods that also modify these story cycles or heavily overhaul the pet system.

For best compatibility, place Imperial Beasts below other pet-related mods if you want its visuals and new pet elements to take priority.

Imperial Beasts is made for players who want power in CK3 to feel alive — not only through titles and armies, but through living symbols at court.

Let a cat purr beside your throne, a loyal dog sleep at your feet, an eagle spread its wings above your hall — or let a tiger lie silently nearby, making even the boldest vassals choose their words carefully.