In the Missions and Decisions interface you can pass various national laws and choose which missions your country should focus on. You will usually have three or more missions to choose from, each one with a specific objective that you must reach in order to succeed in the mission, as well as a reward for reaching that goal.
These missions represent the national ideas and goals that your people, especially your more powerful citizens, feel the nation should accomplish for its greater glory and prestige, or for other reasons.
Missions can include anything from a peaceful goal, such as improving relations with another country or establishing a dynastic marriage, to a full military mission requiring you to enlarge and mobilize your armies to reclaim the Motherland. Consider the Objectives and Rewards before choosing the mission, and make certain that the goal is an achievable one and the reward is sufficient, given your current situation.
Once you’ve accepted a mission, if the global situation changes and the mission is no longer achievable or desirable, you can always cancel it. It will, however, be a long five year wait before you can choose another mission, so look carefully before you leap into one. At times you will also have the option to make National Decisions, assuming you meet the requirements. If you hover your mouse over the question mark, a tooltip will appear which explains these requirements. If you do not meet these requirements, the checkbox will be grayed out. For example, the decision to Pass the Judi ciary Act will establish a national court system to apply a fair and uniform interpretation of the national laws. This requires you to have a ruler with an Administrative Skill of 4 or more, and for your capital province to have both a Courthouse and a Constable. Once you pass this act, you receive a bonus of -1.00 to your risk of national revolt, and -3% to your national taxes. These reflect the population’s faith in the rule of law, and the costs of maintaining the new court system. You also receive a +1.00 to your Diplomatic Reputation, as other countries will respect your pursuit of justice and stability.
These laws and government restrictions affect the state on a national level and reflect the evolution of the state – or its devolution, if you are compelled to pass certain of these decisions. There are a set of generic decisions which all countries can pass when they meet the requirements, but many nations will have unique options.
For example, if Byzantium manages to reestablish control over Asia Minor, they will have the option to Reestablish the Theme System, which renames the provinces in Asia Minor to reflect their old Byzantine names. This amusing shift comes with a healthy 25% manpower bonus for the rest of the game.
