I think the game is heading in a good direction making it so the player can no longer simply buy off all lords to join their side. Instead, they must find vassals dissatisfied with their lords to recruit.
However... there are no good indicators of who these people might be apart from scrolling through the bios of all kingdom rulers to see if they consider a vassal a rival and there is still so much work on the player's part to recruit vassals. This is especially problematic when first declaring a kingdom as they are horribly outnumbered and don't have the time or luxury to go off tracking down every vassal to see if they wish to join them.
Then, comes to the tedious part of actually recruiting them:
1) Must be done through the clan leader, they must be alone, they cannot be in an army, they cannot be captured, and if just released they may take two weeks to spawn in a location.
2) The player must pass an extremely difficult persuasion check. No matter what situation the clan leader is in (no fiefs, hates the king), all 4 checks must be passed.
3) The player must pay an unknown fee, which may be free or up to 600k.
So nearly all of this is up to luck. The vassal must be dissatisfied with liege, they must be tracked down on the map, you need to have all 4 prompts of the persuasion check, and must have a ridiculous sum of denars on hand to recruit them.
I think there are a number of ways to improve this current system.
1) Messages: in the message log, you could receive updates about clan relations. Examples like "rumors say Luichen is unhappy with Calabolgs policies" or "tensions are brewing between Unthey and Dethart". This would inform the player about potential recruits.
2) Persuasion check is optional: While the persuasion check would still be in use, it would merely reduce the barter price of joining your kingdom rather than be a mandatory pass/fail system. Ultimately these lords just want money and land, so persuading them about your nobility to make them join seems redundant if they still demand money to join up with you.
3) Establishing a meeting via non-leader clan members: Perhaps the biggest hurdle is just having a private conversation with the lords. If you could talk to a clan member and tell them you wish to meet privately with their leader, this would solve alot of headaches on the player's behalf. It could start a quest in wish a lord will wait for a few days in a location for you to meet privately.
4) Roaming periods: If a vassal leaves or is expelled from their kingdom, instead of immediately joining another kingdom, they will roam the map as an independent clan for a period. They will tour different kingdoms deciding on whom they wish to serve next.
5) Gifting fiefs for allegiance: I do not agree with trading fiefs being locked behind Trade 250. I can gift or give away fiefs with the click of a button in the diplomacy menu, so why can't I use it as a bartering tool?
Please let me know what you all think
However... there are no good indicators of who these people might be apart from scrolling through the bios of all kingdom rulers to see if they consider a vassal a rival and there is still so much work on the player's part to recruit vassals. This is especially problematic when first declaring a kingdom as they are horribly outnumbered and don't have the time or luxury to go off tracking down every vassal to see if they wish to join them.
Then, comes to the tedious part of actually recruiting them:
1) Must be done through the clan leader, they must be alone, they cannot be in an army, they cannot be captured, and if just released they may take two weeks to spawn in a location.
2) The player must pass an extremely difficult persuasion check. No matter what situation the clan leader is in (no fiefs, hates the king), all 4 checks must be passed.
3) The player must pay an unknown fee, which may be free or up to 600k.
So nearly all of this is up to luck. The vassal must be dissatisfied with liege, they must be tracked down on the map, you need to have all 4 prompts of the persuasion check, and must have a ridiculous sum of denars on hand to recruit them.
I think there are a number of ways to improve this current system.
1) Messages: in the message log, you could receive updates about clan relations. Examples like "rumors say Luichen is unhappy with Calabolgs policies" or "tensions are brewing between Unthey and Dethart". This would inform the player about potential recruits.
2) Persuasion check is optional: While the persuasion check would still be in use, it would merely reduce the barter price of joining your kingdom rather than be a mandatory pass/fail system. Ultimately these lords just want money and land, so persuading them about your nobility to make them join seems redundant if they still demand money to join up with you.
3) Establishing a meeting via non-leader clan members: Perhaps the biggest hurdle is just having a private conversation with the lords. If you could talk to a clan member and tell them you wish to meet privately with their leader, this would solve alot of headaches on the player's behalf. It could start a quest in wish a lord will wait for a few days in a location for you to meet privately.
4) Roaming periods: If a vassal leaves or is expelled from their kingdom, instead of immediately joining another kingdom, they will roam the map as an independent clan for a period. They will tour different kingdoms deciding on whom they wish to serve next.
5) Gifting fiefs for allegiance: I do not agree with trading fiefs being locked behind Trade 250. I can gift or give away fiefs with the click of a button in the diplomacy menu, so why can't I use it as a bartering tool?
Please let me know what you all think
