So it seems to me that the execution mechanic is pretty limited right now. The penalties are very harsh and seem arbitrary. What's needed is some kind of system of justification for putting someone to death. Situations where the average Calradian would look at it and think, "Well, he had it coming, after all."
So I had this idea of a new metric, separate from relations, to measure the size of the grudge you have against other lords, or them against you. I'd call it "Grievance" and it would keep track of every crime committed against you. Think of it as being sort of like "Right to Rule", but for execution.
How it would work is there'd be a scale of, say 1-100 Grievance, and every time somebody attacks you or raids your village or caravan, you get a few grievance points against them, and as the total Grievance score gets higher the relation penalties for executing them goes down and affects fewer people. So if you were to execute someone with no Grievance at all, just about everyone in Calradia would be strongly against it. They'd see you as an out-of-control Ramsey Bolton type and you'd lose a ton of relations with everybody. As your Grievance grows, however, some lords start to think its ok that you cut the guy's head off. Cruel and sadistic lords, and the other guy's enemies would need a lower Grievance rating to approve of the execution. More honorable lords would require a much higher level before approving. At the highest Grievance rating, only the victim's clan would get upset, and not quite as much as they would have at lower scores.
And this would work against the player as well. So if you keep raiding the same guy's villages, he's going to have a large grievance against you and you might find your head on the block. Here as well, the personality traits of the lord could determine how large a grievance is enough to make him want execute you. And if you've already executed someone's clan member, that would give the surviving clan members a good-sized grievance against you. Certain types of heinous crimes could cause mass grievances. We don't have monastaries or temples, but if we did, raiding a temple could cause grievance with everyone who shares that religion.
I think a system like this could make outlaw playthroughs fun just for the added thrill of risking your own neck. If nothing else, it would give you a justification for beheading that scumbag who keeps raiding your villages.
So I had this idea of a new metric, separate from relations, to measure the size of the grudge you have against other lords, or them against you. I'd call it "Grievance" and it would keep track of every crime committed against you. Think of it as being sort of like "Right to Rule", but for execution.
How it would work is there'd be a scale of, say 1-100 Grievance, and every time somebody attacks you or raids your village or caravan, you get a few grievance points against them, and as the total Grievance score gets higher the relation penalties for executing them goes down and affects fewer people. So if you were to execute someone with no Grievance at all, just about everyone in Calradia would be strongly against it. They'd see you as an out-of-control Ramsey Bolton type and you'd lose a ton of relations with everybody. As your Grievance grows, however, some lords start to think its ok that you cut the guy's head off. Cruel and sadistic lords, and the other guy's enemies would need a lower Grievance rating to approve of the execution. More honorable lords would require a much higher level before approving. At the highest Grievance rating, only the victim's clan would get upset, and not quite as much as they would have at lower scores.
And this would work against the player as well. So if you keep raiding the same guy's villages, he's going to have a large grievance against you and you might find your head on the block. Here as well, the personality traits of the lord could determine how large a grievance is enough to make him want execute you. And if you've already executed someone's clan member, that would give the surviving clan members a good-sized grievance against you. Certain types of heinous crimes could cause mass grievances. We don't have monastaries or temples, but if we did, raiding a temple could cause grievance with everyone who shares that religion.
I think a system like this could make outlaw playthroughs fun just for the added thrill of risking your own neck. If nothing else, it would give you a justification for beheading that scumbag who keeps raiding your villages.
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