What I'm suggesting in this thread is a revamp of the clan progression in the current campaign.
There is very little distinction given to Clan Tiers past rank 2 apart from increased sized of the party and
I think there is room for a more immersive experience.
Since everyone has their preferred playstyles, what I'm suggesting wouldn't be an overhaul of the base game but
an option select for those who wish a more challenging experience.
Example: Enable Clan Realism would be an option when starting a new campaign or sandbox game.
This would add more restrictions to the player until they progress through Clan ranks and force them to be more innovative
with gameplay choices.
Clan Rank 0
- Quests: Limited to villagers/merchants/artisans
- Lord interaction: Most dialog blocked, Lords will not converse if prompted until Rank 1
- Noble Marriage: Not unlocked, no option to woo prospects until Rank 4
Clan Rank 1
- Quests: Lords will give out fetch quests (supplies, garrison troops, scouting)
- Lord interaction: Some dialog unlocked (main quests, thoughts on politics)
- Mercenary work: Not unlocked until Rank 2
Clan Rank 2
- Mercenary work: Rather than being able to act as an independent agent, the player must instead work with an existing mercenary company or offer direct services to an individual clan.
- Mercenary for a lord: The player negotiates a time period in which they directly work under a lord, after which their party is absorbed into that lord's party. They still generate party management skills for the troops they oversee. The player has no control over the lord's actions, and if they wish to break out of their contract they will lose relation with that honor and trait points. If the lord's party is defeated, the contract is nulled and no penalty is accrued.
- Join a Mercenary Company: The player can join an existing mercenary company if they wish to retain control of their party instead. The player cannot influence which faction the mercenary company works under as that is solely dictated by the leader.
- Become a Vassal: not unlocked until Clan rank 4
- Creating a Kingdom: not unlocked until Clan rank 5, giving yourself the Dragon Banner is not unlocked until Clan rank 6
Clan Rank 3
- Start a Mercenary Company: The player can now create their own Mercenary Company through the Clan Management tab. They will be able to negotiate contracts with faction leaders on the contract length and payment through persuasion prompts. The company can be dissolved through the Clan Management tab if they wish to become a vassal.
- Quests: Lords will now ask the player to raid territory, capture a lord, or rescue a lord from gang leaders or dungeons.
Clan Rank 4
- Become a vassal: Unlocked
- Noble Marriage: Unlocked
Clan Rank 5
- Creating a Kingdom: Unlocked, although lords will see you as a pretender and only join your kingdom in exchange for fiefs or large sums of denar/equipment.
Clan Rank 6
- Giving your player Kingdom the Dragon Banner: Unlocked. With the Dragon Banner, you have a guaranteed critical success chance in persuading lords to defect to your faction.
- Your rule is now given credibility and lords may not see you as an usurper. Clans that leave their Kingdoms may wait in your court and ask to join your Kingdom.
Final Thoughts:
Feel free to say what you do or do not agree with in my suggestions, but I'm just aiming to add some weight to the established social hierarchy in Caldria and make the social climb more rewarding in the long term. Obviously this would require redoing some policies (Senate, Peerage), raising all Lord clans to rank 4, and have a more grindy early game, but I think it would be more satisfying for players and offer up more playstyles to live out.
The current game is easy to cheese your way up the social ladder, in that with little effort you could have a noble marriage and be in command of a fief within the first few months of the game. But I'm not demanding that the game be harder because I wish it, just that the option could exist in some fashion.
Thanks for sticking around if you read all this.
There is very little distinction given to Clan Tiers past rank 2 apart from increased sized of the party and
I think there is room for a more immersive experience.
Since everyone has their preferred playstyles, what I'm suggesting wouldn't be an overhaul of the base game but
an option select for those who wish a more challenging experience.
Example: Enable Clan Realism would be an option when starting a new campaign or sandbox game.
This would add more restrictions to the player until they progress through Clan ranks and force them to be more innovative
with gameplay choices.
Clan Rank 0
- Quests: Limited to villagers/merchants/artisans
- Lord interaction: Most dialog blocked, Lords will not converse if prompted until Rank 1
- Noble Marriage: Not unlocked, no option to woo prospects until Rank 4
Clan Rank 1
- Quests: Lords will give out fetch quests (supplies, garrison troops, scouting)
- Lord interaction: Some dialog unlocked (main quests, thoughts on politics)
- Mercenary work: Not unlocked until Rank 2
Clan Rank 2
- Mercenary work: Rather than being able to act as an independent agent, the player must instead work with an existing mercenary company or offer direct services to an individual clan.
- Mercenary for a lord: The player negotiates a time period in which they directly work under a lord, after which their party is absorbed into that lord's party. They still generate party management skills for the troops they oversee. The player has no control over the lord's actions, and if they wish to break out of their contract they will lose relation with that honor and trait points. If the lord's party is defeated, the contract is nulled and no penalty is accrued.
- Join a Mercenary Company: The player can join an existing mercenary company if they wish to retain control of their party instead. The player cannot influence which faction the mercenary company works under as that is solely dictated by the leader.
- Become a Vassal: not unlocked until Clan rank 4
- Creating a Kingdom: not unlocked until Clan rank 5, giving yourself the Dragon Banner is not unlocked until Clan rank 6
Clan Rank 3
- Start a Mercenary Company: The player can now create their own Mercenary Company through the Clan Management tab. They will be able to negotiate contracts with faction leaders on the contract length and payment through persuasion prompts. The company can be dissolved through the Clan Management tab if they wish to become a vassal.
- Quests: Lords will now ask the player to raid territory, capture a lord, or rescue a lord from gang leaders or dungeons.
Clan Rank 4
- Become a vassal: Unlocked
- Noble Marriage: Unlocked
Clan Rank 5
- Creating a Kingdom: Unlocked, although lords will see you as a pretender and only join your kingdom in exchange for fiefs or large sums of denar/equipment.
Clan Rank 6
- Giving your player Kingdom the Dragon Banner: Unlocked. With the Dragon Banner, you have a guaranteed critical success chance in persuading lords to defect to your faction.
- Your rule is now given credibility and lords may not see you as an usurper. Clans that leave their Kingdoms may wait in your court and ask to join your Kingdom.
Final Thoughts:
Feel free to say what you do or do not agree with in my suggestions, but I'm just aiming to add some weight to the established social hierarchy in Caldria and make the social climb more rewarding in the long term. Obviously this would require redoing some policies (Senate, Peerage), raising all Lord clans to rank 4, and have a more grindy early game, but I think it would be more satisfying for players and offer up more playstyles to live out.
The current game is easy to cheese your way up the social ladder, in that with little effort you could have a noble marriage and be in command of a fief within the first few months of the game. But I'm not demanding that the game be harder because I wish it, just that the option could exist in some fashion.
Thanks for sticking around if you read all this.
I don't have more than above, so feel free to help me!
