National ideas

The nation overview tab containing the national ideas sub-section.

Much like in its predecessor, Europa Universalis: Rome, a country can be tailored according to its circumstances and ambitions by picking national ideas that afford certain bonuses.

Mechanics

There are 36 national ideas the player can choose from. Each idea has its own bonus and belongs to one of four categories: Military, Civic, Oratory, and Religion. Some ideas are available from the start, while others are unlocked by advances over the course of the game. Selecting a new national idea, including filling blank slots (such as at the beginning of the game), costs 20 political influence and can be done at any time with no cooldown, provided that the country has political influence to spare.

The number of allowed national ideas depends on the country's government type. Generally speaking, tribal governments can have 2 national ideas, while Tribal Federations, republics, and monarchies have 3. The special Dictatorship, Empire, Imperial Cult, and Athenian Republic government types have the maximum 4 slots.

Government bonus

Each government in the game comes with a base bonus specific to that government. There is also a secondary bonus for each government that is given if the categories of the chosen ideas correspond to what is expected by that government form.

For example, in the screenshot Carthage is an Aristocratic Republic. This means that they need to pick two military ideas and one oratory idea to receive the additional Aristocratic Republic bonus, which will fully coloured when active and faded when inactive. Etruria, which starts as an Oligarchic Republic, would instead needs one civic idea and two oratory ideas to get its bonus. There is no malus for not having the correct categories of ideas, except for the opportunity cost of not being able to access the government bonus.

The Government bonus of each type of government can be found in the Government Types page.

Ideas

Military

	Idea	Effects	Requirements	Description
	Martial Ethos	Morale of Armies: +5%		Ensuring that our soldiers and veterans hold a prestigious place in the social hierarchy, is key to their contentment and loyalty.
	Thalassocracy	Morale of Navies: +10%	Martial advances 4	The sea affects the very rise of and fall of empires. Dominance in this theater is vital to our interests.
	Elite Soldiery	Discipline: +5%	Martial advances 8	Over-reliance on a reactionary militia leaves a nation at great risk of invasion, coup or collapse. A well trained standing army, is sure to protect against these threats.
	Permanent Shipyards	Ship Building Cost: −25%		Establishment of permanent shipyards capable of constructing vessels of war, will ensure that skilled shipwrights are always at our beck and call.
	Conscription	National Manpower: +10%	Martial advances 4	Mandated military service for all those considered mature, is not only a duty - it is a privilege.
	Militarized Society	Legion Maintenance Cost: −20% Navy Maintenance Cost: −20%	Martial advances 8	A society which honors its warriors, is one in which the young will grow up proud and eager to serve.
	Ordered Retreat	Reinforcement Speed: +10% Army Morale Recovery: +5%		Retreat can be far from dishonorable. Ensuring that all our warriors have a plan of action in the event of having to fall back, will result in a much quicker recovery when they do.
	Siege Training	Siege Ability: +15%	Martial advances 4	From oppida to forts, to walled cities, the world is full of fortified settlements. Adequately training our warriors to penetrate enemy walls will doubtlessly pay dividends.
	Support of the People	Experience Decay: −1%	Martial advances 8	Convincing our citizens of our national prowess is just as important as a victory itself.

Civic

	Idea	Effects	Requirements	Description
	Standardized Construction	Build Cost: −10% Build Time: −25%		As our nation begins to require more and more civic buildings, it has become apparent that a standardized method of planning and construction would greatly reduce the cost and time invested.
	City Planning	Population capacity: +25%	Civic advances 4	Fitting buildings within a walled city becomes much more of an issue as population sizes grow. Adopting a grid-based approach to city planning will allow us to better account for available building space.
	Central Urban Spaces	Province Loyalty: +0.05	Civic advances 8	Enlargement and renovation of the central forum within our capital will provide for additional civic building opportunities. It is of paramount importance that our subjects are proud of their capital.
	Complex Tariffs	National Commerce Income: +20%		Whilst a simple tax on goods passing through our territory may be popular; a complex system will allow us to maximize revenue.
	Patronized Trading Posts	Capital Import Routes: +3.00	Civic advances 4	Keeping a firm financial interest in the various trading outposts within our nation will allow us to exercise greater control over the flow of certain goods we deem valuable.
	Institute Tariff Exceptions	Province Import Routes: +1.00	Civic advances 8	Giving our cities greater leniency in tariff control will enable them to attract better investments.
	Tax Farming	National Slave Output: +20%		By shifting responsibility for tax collection to third parties, we can make far greater budget calculations, as well as avoid certain unfortunate responsibilities.
	Land Appropriation Reform	National Citizen Output: +12%	Civic advances 4	Private ownership of land is a necessity. However, it is clear that where the state requires the use of certain territories, it must have the power to relocate those inhabiting them.
	Grain Stockpile	Global monthly food modifier: +5% Base food capacity: +400.00	Civic advances 8	Nobody can predict a bad harvest. We could, however, prepare for it. By always saving a surplus of grain, we would avoid starvation during particularly unfortunate seasons.

