Modding leader files
Introduction
Don't quite have enough Leaders to lead your armies? Well, Why not create some more?
Getting Started
You can find leader files in Paradox Interactive\Hearts of Iron
2\db\leaders
The leader files are divided into multiple files based on the country. These files are saved using Comma Separated Values format. Csv files use a special character to separate fields. In Paradox games, it is semi colon (;).
In the first line of each files you will see something like this:
Example:
Name;ID;Country;Rank 3 Year;Rank 2 Year;Rank 1 Year;Rank 0 Year;Ideal Rank; Max Skill;Traits;Skill;Experience;Loyalty;Type;Picture;Start Year;End Year;x This is not a part of leader data. It is there mainly to provide guidance for you so that you will understand the order of the fields.
Fields Details
Name
Each Leader needs a name, it does not have to be unique but it will help you to differentiate him from other leaders. A caveat, make sure the name does not contain semi-color(;) or a colon(:).
Example:
Napoleon;328328;FRA;1789;1807;1811;1813;0;9;22;9;0;5;0;NAPO;1789;1815;x ID
Each Leader needs to have a unique ID. Without one, the game will give you an error message when loading a scenario.
Example:
Napoleon;328328;FRA;1789;1807;1811;1813;0;9;22;9;0;5;0;NAPO;1789;1815;x Country
You need to set the country tag for the leader. A tag is 3 characters string that the game uses to easily differentiate countries. For example France has the FRA tag.
Example:
Napoleon;328328;FRA;1789;1807;1811;1813;0;9;22;9;0;5;0;NAPO;1789;1815;x Ranking Years
This is the date your leader was assigned each rank. This is used to
determine the rank of the leader upon loading a campaign.
For example, if you wish to make Rommel a Field Marshall in the 1936
campaign, you will need to change his rank 0 to 1936 or lower.
0 = Field Marshall
1 = General
2 = Lt. General
3 = Mj. General
Example:
Napoleon;328328;FRA;1789;1807;1811;1813;0;9;22;9;0;5;0;NAPO;1789;1815;x Ideal Rank
An Ideal rank will give a leader an increased speed in gaining experience while his rank is lower than the specified one.
Example:
Napoleon;328328;FRA;1789;1807;1811;1813;0;9;22;9;0;5;0;NAPO;1789;1815;x Maximum Skill
This field sets the maximum skill that a leader can have.
Example:
Napoleon;328328;FRA;1789;1807;1811;1813;0;9;22;9;0;5;0;NAPO;1789;1815;x Traits
This field contains the traits of the leader. Please read leader traits for more information.
Example:
Napoleon;328328;FRA;1789;1807;1811;1813;0;9;22;9;0;5;0;NAPO;1789;1815;x In this case, the leader has the offensive doctrine, defensive doctrine and trickster traits.
Skill
This is the leader's Skill. Each skill point provides a 2% bonus on troop strength in battle.
Example:
Napoleon;328328;FRA;1789;1807;1811;1813;0;9;22;9;0;5;0;NAPO;1789;1815;x Experience
This field sets the leader's experience. The default is 0.
Example:
Napoleon;328328;FRA;1789;1807;1811;1813;0;9;22;9;0;5;0;NAPO;1789;1815;x Loyalty
This field supposedly represents the leader's chance of being killed randomly. Currently it is not used.
Example:
Napoleon;328328;FRA;1789;1807;1811;1813;0;9;22;9;0;5;0;NAPO;1789;1815;x Type
This is the leader's line of work.
0 = Land Leader
1 = Sea Leader
2 = Air Leader
Example:
Napoleon;328328;FRA;1789;1807;1811;1813;0;9;22;9;0;5;0;NAPO;1789;1815;x Picture
This is the leader's in-game picture, The coresponding .bmp must be put in Hearts of Iron 2\GFX\Interface\pics. Assuming you have already placed a picture file named "NAPO.bmp" in that folder, you can assign the picture to the leader by placing the filename (minus file extension) in the field.
Example:
Napoleon;328328;FRA;1789;1807;1811;1813;0;9;22;9;0;5;0;NAPO;1789;1815;x Start Year
On January 1st of this year, the leader will enter the country's service.
Example:
Napoleon;328328;FRA;1789;1807;1811;1813;0;9;22;9;0;5;0;NAPO;1789;1815;x End Year
This is when the Leader "dies". As of 1.2, the leader may die in that year and subsequent years if he is engaged in battle.
Example:
Napoleon;328328;FRA;1789;1807;1811;1813;0;9;22;9;0;5;0;NAPO;1789;1815;x