Character

Characters are prominent individuals within a country. Depending on their role, they affect countries in various ways. Each character has an interest group affiliation, a personal ideology, a popularity value, a culture (determining their name and appearance) and which countries can invite them, a religion, and a number of character traits. Throughout the game, characters age and die, and are replaced by new characters.

Character roles

There are five roles characters serve in a country: rulers, interest group leaders, commanders (generals and admirals), executives, and agitators. Rulers, heirs, and interest group leaders are also collectively referred to as  politicians. It is possible for some characters to occupy two roles (most often commanders combined with another role) or to switch roles (most often non-politicians joining politics).

Ruler

A  Ruler is a country's head of state. Whether a hereditary monarch, an elected president, or a dictator, a ruler's traits affect the country as a whole. The governance principles and distribution of power laws affect the amount of government  Legitimacy gained from including the ruler's interest group in the government. The ruler's popularity also translates to a boost or penalty of  Authority. In monarchies, the country also has an  Heir – a character that becomes the new ruler once the current one dies. If there is no heir yet, there is a daily chance to generate one if the ruler is at least 20 years old (with an increasing chance after they turn 30). A male ruler of a monarchy or dictatorship can also serve as a general.

Interest group leaders

Every interest group has a  Leader, who greatly affects how the interest group functions. The leader's traits and popularity affect the interest group's pop attraction and political power, and even its approval. Furthermore, the leader's personal ideology becomes part of the interest group's ideologies for as long as they remain the leader. Many causes, such as communism or feminism, can only achieve support this way. Once a leader dies, if an existing commander or executive supports the same interest group and has at least 0 popularity, then the character with the highest popularity among the interest group's supporters has a chance to become its next leader. If no existing character meets both of these criteria, then a new character is generated and becomes leader.

Commanders

 Generals and  Admirals command the country's armies and fleets, respectively. Their traits can give various bonuses and penalties to the units under their command. The interest group that a commander supports receives extra political power, which increases with the commander's rank (which also raises their command limit and  Bureaucracy cost). If their interest group is part of a revolution, the commander supports the revolution instead of the government. When a commander dies, a new one has to be manually recruited. They can also be retired early, at the cost of their interest group's approval.

Executives

 Executives lead companies. An executive's popularity increases their company's prosperity target and their traits may affect the company's owned buildings.

Executives increase their interest group's political strength by +2% based on the number of owned building levels up to a maximum of +20%.

Owned building levels (>=)	10	50	100	250	500	1000	1500	2500	5000	10000
Added political strength	+2%	+4%	+6%	+8%	+10%	+12%	+14%	+16%	+18%	+20%

Agitators

Main article: Agitator

 Agitators support political movements that align with their ideological goals in a country.

Agitators add 15 plus 0.15 times their  popularity, whether positive or negative, to their movement's pop attraction. Each pop scales 75% of this attraction based on its  literacy and membership percentage in the agitator's interest group.

Popularity

Each character has a popularity score between −100 and +100, reflecting how the general public views them. Popularity mostly comes from traits, though commanders can also gain or lose popularity temporarily by winning or losing battles. A character's popularity has different effects depending on their role:

•  Ruler: Popularity provides a direct authority bonus or penalty – e.g. +50 popularity gives +50 authority.
• Interest Group Leader: Popularity affects interest group pop attraction by 0.25% per point of popularity – e.g. +100 popularity improves interest group pop attraction by +25%. It also affects their party's momentum during elections by 0.05% per point of popularity.
•  Agitator: Popularity affects movement attraction by 0.15% per point of popularity – e.g. +50 popularity gives a 7.5% boost to movement support.
•  Executive: Popular executives may become leaders for their interest group once the current leader is removed. Popularity affects company prosperity by 0.2 per point of popularity – e.g. +50 popularity increases the prosperity target by 10.
• Commander: Popular commanders may become leaders for their interest group once the current leader is removed. If they have at least 10 or 30 popularity, they can also gain the Popular or Celebrity Commander trait respectively. Commanders may gain temporary popularity by winning battles and lose popularity for losing them.

Lifespan

Characters live until the age of 75 on average.

