We've discussed how culture plays into the Innovations so if you're looking for how to tech up that's what you'll want. This guide is about culture itself and how to change it in Crusader Kings 3.
Culture determines Innovations, but is also has an affect on opinion. However, this opinion modifier is quite small, at only -5 if you belong to the same culture group, and -10 if you don't. That said, every scrap of opinion can matter given the right circumstances so it can help to replace defeated rulers with those from your own culture as soon as possible.
In short, it's more a role-play aspect to the game than one that really makes a difference and even when you replace a conquered ruler, they don't seem inclined to convert the provinces themselves.
CK3 Culture
By opening up the culture mapmode you can click on any province and bring up the culture window. This is also accessible from the character screen under their religion.
At the top of this window you will see the culture you clicked on and the culture group it belongs to. Culture groups are more widespread than a specific culture, but while they have a place in the world, they don't much have one in the game.
There is an exception to this related to Empires. Certain regions have a Reclaim decision and this will require your Powerful Vassals to be of the original culture groups of the Empire you wish to reclaim.
CK3 Changing Culture
There are several ways to change culture, and we'll start with the most basic one we've already mentioned. If you want to remove the malus from having a Vassal raised in a different society, you can simply remove them and grant the title to someone of your own background. This isn't always easy to achieve peacefully, so look for opportunities to arrest those you want out of the way, as sometimes this will give you the right to revoke the title without tyranny.
A secondary way of changing the culture of a ruler is through Guardianship. If you can convince your Vassal to hand over their heir as your ward (or the ward of anyone in your court) you can tick the box to begin a culture conversion. What this means is that you get the chance for the next ruler to be the culture of their Guardian. As a side note, this can also be used to convert Faith.
The final way handles things differently and is possibly the most pointless. You can use the Council Action Promote Culture. This will change the County culture to your own, but have no effect on the ruler. The main advantage of doing this is to reduce the penalty with peasant factions and hardly seems worth it. Sometimes the ruler will later change their own to match it, but that's not a guarantee and with the time it takes to complete it isn't something that can be used all the time.
CK3 How to Change your Culture
Changing your own culture is a big decision and one with the only real non role-play advantage being if the replacement is further ahead in innovations.
To change your culture you first have to move your Realm Capital to a County with the culture you want. Once this is done you gain a decision to Convert to Local Culture at a cost to your Prestige. Every Vassal sharing your culture that have Counties of the new culture get the option to change their own as well, although this will be only a small number.
If you're looking for more Crusader Kings 3 guides, you might want to check out our Troops Guide Page, along with our guide on the Culture and Innovations.
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