SirLoin
Recruit
This is another interesting idea to maybe stop senseless engagements. When a foreign party or army loses/gets wrecked they suffer a heavy loyalty loss from their people. They shouldn't be able to recruit units for a significant amount of time. If the lord somehow joins another army and loses again, there should be revolts in their fiefs or something.
This probably would create some sort of snowball effect but it shouldn't be the case if an actual smart campaign AI is implemented instead of just having the hyper random war hungry AI throw a steady stream of suicidal troops at you that is conjured up of thin air. Also, recruiting of troops should lower town prosperity. Prosperity should be tied in with how much banditry should spawn in a certain area and that's why you should also ask the lords and leaders if you could recruit from their area. Letting AI lords stay in their area where they have fiefs should slowly let prosperity build back up (simulating them doing quests even if they actually aren't) and let them chase off bandits from that area should also let their armies level up and maybe when they're ready again, they could go join another assault on a foreign land with a nice set of good levelled up troops.
Obviously winning inside faction-owned areas should have a loyalty gain. The towns will be like "oh, wow, this lord or jarl or lady just beat this huge bandit force/invading army roaming the country side, let me support them." Even a loss inside your territory should lead to some loyalty gain just because you're defending your own area.
Maybe this and a good functioning AI will make big army battles feel like an actual achievement that made an impact in the world instead of another thing to do just because it's Tuesday.
This probably should spawn a host of potential quests from the lord owning the area. Kill the bandits for me so my area's prosperity goes higher faster. Sell this stuff for me on another area. Kill the propagandist or saboteurs. Even gray area quests where the lord is like "my people hates me but i need to tax them, so you do it with your Charm and Steward skills... Yada Yada.
The player could probably do these quests if they have a truce going on so they can maybe upgrade and ask for peace so you don't have to pay tribute or maybe have the vassal defect if your relation gets really high. Or maybe have that lord you have high relation with announce if their faction is invading yours and where they're attacking your faction just because they like you so much so you could prepare a siege defense force so you don't have to break into a castle that's under siege all the time. Anyway, just leaving this here.
This probably would create some sort of snowball effect but it shouldn't be the case if an actual smart campaign AI is implemented instead of just having the hyper random war hungry AI throw a steady stream of suicidal troops at you that is conjured up of thin air. Also, recruiting of troops should lower town prosperity. Prosperity should be tied in with how much banditry should spawn in a certain area and that's why you should also ask the lords and leaders if you could recruit from their area. Letting AI lords stay in their area where they have fiefs should slowly let prosperity build back up (simulating them doing quests even if they actually aren't) and let them chase off bandits from that area should also let their armies level up and maybe when they're ready again, they could go join another assault on a foreign land with a nice set of good levelled up troops.
Obviously winning inside faction-owned areas should have a loyalty gain. The towns will be like "oh, wow, this lord or jarl or lady just beat this huge bandit force/invading army roaming the country side, let me support them." Even a loss inside your territory should lead to some loyalty gain just because you're defending your own area.
Maybe this and a good functioning AI will make big army battles feel like an actual achievement that made an impact in the world instead of another thing to do just because it's Tuesday.
This probably should spawn a host of potential quests from the lord owning the area. Kill the bandits for me so my area's prosperity goes higher faster. Sell this stuff for me on another area. Kill the propagandist or saboteurs. Even gray area quests where the lord is like "my people hates me but i need to tax them, so you do it with your Charm and Steward skills... Yada Yada.
The player could probably do these quests if they have a truce going on so they can maybe upgrade and ask for peace so you don't have to pay tribute or maybe have the vassal defect if your relation gets really high. Or maybe have that lord you have high relation with announce if their faction is invading yours and where they're attacking your faction just because they like you so much so you could prepare a siege defense force so you don't have to break into a castle that's under siege all the time. Anyway, just leaving this here.