Character health is a percentage between 0% and 200%, with a baseline of 100%. It increases or decreases from various traits and modifiers and is the primary determiner of life expectancy.

Characters are considered adults at age 16 and old at age 60.

Besides dying of old age, characters can die due to events or a regular annual pulse.

The annual pulse has a 50% chance of triggering if there is an eligible interest group. The pulse attempts to kill a leader of a random interest group, but cannot kill a ruler, heir, or otherwise immune character. The pulse can also not target the same interest group within 10 years. The pulse also has a 20% chance of killing an agitator, though not more than once every 5 years. It also has a 20% chance of killing an executive, though not more than once every 7 years and never a historical executive.

Interest group affiliation

Aside from interest group leaders, generated characters have a weighted chance of being affiliated with each interest group, modified by each interest group's clout. Namely, these are  rulers and  heirs in hereditary governments,  agitators,  executives, and commanders. Historical characters are not affected by this weighting unless they have a variable interest group affiliation.

Interest group affiliation

Interest group	Ruler/ Heir	Agitator	Executive	Commander
Common modifiers	Interest group is  marginalized: ×0.1 Interest group is powerful: ×2	Interest group is  marginalized: ×0	—	—
Armed Forces	Base: 1 Modifiers:  Has any of: ×2 Autocracy Oligarchy Single-Party State Has any of: ×0.5 Census Suffrage Universal Suffrage Has none of: ×0.5 Professional Army Mass Conscription	Base: 0.5	Base: 0.2	Base: 5
Devout	Base: 1 Modifiers:  Has State Religion: ×2 Does not have State Religion: ×0.25 Has State Atheism: ×0 State religion is any of: ×2  Sunni  Shiite  Theravada	Base: 0.5	Base: 1	Base: 1
Industrialists	Base: 1 Modifiers:  Has any of: ×2 Oligarchy Wealth Voting Has Laissez-Faire: ×1.25 Does not have Mutual Funds: ×0.5 Does not have Currency Standards: ×0	Base: 0.25	Base: 5	Base: 0.5
Intelligentsia	Base: 1 Modifiers:  Has Technocracy: ×3 Has Appointed Bureaucrats: ×1.5 Does not have Empiricism: ×0	Base: 0.75	Base: 2	Base: 1
Landowners	Base: 1.5 Modifiers:  Has any of: ×2 Serfdom Slave Trade Legacy Slavery Has any of: ×2 Autocracy Oligarchy Landed Voting	Base: 0.25	Base: 0.25	Base: 2
Petite Bourgeoisie	Base: 1 Modifiers:  Has Elected Bureaucrats: ×1.5 Has Ethnostate: ×2	Base: 1	Base: 1.5	Base: 1
Rural Folk	Base: 0.25 Modifiers:  Has Homesteading: ×2 Has Serfdom: ×0	Base: 1	Base: 0.1	Base: 1
Trade Unions	Base: 0.1 Modifiers:  Has Workers' Protections: ×2 Has No Workers' Rights: ×0	Base: 1	Base: 0.2	Base: 0.5

Character interactions

Character interactions are various actions that change a character's role or otherwise affect a certain character. Valid interactions are visible on a character's detail screen or context menu. Some interactions have a cooldown which applies to the entire country, not per character.

