Summary: Allow every single NPC in the game - noble, notable, wanderer, gang leader, village elder, runaway children - to switch roles/vocation at any time, when conditions are right or it suits their personality.
Possibilities:
Too many nobles get killed in a faction? Maybe a successful notable merchant marries into the family or simply becomes a warband leader.
Runaway daughter gets disowned by father? She becomes a bandit leader.
Noble of a fief-less clan bankrupt? Now they're a wanderer / beggar. Just like in Warband you had sub-plots for each of the NPC wanderers, you could have companions that are losers in a war that you can score points with if you help them get revenge.
Implementation:
Make dialogue options context-dependent, so you don't end up with a gigantic menu tree for every conversation.
Make relations history-dependent and not simply based on points, so you have characters with vendettas or a sense of indebtedness.
Create generalized dialogue templates that trigger when certain conditions are met, not specific for each NPC "role."
Stretch Goals:
Make personality traits dynamic so they change as NPC's gather history.
Make gossip told by random people/barkeepers reflect the history of these NPC's, like "I hear Dethert is giving handies in the back alley of Ocs Hall now that his clan is made landless."
Possibilities:
Too many nobles get killed in a faction? Maybe a successful notable merchant marries into the family or simply becomes a warband leader.
Runaway daughter gets disowned by father? She becomes a bandit leader.
Noble of a fief-less clan bankrupt? Now they're a wanderer / beggar. Just like in Warband you had sub-plots for each of the NPC wanderers, you could have companions that are losers in a war that you can score points with if you help them get revenge.
Implementation:
Make dialogue options context-dependent, so you don't end up with a gigantic menu tree for every conversation.
Make relations history-dependent and not simply based on points, so you have characters with vendettas or a sense of indebtedness.
Create generalized dialogue templates that trigger when certain conditions are met, not specific for each NPC "role."
Stretch Goals:
Make personality traits dynamic so they change as NPC's gather history.
Make gossip told by random people/barkeepers reflect the history of these NPC's, like "I hear Dethert is giving handies in the back alley of Ocs Hall now that his clan is made landless."
