Ensuring your court in Crusader Kings 3 has a physician is crucial for survival, especially with the constant threats of plague, injury, and disease. “Doctor Tweak” is designed to address the limitations in the vanilla game’s AI, which often leads to AI courts neglecting this vital role. This mod ensures that AI courts will more consistently hire court physicians, leading to a more challenging and realistic game world where medical care is more readily available. No longer will AI courts needlessly suffer from a lack of medical attention; with “Doctor Tweak,” every AI court has a much better chance to survive, thrive, and even endure the occasional surgical mishap. Players will also benefit from a new in-game alert that notifies them if their own court physician position becomes vacant, preventing any unintentional periods without medical expertise at hand.
Addressing Vanilla AI Physician Hiring Shortcomings
Prior to the Royal Court expansion (version 1.5), the AI in Crusader Kings 3 was fundamentally restricted from actively hiring court physicians. While Royal Court did introduce the functionality for AI to hire physicians, it implemented significant limitations. The AI would only evaluate the need for a physician once every five years and would completely refrain from doing so if involved in any war. This infrequent checking and war-related restriction meant that many AI courts could go extended periods without a physician, especially amidst ongoing conflicts or prolonged peasant revolts. Consequently, these courts became unduly vulnerable to disease outbreaks and injuries, impacting the overall game balance and realism.
“Doctor Tweak” directly tackles this issue by modifying the AI’s behavior to check for the “Hire Court Physician” decision much more frequently – every six months instead of five years. Crucially, the mod also removes the restriction that prevents AI from hiring physicians during wartime. This ensures that even amidst endless peasant revolts or lengthy crusades, AI courts will still seek and maintain medical staff. This seemingly small “doctor tweak” has a significant impact on the game, making disease and injury a more consistent and relevant factor for all rulers, not just the player.
Affordability Considerations for AI Physicians
A valid concern might be how less wealthy AI courts can afford a physician. The Royal Court expansion introduced a minimum gold requirement of 30 gold to hire a court physician, and “Doctor Tweak” respects this economic constraint. This means that while the AI will now actively seek physicians, they will still be limited by their financial resources, adding a layer of economic realism to the decision-making process. Poorer AI courts might still struggle to maintain a physician, reflecting the realities of medieval healthcare access.
Enhanced Player Awareness with Vacant Physician Alert
Beyond improving AI behavior, “Doctor Tweak” also enhances the player experience by adding a crucial alert. The “Hire Court Physician” decision is now classified as a major decision, triggering an in-game alert whenever the player’s court physician position is vacant. This ensures players are immediately notified if their court is without medical expertise, allowing for swift action to recruit a new physician. To further facilitate timely replacements, the cooldown period for this decision has been reduced to 90 days. However, this decision is only available when the position is truly vacant or if the current court physician is incapacitated, preventing unnecessary micromanagement.
Acknowledgment for Inspiration
“Doctor Tweak” is built upon the foundation laid by AlcoholV’s “AI Hire Physician” mod. This mod expands upon AlcoholV’s work by removing certain obstacles that hindered AI physician hiring and by significantly increasing the frequency of the AI’s decision-making process. Gratitude is also extended to G.Strategos for bringing the initial problem to attention.
Works Well With
Random Date Black Death w/ Pandemic Explosion Mechanic
This mod enhances the challenge and unpredictability of disease in Crusader Kings 3, making “Doctor Tweak” even more valuable by ensuring courts are better prepared for devastating pandemics.
See Also
Morven Mod Pack
Morven Mod Pack
Explore other mods by Morven to further enrich your Crusader Kings 3 experience.