Interaction	Roles	Conditions	Effects
Grant Command		Ruler is adult, and not a  General or  Admiral Ruler is male or country has Women's Suffrage Government has hereditary or dictatorial transfer of power	Adds  General role to ruler
Retire from Command		Ruler is a  General Ruler is not  Mobilized	Removes  General role from ruler
Seek Royal Marriage		Country is a Christian Monarchy Character is an adult and not married Another monarchy with the same state religion: Has a ruler over age 36 Is not the junior in a  personal union Has not used this interaction for any character within last 5 years	Adds +20 relations with the country chosen for marriage
Exile Dissident		Country does not have Protected Speech or Guaranteed Liberties If Character is an  Agitator, their political movement is not revolutionary, Otherwise, character's IG is not in government, marginalized, or revolutionary Character's ideology is not too similar to ruler's ideology Has not used this interaction for any character within last 5 years	Character becomes an  Agitator and loses all other roles Adds 2% to 7%  radicals for the character's IG Character is exiled If character was an interest group leader, Interest group gains Exiled LeaderExiled LeaderInterest group modifier −5 Interest Group Approval (decaying) over 5 years If character's ideology is Moderate or Pacifist, adopt a random ideology not condoned by the current ruler.
Promote		Character is not at max rank	Increases character's commander rank
Split Formation		Formation contains more than one commander Formation contains more than one unit	Creates new formation with approximate ratio of units compared to command limit.
Retire Commander		Character's IG is not revolutionary Character is not busy Character has served for at least one year	Removes commander role from character Character's IG has a five-year decaying approval penalty equal to the character's commander rank, multiplied by their positive popularity as a percent
Invite Exile		Country has a free agitator slot Country does not have Closed Borders If character supports  Devout or country has State Religion (no variant), Character's religion matches country's state religion Character has more than 15 popularity Character has at least open prejudice status Character must be able to join a political movement Has not used this interaction for any character within last 5 years	Character joins country Character joins or starts a political movement Character is immune to random death for 5 years Creates diplomatic catalyst with character's home country
Repatriate Agitator		Character has no other roles Country has a  rivalry with the character's home country Character's home country exists and has a free agitator slot Character can join or start a political movement in their home country Has not used this interaction for any character within last 2.5 years	Character returns to home country
Arrange Accident		Country has Secret Police Character's IG is not marginalized Has not used this interaction for any character within last 5 years	25% chance character dies 50% chance of nothing 25% chance: Adds 20%  radicals to Character's IG If character or their IG support a political movement, The movement gains Failed Assassination AttemptFailed Assassination AttemptPolitical movement modifier +15% Political Movement Activism for 10 years
Imprison Agitator		Pivot of Empire is enabled Country does not have Guaranteed Liberties Has not used this interaction for any character within last 2.5 years	Character is imprisoned for 3, 5, or 10 years
Voice of the People exclusive actions
Abdicate the Throne		Country has Monarchy Ruler can die of natural causes Has an  heir Unless an interest group is revolutionary,  Heir is age 18 or older Any of: Ruler's IG is marginalized Ruler's popularity is −50 or less Ruler is age 75 or older Ruler has trait  Psychological Affliction Any political movement is revolutionary and the ruler or their IG opposes the movement's preferred law Has not used this interaction within last 30 years	Ruler abdicates (dies)
Resign from Office		Country does not have Monarchy or Theocracy Unless an interest group is revolutionary,  Heir is age 18 or older Any of: Ruler's IG is angry or marginalized Ruler's popularity is −50 or less Ruler has any trait of:  Psychological Affliction  Cancer  Senile  Wounded Any political movement is revolutionary and the ruler or their IG opposes the movement's preferred law Has not used this interaction for any character within last 15 years	Ruler abdicates (dies)
Grant Leadership		Character's IG is in government Character supports a political movement that pressures its IG If country has State Atheism, Character is  Atheist or in second-class citizen status or better Character has none of: Integralist Theocrat Traditionalist Minoritarian Traditionalist Otherwise, if country has Multiculturalism and Total Separation, Character has open prejudice status or better Otherwise, character has second-class citizen status or better Character is male or Women's Suffrage is enacted Has not used this interaction for any character within last 5 years	Character loses Agitator role and becomes the  Leader of their IG
Grant Command		Character is not a commander Character is an adult and male Has not used this interaction for any character within last 5 years	Adds  General role to the character

Character traits

Characters gain traits based on their current traits and their expected trait value or character experience level. Expected trait value increases by a base of 0.25% each week, which means it increases by 1 after 400 weeks or about 7.7 years. This rate is increased by 0.1% for the ruler, heir, and leaders of powerful interest groups as well as for generals on fronts, rulers also gain an additional. Admirals gain 0.05% more while escorting convoys and 0.1% more while raiding convoys. Exiled agitators gain only 0.1% weekly and commanders in the hiring pool gain only 0.05% weekly. The regular maximum expected trait value is 12, but effects can add additional traits beyond that.

