Monks and Mystics, released March 7, 2017, adds increased depth to religion mechanics, allows characters to join societies (including monastic orders, cults, and heretical sects), and gives players new jobs to assign their councilors to. The Reaper's Due, released August 25, 2016, adds more depth to the spread and severity of diseases, allows the player to take steps to mitigate them (such as building Royal Hospitals and sending your court into seclusion), and gives players incentives to focus on peaceful development. Conclave, released February 2, 2016, adds additional court intrigue, legal, and diplomatic functionality, which ties with the new council mechanics and favors mechanics, expands education of children, and allows you to rent out your armies as mercenaries. Horse Lords, released July 14th 2015, adds unique mechanics for nomadic steppe tribes such as a horde mechanic, clan politics, and the ability to gain income by taking landed nobles as tributaries and through controlling the ancient Silk Road. Way of Life, released December 16th 2014, which gives the player more control over the roleplaying aspects of the game by adding the option to select a particular area of life for characters to focus on, as well as additional features such as duels and more player control over certain character interactions (such as seducing new lovers or spying on specific people). It also introduces a chronicle detailing a dynasty's conquests and actions in the style of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and more customization options for kingdom names and banners. In the Eastern Roman Empire, the Iconoclast controversy had been raging on for some time, and further east, the Abbasid Caliphate was at the zenith of its power. And that's just Western and Central Europe.
Charlemagne, released October 14th 2014, which extends the start date back to 769 with a string of events following Charlemagne's rise to power. Some additional content for the East African Miaphysite kingdoms that was originally intended to be part of its own expansion are also included, added with the free update to the base game scheduled to come at the same time as the new DLC. It adds three new religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism), Jungle terrain, new events and mechanics to account for Indian cultural and religious beliefs, and war elephants. Rajas of India, released in March 2014, expands the map eastward to include India and much of Central Asia.