Oratory

	Idea	Effects	Requirements	Description
	Sanctioned Privileges	Monthly corruption: −0.05		By agreeing to look the other way from time to time, we can lessen our reliance on using currency as a tool for bribery.
	Strategic Propaganda	Unintegrated Culture Happiness: +6%	Oratory advances 4	By coordinating lines of communication with key members of the political, religious and civic spheres, we have the perfect tool to manipulate popular opinion.
	Legislative Reform	Unintegrated Culture Group Happiness: +6%	Oratory advances 8	The institution of a standardized code of practice, while not necessarily changing the way our government operates, will surely calm the dissenters in our nation.
	Military Administration	Loyalty of Generals: +10.0 Loyalty of Admirals: +10.0		By merging a clear, ordered bureaucratic framework into our military hierarchy, it becomes far easier to coordinate large military reforms.
	Patronized Scholars	Research Points: +20%	Oratory advances 4	Embracing a reputation as a nation where scholars are to be lauded as well as patronized, is sure to yield rewards in the future.
	Functional Bureaucracy	Loyalty of Governors: +10.0	Oratory advances 8	We cannot expect our citizens to simply become aware of changes in the way we run our nation - instituting a framework of bureaucrats, representatives and messengers is vital to spread word of our decisions.
	Hospitium	Improve Opinion Maximum: +33%		The duty of the host should be extended to all those who visit our nation. Especially those whom we wish to persuade...
	Casus Belli	War score Cost: −10%	Oratory advances 4	Whatever our true intent, foreign tolerance for our wars is always greater if we have a legitimate reason for conquest. Being seen as protectors of liberty is often reason enough.
	Permanent Ambassadors	Diplomatic Relations: +2.00	Oratory advances 8	In certain diplomatic circumstances, it may benefit us to have a member of government installed as a permanent representative in the courts of our peers.

Religious

	Idea	Effects	Requirements	Description
	State Religion	Country Civilization Level: +5% Monthly Civilization Change: +0.02%		Incorporating our faith as a state entity will have significant political advantages.
	Religious Calendar	Monthly War Exhaustion: -0.05	Religious advances 4	Feast days, festivals and holidays can be used to reinforce the importance of certain annual events. Setting these dates strategically, will have a positive effect on our nation.
	Mandated Observance	Omen Power: +15%	Religious advances 8	Making religious observance a compulsory activity, will instill a healthy respect for the divine in our populace, from a young age.
	Haruspicy	Loyalty of Subject States: +10.00		Reading the 'signs' in the entrails of animals has a long history. With a willing haruspex, we could hold festival days at opportune moments, and further manipulate popular opinion at will.
	Institutional Proselytism	Pop Conversion Speed: +20%	Religious advances 4	By amending our religious canon to mandate active proselytism, we should find that much of the work in converting pagans is done for us.
	Tolerance of Pagans	Integrated Culture Happiness: +6%	Religious advances 8	The number of pagan, hybrid, or purely foreign religions making their way into our territory is vast. Allowing individuals the right to privately practice their own religion is sure to result in a more tolerant society.
	Origin Myth	Ruler Popularity Gain: +0.33		It would give our leadership much greater authority, if we were to suddenly discover that the origins of our nation can be traced back to the heroes of old...
	Divine Mandate	Monthly Tyranny: −0.04	Religious advances 4	Convincing our religious leaders to make a proclamation in support of our nation's divine mandate, will allow us to get away with making some of the more... controversial decisions, more easily.
	Loyalty to the State	Loyalty of Characters: +5.0	Religious advances 8	Loyalty to our leader should imply loyalty to the state. Loyalty to the state, by extension, implies loyalty to the Divine.

Mechanics