Newly generated characters typically start with an expected trait value of 4, with one personality and one skill trait; historical characters typically have an expected trait value equal to their defined starting traits. Personality traits except Child always have a trait value of 3, and skill traits that don't level up typically have a value of 2; skill traits that level up have a value of 1 per level. Condition traits don't have a trait value.

When a character's current total trait value is less than their expected trait value, they have a chance each week of gaining a new trait. The new trait's value is not considered, but characters cannot randomly gain more than two traits of each type.

Personality traits

All characters have at least one personality trait. Children (under age 16) have the trait  Child which is replaced by another personality trait when they reach age 16.

Trait	Effects
	All Roles	As Ruler	As IG Leader	As Agitator	As Executive	As Commander
Child	−25 Popularity	−15%  Authority −5% Prestige	−25% IG Pop Attraction	—	—	—
Direct	+15 Popularity	+25% Political Strength of  Officers	−5% IG Political Strength +10% IG Pop Attraction	—	—	+10% Offense +100% Aggressive Maneuver Chance
Persistent	+20% Character Health	+25% Political Strength of  Bureaucrats	−1 Opposition IG Approval	—	—	−15% Morale Loss
Cautious	+30% Character Health	−100  Influence −20% Infamy Generation	−2% IG Political Strength +1 IG Approval	—	−10% Dangerous Working Conditions	−5% Morale loss
Arrogant	−25 Popularity	−10 Legitimacy	+5% IG Political Strength −10% IG Pop Attraction	—	—	+25% Command Limit
Bigoted	−35 Popularity	+100  Authority −100  Influence +10% Radicalism increases for  discriminated Open Prejudice, Cultural Erasure, and Violent Hostility statuses	−5% IG Pop Attraction +1 Government IG Approval	—	—	+5% Offense +5% Morale Loss
Reckless	+10 Popularity −20% Character Health	+20 Maneuvers per Diplomatic Play +20% Infamy Generation	−2 Opposition IG Approval	—	—	−10% Recovery Rate −10% Coup Strength
Tactful	—	+20% Improve Relations Speed	+1 IG Approval +2% IG Pop Attraction	−10% Movement activism	—	+5 Defense −5% Morale Damage +100% Careful Maneuver Chance
Ambitious	+25 Popularity	−25% Decree Cost +10% Navy Power Projection prestige +10% Army Power Projection prestige	+10% IG Political Strength	+10% Movement activism	+5% Building Throughput	+5% Offense −5% Recovery Rate +5% Coup Strength
Imperious	−35 Popularity	−20% Decree Cost −20% Radicals from Political Movements +10% Loyalists from Political Movements	+25% IG Pop Attraction	—	—	−15% Morale Loss −15% Morale Recovery +100% Aggressive Maneuver Chance +5% Coup Strength
Wrathful	−5% Character Health	+100  Authority	−2 Opposition IG Approval	+20% Movement activism	—	+10% Morale Damage 5% Morale Loss
Reserved	+5% Character Health −25 Popularity	—	—	—	—	−10% Morale Loss +100% Careful Maneuver Chance
Cruel	−50 Popularity	−1 Standard of Living −1 Opposition IG Approval +10%  Authority −25% Consumption Tax Cost	+1 Government IG Approval	—	+5% Heavy Industry, Military Industry, Plantations, Mining, and Agriculture throughput +10% Heavy Industry, Military Industry, Plantations, Mining, and Agriculture mortality	+10% Kill Rate
Meticulous	—	+5%  Bureaucracy +25% Institution Size Change Speed	+5% IG Political Strength +5% IG Pop Attraction	—	+5% Building Throughput	+5% Offense +5% Defense +10% Recovery Rate +50% Surprise Maneuver Chance +100% Careful Maneuver Chance
Charismatic	+50 Popularity	+5%  Influence	+20% IG Pop Attraction	—	—	+10% Morale Recovery
Romantic	—	+25% Political Strength of  Aristocrats	—	—	+5% Arts Buildings throughput	−10% Offense −10% Morale Loss
Brave	−5% Character Health +25 Popularity	+5% Navy Power Projection prestige +5% Army Power Projection prestige	—	—	—	−10% Morale Loss
Innovative	—	+10% Technology Spread	—	—	+5% Heavy Industry, Military Industry, Plantations, Mining, and Agriculture throughput	−15% Morale Loss +100% Surprise Maneuver Chance
Hedonist	−15 Popularity	−10% Political Strength of  Clergymen	+1 Government IG Approval	—	—	+5% Morale Recovery +10% Supply Consumption
Pious	—	+10% Political Strength of  Clergymen	—	—	—	−25% Morale Loss +25% Morale Recovery −10% Kill Rate
Imposing	+100% Aggressive Maneuver Chance	−25% Infamy Decay	+1 Government IG Approval −1 Opposition IG Approval	—	—	−10% Morale Loss
Honorable	+25 Popularity	—	+50% Government IG Attraction	—	−5% Heavy Industry, Military Industry, Mining, Plantations, and Agriculture throughput −10% Heavy Industry, Military Industry, Mining, Plantations, and Agriculture mortality	—
Ruthless	−15 Popularity	+5%  Authority	+15% IG Political Strength	+10% Movement activism	+5% Heavy Industry, Military Industry, Mining, Plantations, and Agriculture throughput +10% Heavy Industry, Military Industry, Mining, Plantations, and Agriculture mortality	—
Compliant	—	−10%  Authority	−10% IG Political Strength +2 Government IG Approval	—	—	−10% Coup Strength
Aesthete	+25 Popularity	+10%  Influence +10% Political Strength of  Academics	—	+5% Movement pop attraction	+10% Arts Buildings throughput	—

