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They say that money is what makes the world go round, and that saying isn’t any less true inCrusader Kings 3. Any powerful ruler, no matter how militarily skilled, will need gold. Lots of it, in fact.A healthy economyis one of the characteristics that makes for a mighty realm in this title.
The early game is important inCrusader Kings 3. Regardless of one’s location, taking things too slow can limit a player’s future expansion. However, achieving early conquest requires a significant cash infusion to avoid going bankrupt. There are plenty of ways tomake money inCrusader Kings 3, but doing it quickly takes a little finesse.
Updated August 06, 2025, by Ritwik Mitra:Crusader Kings 3needs no introduction. The title blew everyone’s minds with its excellent gameplay loop, which prioritized effective ruling and dynasty building. It’s one of the most accessible grand strategy games ever made, opening the floodgates for other people to understand what this style of gaming is all about. InCrusader Kings 3,money makes the world go around, and there are some great ways to increase a ruler’s cash flow.
13Build Farms And Trade Ports
Two Of The Best Structures To Increase The Inflow Of Gold
There are certain structures players can create inCrusader Kings 3that serve as long-term investments for earning money. Sure, spending resources all at once to create a structure or two may not seem all that engaging, but seasoned players know how important this is.
Farms and trade ports are two of the best structures that players can construct in any holding to increase the gold generated from these areas. It’s a simple and great way to ensure that the ruler’s coffers will be flowing with gold in no time.
12Become A Steward For Your Vassal
A Simple, Brilliant Way To Ensure Prosperity
While being a king or emperor may sound great, someCrusader Kings 3players are better off starting small before moving on to bigger and better things. There’s no shame in serving as a seat on a liege’s council, especially if this position is that of a Steward.
It takes real skills to be a shrewd Steward, and it’s easy to see why any character would love to use these powers to bolster their economy. It’s an excellent way to ensure that players can easily earn a lot of gold, ensuring that their holdings are running smoothly.
11Use Hooks To Force Vassals To Pay More Taxes
Maintain Hooks And Use Them To Blackmail Vassals
Blackmail is a crucial part of what makesCrusader Kings 3such an interesting game to play. Players can use information in the form of Hooks to bend people to their will. These Hooks can be either weak or strong in nature.
Both kinds of Hooks can be used to force Vassals into changing their contracts, allowing rulers to extract more gold from their coffers. This should be done with caution, since it’s possible to anger a Vassal to the point where they may rebel against their liege.
10Raiding, The Pirate’s Life
Ransack A Ruler’s Coffers And Earn Valuable Gold
One of the most straightforward ways to earn some gold quickly is toarrange a raid. Unlike full-scale conflicts,raiding doesn’t start a warwith the country that’s being plundered. If players can spot a weakness in a neighboring county, quickly laying siege to it can result in a nice windfall.
It’s worth noting, however, thatnot every culture/religion has access to raiding. Only rulers with anunreformed Pagan faith, Tribal government, or the Legacy of Piracydynasty modifier may raid other countries. It’s preferable to raid when the other country is distracted by another war. Siege the holding quickly, then take the money and run!
9Winning Wars
Victory In A Defensive War Guarantees A Payout For The Ruler
This may seem obvious, but consistent victories on the battlefield can be quite lucrative.Winning offensive wars, of course, gives the player access tonew lands and sources of taxation. On the flipside, achieving victory in a defensive war results in the player beingpaid a large indemnity by the loser.
A less-reliable strategy to make money, as you may’t exactly goad neighboring rulers into attacking you. You can, however, make Rivals with neighboring rulers.
Participating in holy wars, such asCrusades, can also net the player a nice payday. A country that plays a decisive role in a Crusade is entitled toa significant share of the War Chest. For rulers that pull their weight, the benefits may be worth the long trek.
8Ransoming Other Characters
A Simple, Easy Way To Get Some Quick Gold
This strategy actually fits hand-in-glove with the previous entries. Whenever a holding is successfully captured, there’s always the chance that its occupants will be taken prisoner. These imprisoned characters can beransomed back to their liegefor a nice little profit.
Better yet, why not try to capture the liege-lord himself? Taking a ruler prisoner,especially a king or emperor, can result in a pretty penny for the player. Higher-tier characters tend to have the gold to make their own ransoms possible. Even feudal, Christian rulers who can’t raid can still benefit from this method. Any time a war is declared, aim to capture the big cheese himself.
