Post
Thu May 15, 2014 7:41 am
#4
by Hyperion
I agree, I think that the faction system as it is will handle rebellions pretty well. I do however think that there is room for a morale mechanic, in that if npcs are unhappy with your rule for whatever reason, it begins to show in their work. I would imagine that this would be a result of how well their assigned job fits their personality and how well they are being compensated, and of course if you have attacked or defended them or their friends.
Rebellions have always started passive resistance, people displeased with their situation will almost always slack off, dodge responsibility, skirt the rules, skim off the top, and generally take their sweet time in getting things done long before they actively take up arms.
My thinking is that every npc has a job in which they are happiest that corresponds to their personality, and that this level of happiness can be multiplied by how their compensation (if they are employed) compares to the local market rate for their goods and services. If they are freelancers, they may abandon a job that fits their personality if the pay sucks. This way you can give anyone any job, but you may have to pay more for someone who wants to be doing something else.
I would expect that if morale falls below a threshold inherently variable in every individual, they will begin to passively resist their superiors;they will work slower, neglect sections on their patrols, they may spill secrets or steal a little of the cargo they are carrying to sell for themselves, and so on. As morale continues to fall, this passive resistance will grow, and finally it will become an active resistance.
I would imagine that this sort of individual resistance will be characterized by npcs running off (perhaps with a load of cargo or information) or by actively turning on you, depending on their personality. For a major empire, a few rogue employees should be expected, you can't please everyone, but you may risk valuable equipment and information falling into enemy hands.
Where rebellions start is when you have large numbers of people who are dissatisfied. I had an idea for a resistance mechanic, resistance tokens. it is a bit gamey but fits with the idea of information as an object.
Any player at any time many create or destroy a resistance token towards an authority over them, player or faction, so they can overthrow their supervisor and not the whole faction. Players This token can then be copied and given to others. This token carries with it the names, assets, and firepower of several links up the chain, as well as anyone else the individual meets who also has the token (this makes sharing a token a risky affair, ripe for spies).
When an individual who has one of these tokens sees that the assets and firepower of the names on their list is a sizable fraction of the assets and firepower of those they are resisting, they will begin an active resistance or start a counter-faction. Any individuals who have one of these tokens is much more likely to join the active resistance than not, however they may become a traitor to the resistance and make enemies of them. and then the resistance is either successful or not.
I am not sure yet how to work how to distinguish the asset check in switching to active resistance for a local rebellion versus a larger but sparser one of perhaps say all the asteroid miners in a dozen systems...
thoughts?
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