zParsifal said:
This does seem like an interesting idea.
I'll add it to the long list of things I might like to take a look at sometime. That's a very long list, though, and it seems like there are lots of bits that this would involve. If someone made a list of every specific thing they think should be added for this (which options should appear in which conversations, etc.), I'd be more likely to add it some time soon.
If standing with a married lady above a certain threshold, add conversation option with said lady similar to an unmarried lady's "I must confess I am your greatest admirer.", something like "With so many wholesome ladies in the realm, how horrible is it not that the most beautiful of them all is already taken by a lesser man." yes I know I'm not a writer so, I'm sure you can come up with something far better.
Afterwards, start the same courting sessions as with an unmarried lady, she sends word for you to come visit her, or you go visit her yourself. Obviously if the housband is present when you personally chose to visit her as opposed to getting an invitation from her she'll deny knowledge of you and there won't be a meeting, possibly -relationship with her or her housband or both. You can probably use the same code as when visiting an umarried lady without consent from her father.
So you either get an invitation and get smuggled inside to her like usual, or you enter the castle while her housband is away, either way you end up with the same meeting as with an unmarried lady. However, the poetry thing won't really work in my opinion, she's already gone through that with her first housband and she's not going to leave her housband for another man with all the risks involved because he can read some poems she's already heard before. Instead you have to prove why you're a better man for her than her current housband, you can use the same poetry code however.
Here's my suggestion for that part. Ladies have four personalities right, romantic, combatative, moral and political, and that's what the poems play on. However instead of poems you'll be using "boasts" so to speak. Just like unmarried ladies have particular tastes in poetry based on their personality, married ladies will have particular needs from a man before she'll decide to abandon her current housband for him.
Here are my suggestions for conversation options instead of the poems (again I apologize for the writing):
My lady, in all the land of Calridia there is nary a knight as frank and upstanding as I, the peasants and serfs all smile at me wherever I go and I am lax to deny any man the honors of war. (You get this option if your honor rating is higher than her housband's. This will impress a lady with a moral personality.)
All who stand before me tremble in fear or have their eyes bound to me in admiration, thousands of worthy foes have fallen to their knees before me or felt the blow of my sword, there is no warrior greater than I. (You get this option if your renown is higher than her housband's. This will impress a lady with a combatative personality.)
I can ride for hours among the fields and never see the end of my domain, hundreds of serfs toil at my command and will serve you well my lady, all the lords of the realm watch my holdings with jealousy and awe. (You get this option if you have more fiefs than her housband. This will impress a lady with a political personality.)
Your eyes will never drift from me for my form is like that of a god, never has a lady left my bed without falling unwillingly asleep, exhausted and satisfied. I will shield you from harm like no other man could. (I'm not sure what the criteria should be for this option, maybe how many female heroes you've had in your party? Or maybe you just get it for free as a roleplay thing. Either way this will impress a lady with a romantic personality.)
Obviously you won't need to have the standard renown code that is in place with unmarried ladies, because married ladies will never have another suitor for you to compete with, instead you'll "compete" with her housband in the clandestine meetings with her.
Now if you get caught while being smuggled in to the castle to see her, there should be a big controversy gain from it, possibly barring you from seeing her until your controversy goes down again?
If you manage to convince the married lady you are indeed a better man than her housband through the clandestine meetings, she'll leave her housband for you, you'll get a large -relation with her family and her former housband. Additionally you'll have to duel her now pissed off housband who wants to regain his honor, if you deny him the duel you gain controversy and -relation with the other lords in the kingdom who don't like the idea of any old lord coming and stealing their wife. If you duel him and loose, you gain controversy and the lady returns to her former housband as her faith in her former housband is renewed by him proving how much he cares for her (or his honor) and beating the crap out of you. If you duel him and win, you gain controversy, but don't lose relation with the other lords of the realm as they are impressed by your bravado, vigor and outright boldness and you keep your new wife.
That's my take on some of it anyway
Really cool that you're considering adding this!