Conditions

Conditions can be acquired over the course of the game and are overall negative effects. Sometimes they may be lost via events. Most conditions cannot be gained until the character reaches age 26.

Trait	Effects						Notes
	All Roles	As Ruler	As IG Leader	As Agitator	As Executive	As Commander
Alcoholic	−10 Popularity −10% Character Health	+2%  Influence	—	—	—	−10% Morale Damage
Opium Addict	−25 Popularity −10% Character Health	+5% Opium Plantations Throughput	—	—	—	—
Cocaine Addict	+20 Popularity −10% Character Health	—	—	—	—	—	Requires Pharmaceuticals
Cancer	−80% Character Health	—	—	—	—	—
Tuberculosis	−60% Character Health	—	—	—	—	—
Grifter	−25 Popularity	+1% Tax Waste	—	—	−10% Maximum Cash Reserves	+5% Supply Consumption
Scarred	+10 Popularity −10% Character Health	—	—	—	—	—	Replaces Wounded
Senile	−50 Popularity −25% Character Health	−5% Influence	—	—	—	+10% Morale Loss −25% Command Limit
Syphilis	−50% Character Health	−10% Influence	—	—	—	—
Shell Shock	−30 Popularity −20% Character Health	—	—	—	—	−20% Offense −20% Defense +20% Morale Loss	Is a commander
Wounded	−40% Character Health	—	—	—	—	+10% Morale Loss	May progress to Scarred
Psychological Affliction	−50 Popularity −20% Character Health	—	—	—	—	—
Expensive Tastes	+25 Popularity	+5% Prestige +5% Tax Waste	—	—	−10% Maximum Cash Reserves	—
Kidney Stones	−30% Character Health	—	—	—	—	−10% Offense −10% Defense
Beetle Eared	−30% Character Health	—	—	—	—	—	Can only be acquired by events
War Criminal	−50 Popularity	—	—	—	—	+10% Kill rate	Can only be acquired by events
Sickly	−20% Character Health	—	−10% IG Pop Attraction	—	—	—

Skill traits

Skill traits can appear and level up over the course of the game and are overall positive effects. Characters tend to acquire skill traits befitting their role.

