For fans of historical grand strategy, the “perfect game” has always been a shimmering mirage on the horizon: a hybrid that combines the deep, character-driven political intrigue of Crusader Kings III with the visceral, tactical real-time battles of Total War: ATTILA.
For years, players had to use their imagination to bridge the gap between a pixelated army icon on a map and the bloody reality of a shield wall. That changed with Crusader Wars. This ambitious total conversion mod acts as a bridge, allowing you to export your CK3 battles directly into the Total War engine, play them out manually, and import the results back into your save file.
How the Magic Works
Crusader Wars is essentially a “communication” tool. When your army engages an enemy in Crusader Kings III, a pop-up appears. Instead of letting the CK3 math engine decide the outcome based on stats and RNG, you hit a button that launches Total War: ATTILA.
The mod automatically scans your CK3 save to determine:
- Army Composition: If you have 500 Longbowmen and 200 Armored Horsemen in CK3, the mod generates those exact units in Total War.
- Commander Traits: If your character is a “Brilliant Strategist” or has a high Martial stat, your troops receive morale and damage buffs in the tactical battle.
- Terrain & Location: If you are fighting in the mountains of Scotland or the deserts of Jerusalem, the battle map in Total War will reflect that geography.
The primary criticism of CK3 has often been that, once you become powerful enough, battles feel like a foregone conclusion decided by whoever has the bigger “stack” of soldiers. Crusader Wars restores the “Great Equalizer”: Tactics.
- Beating the Odds: In vanilla CK3, a force of 2,000 men will almost always lose to 5,000. In Crusader Wars, you can use a narrow bridge, a forest ambush, or a brilliant cavalry flank in Total War to annihilate a much larger force.
- Character Stakes: Suddenly, your King leading the center flank isn’t just a portrait—he is a physical unit on the field. If he falls in the Total War battle, the mod communicates that death back to CK3, triggering the succession crisis you were trying to avoid.
- Visual Storytelling: Seeing your custom-designed coat of arms on the banners of thousands of soldiers charging across a field provides a level of immersion that a map-based strategy game simply cannot match.
The Technical Hurdles
While the mod is a technical marvel, it is not without its “jank.” Because it tethers two massive, unrelated games together, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- Load Times: You have to wait for Total War to launch and load the map for every major battle. Most players choose to “Auto-Resolve” small skirmishes in CK3 and only “Play in Crusader Wars” for pivotal, war-deciding sieges or field battles.
- Version Compatibility: Both CK3 and Total War: ATTILA receive updates that can break the mod. It is highly recommended to use the Crusader Wars Launcher, which helps manage the versions and ensures the “hook” between the two games remains active.
- Performance: You need a beefy PC to handle having both games potentially running or swapping in the background, especially during large-scale 10,000-man battles.
Crusader Wars is the closest the gaming community has ever come to the “Holy Grail” of strategy gaming. It transforms CK3 from a “map painter” into a true epic. It forces you to care about your Men-at-Arms and your knights, because you will be the one responsible for keeping them alive on the muddy fields of 11th-century Europe.
If you have ever felt that CK3 was a bit too “detached” or that Total War lacked a meaningful overarching narrative, this mod is the bridge you’ve been waiting for.
How to Install
The mod is best managed through its dedicated community. You can find the latest version and the necessary external launcher on their official Discord or via Nexus Mods.
Official Download & Community Links
- Official Website: CrusaderWars.com
- This is the best place to find the standalone Crusader Wars Launcher, which is required to bridge the two games.
- Steam Workshop: Crusader Wars ‘Warfare’
- Subscribe here for the CK3-side logic and the necessary unit mapping files.
- Discord Server: Join the Crusader Wars Discord
- Essential for real-time troubleshooting, bug reports, and finding the latest “mapper” files for total conversion mods like AGOT or The Fallen Eagle.
- Nexus Mods: Crusader Kings 3 on Nexus
- While the primary launcher is on the official site, you can often find community-made compatibility patches and sub-mods here.
To ensure the mod functions correctly, you must have Total War: ATTILA installed (ideally with the Age of Charlemagne DLC). The mod relies on a “Bridge” system to translate data between the two engines.
Current Compatibility Notes (2026):
- The Fallen Eagle: Full compatibility is now available; ensure Crusader Wars is loaded below the main mod.
- A Game of Thrones (AGOT): A successor mod called Crusader Conflicts is often used for AGOT integration, but standalone patches can be found on the Discord.
- Medieval Kingdoms 1212 AD: This is the most popular Total War mod to pair with Crusader Wars for the most historically accurate 13th-15th century units.
