决斗

A duel is an engagement in personal combat between two characters.

Duel for honor

Rulers have access to a Duel interaction if they have War focus, membership in a Warrior Lodge, or a bloodline that "Enables dueling".

Unless the dueling game rule is set to "Unrestricted", the initiator must have one of the following reasons to challenge the target:

• Rivalry
• Foe (certain opinion modifiers toward the initiator, including "Cuckolded" and "Attempted Murder")
• Target is Excommunicated ; initiator is and same religion
• Target is Decadent ; initiator is and Muslim
• Initiator has a mission to duel target (Warrior Lodge quest)

Both characters must be in good shape to duel:

• Duelers are NOT inaccessible
• Duelers are NOT pregnant
• Duelers have NOT recently been in any duel
• Duelers do NOT have the character modifier Bedridden or Severe Illness
• Duelers must each be at peace

Strong Claim duel

With the Holy Fury DLC, a tribal ruler may duel another tribal ruler over a strong claim. Both rulers must be independent or share a liege. Many of the other requirements and mechanics are the same as in challenge duels, above.

If you lose a Strong Claim duel and die, and the winner is a member of your dynasty, you may switch play to the other character. This makes Strong Claim duels a potentially effective way to consolidate titles after a gavelkind split.

Other duels

Battlefield duels

With The Old Gods DLC:

• Germanic men may get an event suggesting they challenge a disliked character to a Holmgang. Opinion must be below -40. Possible opponents are the liege, any vassal, or any fellow vassal.

With Way of Life DLC:

• Confronting a spouse's lover may result in a duel.

With The Reaper's Due DLC:

• As a method of suicide, you may challenge a rival to a duel that you intend to lose. Unlike other methods of suicide, this is considered an honorable death.

Some event duels use different code to determine the outcome, but combat_rating_diff is generally a major factor.