Commander-only traits: effects only as commander

Trait	Role	Effects	Notes
Supply Requisitions Expert	General	−10% Supply Consumption +100% Logistics Secured Chance −90% Broken Supply Line Chance
Pillager	General	+25% Devastation +800% Ambush Chance −50% Supply Route Cost −10 Popularity
Surveyor	General	+10% Home Offense +10% Home Defense +400% Ambush Chance +200% Charted Terrain Chance +100% Good Visibility Chance
Woodland Combat Expert	General	+400% Ambush Chance +25% Defense in Forested Terrain
Open Terrain Commander	General	+25% Offense in Flat Terrain
Mountain Combat Expert	General	+400% Ambush Chance +25% Defense in Elevated Terrain
Artillery Commander	General	+5% Artillery Offense +50% Mud Chance +100% Aggressive Maneuver Chance +5 Popularity	Requires Artillery Replaces  Inexperienced
Experienced Artillery Commander		+10% Artillery Offense +50% Mud Chance +200% Aggressive Maneuver Chance +10 Popularity	Upgrades Artillery Commander
Expert Artillery Commander		+15% Artillery Offense +50% Mud Chance +300% Aggressive Maneuver Chance +20 Popularity	Upgrades Experienced Artillery Commander
Stalwart Defender	General	+10% Defense +5 Popularity	Requires Field Works
Trench Rat		+10 Defense +100% Surprise Maneuver Chance +100% Careful Maneuver Chance	Upgrades Stalwart Defender Requires Trench Works
Defense in Depth Specialist		+20 Defense +250% Surprise Maneuver Chance +250% Careful Maneuver Chance	Upgrades Trench Rat Requires Defense in Depth
Offensive Planner	General	+5% Offense +5 Popularity	Requires Napoleonic Warfare Replaces  Inexperienced
Experienced Offensive Planner		+10% Offense +50% Surprise Maneuver Chance +10 Popularity	Upgrades Offensive Planner
Expert Offensive Planner		+20% Offense +150% Surprise Maneuver Chance +20 Popularity	Upgrades Experienced Offensive Planner
Defensive Strategist	General	+10% Defense +100% Dug In Chance +100% Camouflaged Chance +5 Popularity	Requires Military Drill Replaces  Inexperienced
Experienced Defensive Strategist		+20% Defense +200% Dug In Chance +200% Camouflaged Chance +10 Popularity	Upgrades Defensive Strategist
Expert Defensive Strategist		+30% Defense +300% Dug In Chance +300% Camouflaged Chance +20 Popularity	Upgrades Experienced Defensive Strategist
Naval Commander	Admiral	+10% Offense +10% Defense +5 Popularity	Requires Admiralty Replaces  Inexperienced
Experienced Naval Commander		+20% Offense +20% Defense −25% Rough Waters Chance +10 Popularity	Upgrades Naval Commander
Expert Naval Commander		+30% Offense +30% Defense −50% Rough Waters Chance +10% Blockade Strength +20 Popularity	Upgrades Experienced Naval Commander
Convoy Raider	Admiral	+10% Convoy Raiding Efficiency +10% Submarines Offense +5 Popularity	Requires Admiralty
Experienced Convoy Raider		+50% Convoy Raiding Efficiency +15% Submarines Offense +10 Popularity	Upgrades Convoy Raider
Expert Convoy Raider		+150% Convoy Raiding Efficiency +25% Submarines Offense +20 Popularity	Upgrades Experienced Convoy Raider
Dockyard Organizer	Admiral	−25% Supply Consumption