7Choosing The “Avaricious” Stewardship Perk Tree
This Perk Tree Will Help Players Get Gold In No Time
In the pursuit of gold, one need not stop at punishing foreign enemies. A player’s subjects can be exploited for increased profits. Selecting the"Avaricious"Stewardship Perk Tree is the first step in this regard.
To see how profitable these rewards can be, here’s the full breakdown ofsome of the most useful perksa character may acquire:
Golden Obligations
This perkallows a ruler to demand payment for Hooks. This essentially allows the player character to blackmail their vassals and courtiers. Whenever a Hook is gained on another character, the player can sell it back to the victim…for a price.Strong Hooks result in bigger payoffs.
In addition, one of the tertiary benefits of Golden Obligations isan increase in ransom costs. Thus, players can earn even more money from ransoming important prisoners, especially the ones who can afford it. It fits perfectly with the previously mentioned strategies discussed above.
Heregeld
Heregeld bestows a+10% Vassal Tax Contribution. If vassals are already geared toward making extra tax contributions through their contracts (which will be discussed later), this perk can pay dividends relatively quickly. Milk vassals for everything they’re worth, if gaining money quickly is the goal.
This Is MY Domain
This perk grants the player the ability to extort one’s subjects directly through a Decision. When theExtort Subjects Decisionis taken, a couple of events will fire that allow players to earn some quick gold. Of course, this comes with some penalties, considering extortion is frowned upon by, well, pretty much everyone.
At Any Cost
In a similar vein to the previous perk,At Any Cost unlocks the Sell Titles Decision. In the best-case scenario, this tactic can result in gold,prestige, and even a Hook. However, this decision can also fail spectacularly, leaving the player with nothing but hurt feelings and angry subjects.
The Administrator Tree also gives some huge Gold bonuses, with theHonored To ServePerk providing +20% Taxes and Levies from Powerful Vassal Councilors. Load up your Council with Powerful Vassals and watch the Gold roll in.
6Choosing The “Overseer” Martial Perk Tree
Earn Extra Gold If The Ruler Has Significant Martial Prowess
Of course, not everybody is cut out for the Stewardship Lifestyle. Players will eventually have to control rulers that are just no good with money management. Nevertheless, there is a minor alternative for characters who happen to follow aMartial Lifestyle.
Players who choose to invest in theOverseer Martial Perk Treewill receive a few secondary benefits of an economic nature. More specifically, attaining the"Absolute Control"perk will grant additional taxes and levies for counties that have 100 Control. A player’s Martial can be assigned the “Increase Control in County” task to bring certain territories fully under their heel if they aren’t already. Obviously, the benefits aren’t as lucrative as the previous entry, but it’s something worth considering for characters who lack points in Stewardship and need extra ways to make money.
5Hire A Competent Steward
Ensures That The Player Enjoys A Steady Stream Of Gold
Nobody can rule alone. At their court, players can appoint fellow noblemen to perform various jobs, one of which is the Steward. One of the most important jobs of a Steward is toCollect Taxes, which can result in a nice little side income for the player…assuming their Steward is competent!
In the long run, it’s far more effective to set your Steward toBoost Development in your Capital. Development can be seen alternatively as your county’s population. A larger population means more people paying taxes, which means more gold income. However, this is a long-term plan, and not a quick money grab. If you’re really strapped for Gold, you’re able to go ahead and set your Steward to Collect Taxes instead.
Whether or not a Steward is good at their job is defined, unsurprisingly, by theirStewardship skill. The higher the skill, the more likely the Steward will periodicallypresent their liege with some extra gold. Finding a worthwhile Steward can bedifficult for smaller realms, where the pool of available applicants is often low. Large kingdoms and empires can typically find someone highly qualified for the position. Just assign the Steward to the “Collect Taxes” task to get this extra stream of income going and watch it add up!
Also,Befriend your Steward.It makes them far more effective at their job.
4Modifying Vassal Contracts
Using Hooks And Favors To Alter Contracts
If done early,modifying the feudal contracts of one’s vassals can be highly profitable. This strategy can vary depending on the player character’s popularity with his vassals. If well-liked, this process becomes much less painful. A character who starts withplenty of positive traitswill unsurprisingly have an easier time with this endeavor.
Tweaking a particularvassal’s obligations in favor of more taxesis possible. Imposing the harshest form of taxes on a vassal,up to 25%, comes with significant opinion penalties. Making sure one’s player character is already popular will help offset the disgruntlement such an action will cause. Special contracts, such asScutage, also result in a bigger payday.