Multi-role traits

Trait	Role	Effects						Notes
		All Roles	As Ruler	As IG Leader	As Agitator	As Executive	As Commander
Traditionalist Commander	Any	—	+5% Prestige	—	—	—	+10% Command Limit −10% Carriers offense +20% Blockade Strength	Character's IG is one of:  Devout  Landowners  Armed Forces Powerful
Popular Commander		—	+10% Prestige	+2% IG Political Strength	+5% Movement pop attraction	—	+20% Command Limit	Popularity above 10 OR Upgrades Traditionalist Commander and popularity above 0
Celebrity Commander		+30 Popularity	+15% Prestige	+5% IG Political Strength	+10% Movement pop attraction	—	+30% Command Limit	Upgrades Popular Commander Popularity above 30
Diplomat	Any	+10 Popularity	+5%  Influence	—	—	—	+25% Morale Recovery	Replaces  Inexperienced
Experienced Diplomat		+25 Popularity	+10%  Influence				+50% Morale Recovery	Upgrades Diplomat
Masterful Diplomat		+50 Popularity	+20%  Influence				+100% Morale Recovery	Upgrades Experienced Diplomat
Colonial Administrator	Ruler	—	+10% Colony Growth Speed	—	—	—	—	Requires an active colony Replaces  Inexperienced
Experienced Colonial Administrator			+20% Colony Growth Speed					Upgrades Colonial Administrator
Expert Colonial Administrator			+40% Colony Growth Speed					Upgrades Experienced Colonial Administrator
Political Operator	Politician	—	+5%  Authority	+5% IG Political Strength	+5% Movement pop attraction	—	+5% Coup Strength	Replaces  Inexperienced
Experienced Political Operator			+10%  Authority	+10% IG Political Strength	+10% Movement pop attraction		+10% Coup Strength	Upgrades Political Operator
Expert Political Operator			+20%  Authority	+20% IG Political Strength	+15% Movement pop attraction		+15% Coup Strength	Upgrades Experienced Political Operator
Inspirational Orator	Any	+25 Popularity	—	+5% IG Political Strength +10% IG Pop Attraction	—	—	—
Demagogue	Any	+35 Popularity	—	+10% IG Political Strength +15% IG Pop Attraction	—	—	—
Firebrand	Any	+50 Popularity	—	+15% IG Political Strength +25% IG Pop Attraction	—	—	—
Explorer	Commander Ruler Heir	+20 Popularity	+10 Prestige +50% Expedition Opportunity	—	—	—	+200% Expedition Opportunity
Bandit	Any	−25 Popularity	−5% Prestige +100  Authority −50% Infamy Decay	+2 Government IG Approval −2 Opposition IG Approval	+15 Movement activism	—	+10% Morale Damage	Is either: Agitator Affiliated with  Rural Folk or  Trade Unions
Social Bandit	Any	+25 Popularity	−5% Prestige +100  Authority −50% Infamy Decay	+2 Government IG Approval −2 Opposition IG Approval	+15 Movement activism	—	+10% Morale Damage	Is either: Agitator Affiliated with  Rural Folk or  Trade Unions
Erudite	Any	—	+20% Political Strength of  Academics +10% Political Strength of  Bureaucrats	−10% IG Pop Attraction	—	—	−10% Command Limit −25% Supply Route Cost	No trait value
Literary	Politician Agitator Executive	+10 Popularity	+5% Prestige +25% Infamy Decay	+10% IG Pop Attraction	—	+10% Arts Buildings throughput	—	Replaces  Inexperienced
Engineer	Any	—	+5  Construction +20% Political Strength of  Engineers +10% Political Strength of  Machinists	—	—	+10% Heavy Industry throughput	+100% Dug In Chance +100% Logistics Secured Chance	Trait value 3
Master Bureaucrat	Any	—	+10%  Bureaucracy +10% Political Strength of  Bureaucrats	−5% IG Pop Attraction +5% IG Political Strength	—	+5% Building throughput	−25% Supply Route Cost	Replaces  Inexperienced No trait value
Political Appointee	Any	−10 Popularity	−5 Legitimacy −10% Government IG Pop Attraction	−5% IG Political Strength	—	—	−25% Coup Strength	Only gained by effect No trait value
Inept	Any	−15 Popularity	−5 Legitimacy	−10% IG Political Strength	−10% Movement pop attraction	−5% Building throughput	−25% Morale recovery −10% Offense −10% Defense −10% Coup Strength	No trait value
Inexperienced	Any	+10 Popularity	−5 Legitimacy	−5% IG Political Strength	−5% Movement pop attraction	—	−10% Morale recovery −5% Offense −5% Defense	Is replaceable by several skill traits No trait value
Elder	Agitator Politician General	+25 Popularity	+15% Political Strength of  Peasants +10% Political Strength of  Farmers −5% Prestige +100  Authority −50% Infamy Decay	+2 Government IG Approval −2 Opposition IG Approval	+10% Movement pop attraction	—	−10% Supply Consumption +10% Home Offense +10% Home Defense	Trait value 1 Is neither the  ruler nor the  heir Country is decentralized or unrecognized If  general and neither an  agitator nor a  politician, country must be an  Unrecognized Power One of the following must be true: Affiliated with  Rural Folk Affiliated with  Landowners and country is an  Unrecognized Power Affiliated with the  Devout and culture's heritage is in the Indigenous American group
Basic Entrepreneur	Any	+10 Popularity	—	+2% IG Political Strength	—	+5% Building throughput	—	Replaces  Inexperienced
Experienced Entrepreneur		+15 Popularity	+5% Company throughput +5%  Influence	+10% IG Political Strength		+7.5% Building throughput		Upgrades Basic Entrepreneur
Expert Entrepreneur		+25 Popularity	+10%  Influence +1 Free Company Charters +10% Company throughput +10% Company construction bonus	+15% IG Political Strength		+10% Building throughput +10 Economy of Scale Building Level Cap		Upgrades Experienced Entrepreneur

Unique traits

Certain characters have or can gain unique traits.

Unique traits

Trait	Effects					Notes
	All Roles	As Ruler	As IG Leader	As Agitator	As Commander
President Pedro	+30 Popularity	+15 Legitimacy				Pedro de Bragança gains this on becoming president of Brazil
Napoleon of the Americas	+60 Popularity	+10 Legitimacy from head of state			+10% Unit defense +5% Unit offense	Francisco Solano López
El Excelentísimo	+40 Popularity	+10 Legitimacy from head of state	+20% Armed Forces political strength			Carlos Antonio López
Tsar-Liberator	+50 Popularity	+10% Loyalists from legitimacy				Option for Aleksandr (II) Romanov on completing the Great Reformer
German Unifier	+50 Popularity	+15% Authority				Option for ruler of country that forms Germany
Restitutor Orbis	+50 Popularity	+10 Legitimacy				Option for ruler of France on completing the Cement the House of [Dynasty]
The Man from the River Lena	+25 Popularity		+15% Interest group pop attraction			Vladimir Lenin
This Glorious Endeavor	+20 Popularity		+20% Interest group pop attraction			John Brown
Professional Revolutionary	+25 Popularity +10% Coup Strength		+10% Interest group pop attraction			Louis Blanqui
Reactionary Icon	+25 Popularity		+20% Interest group pop attraction			Charles Maurras
Napoleonic Return	+35 Popularity +10% Coup Strength		+15% Interest group pop attraction			Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte
Popular Radical	+50 Popularity		+10% Interest group pop attraction			Giuseppe Mazzini
The Spirit of San Francisco	+15 Popularity		+20% Interest group pop attraction			Joshua Norton
Nightingale Pledge	+50 Popularity					Florence Nightingale
Général Revanche	+50 Popularity		+20% Interest group pop attraction			Georges Boulanger
Passionate Theorist	+40 Popularity					Georges Sorel
Agent of the Sovereign	+10 Popularity					Ferdinand Lassalle
The Curly-Haired Orpheuse	+25 Popularity			+20% Political movement pop attraction		Luís Gama
Untamed Revolutionary	+40 Popularity +25 Health			+10% Political movement activism		Rosa Luxemburg

Colonial Administrator traits

These traits are only available to appointed heads of colonies.

Unique traits

Trait	Effects					Notes
	All Roles	As Ruler	As IG Leader	As Commander
Influential Planter		+10% Plantations and Ranching throughput +10% Colony Growth Speed	+5% IG Political Strength +10% IG Pop Attraction
Local Appointee	+30 Popularity	−10% Radicals from political movements +10% Loyalists from political movements −0.05 Liberty Desire	+5% IG Political Strength +10% IG Pop Attraction
Experienced Extractor		+15% Extraction throughput +10% Colony Growth Speed +1% Mortality	+5% IG Political Strength +10% IG Pop Attraction
Prominent Businessman		+5% Convoys +5% State construction efficiency −10% Loan interest	+5% IG Political Strength +10% IG Pop Attraction
Military Governor		Suppression impact on movement attraction −10% +10% Conscriptable Battalions +10%  Authority	+5% IG Political Strength +10% IG Pop Attraction	+20% Command Limit

References

Game concepts