General traits

2024-03-12 · Lusitanio

Hello, and welcome everyone to a much-awaited, and needed, developer diary about the traits for the next update. Many of you have probably wondered how this mechanic functions or which traits your generals can acquire, so strap in as this is about to get exciting! In the previous version, some players were confused as many traits didn't display their effects properly. Therefore, we have made a great effort to ensure that all trait effects are displayed accurately in the new version. This should help you understand what's happening in the game. Additionally, we have improved most of the trait descriptions and made them more engaging for those who enjoy following their characters' stories. Lastly, we have replaced most of the ancillary images representing people with faces of actual soldiers from the game. We have also added many new ancillaries for the Illyrian and Anatolian factions.

Personality Traits

Let's begin by discussing the different Personality Traits that leaders possess. These traits reflect their intelligence, charisma, and energy levels. A leader's traits greatly affects his career progression. For instance, a general with high charisma and energy may advance faster in command roles. On the other hand, a leader who is intelligent, charismatic, and energetic may be more suitable to become a successful ruler and gain useful ancillaries. However, this does not imply that other generals cannot progress as well under the right circumstances, although perhaps not as quickly. Next, we have the Selflessness trait, which measures how selfless or selfish a general is, and the Temperament trait, which determines how optimistic or pessimistic a general is. These traits have a significant impact on your general's career as they can lead to the acquisition of several traits based on their characteristics, such as Extroverted, Hermit, Envious, and so on. They also impact how good or bad a general or governor can become, making them among the most critical traits. An egotistical general is likely to accumulate negative traits faster, such as Corrupt, Liar, Embezzler, Harsh Ruler, Pompous, and many others. On the other hand, a very altruistic general may not become corrupt but may find it more challenging to become a great general or a successful politician.

Loyalty

Moving on to the Loyalty trait, this trait has nine levels and determines how Rebellious or Zealous a general is. Depending on the level, a general may be easier or harder to bribe or face legal issues when governing a city. In the future, we hope to introduce mechanics that will allow your generals to switch loyalties to your enemies.

Supplies

In the campaign, you will notice Supply traits that affect your generals. The trait ranges from Starving to Bountifully Supplied, depending on the situation they are in. If your generals are in enemy territory or lose a battle, their supply conditions will decrease. On the other hand, if they win a battle, are in friendly territory, or conquer a settlement, their supplies will increase. It's straightforward to understand, but very important. Make sure to keep the supplies from dropping too low. If they do, you may face desertion and morale penalties.

Hate/Fear Traits

In the next version of the game, the mechanic for Hate and Fear traits has been greatly expanded from the original version. While previously we only had culture-based traits, the new version features unique traits for every faction. This means that your generals may now develop hate or fear traits towards a specific faction, if they win or lose a battle against them. Moreover, generals may also get fear or hate traits, if their faction is at war with another faction, or if they possess certain traits such as brave or coward.

The Panhellenic Games

In RIS, there are various events and games available for your leaders to participate in, with the most famous being the Olympic Games, in which your characters will have the chance to either win, lose or cheat. However, in the upcoming version, your leaders will have the opportunity to compete in the most renowned games of the era. Winning in these games could result in getting a statue built in their honour! Your leaders can participate in the following games: the Great Panathenaic Games in Athens, the Pythian Games in Delphi, the Isthmian Games in Corinth, and the Nemean Games in Argos. Additionally, if your generals are married, their wives also have the chance to gain a trait for their success in the Olympics.

Greek Epithet Traits

In the game, many Epithet traits can change your general's last name based on their achievements. Some of these traits are rare, while others are more common in the campaign, but they all add to the fun of playing. Usually, epithets were given to the king by grateful cities, by the kings themselves in honour of their deceased parents or siblings, or even by the kings on themselves, from the middle of the 2nd century BC. Most of these epithets are derived from certain gods (like Nikephoros, and Soter), and these royal epithets hold additional connotations for the bearer. Some, like Pogon (the bearded) or Sidetes (from Side), can also be considered nicknames.

Conquest Traits They are special rewards that players can acquire by conquering famous cities in the game. There are several of these traits to obtain in the game, with most of them being available for Greek factions. However, there are also some unique ones for Rome, Carthage, and Celtic factions, such as conquering Rome or Delphi. Some examples of these traits include:

Wife Traits

When your generals get married, they may get wife traits that depend on the general wealth, charisma, influence and other characteristics. These traits will impact your general's life, as they might help him in his career or cause further issues. Additionally, some wife traits can also impact his children, making them stronger, smarter, weaker or even less intelligent. If a general is charismatic, rich, and has high influence, he will have greater chances of marrying a richer wife, while if he's poor, uncharismatic and with low influence, the chances of marrying a wife coming from a poor family will be much higher.

Event Traits

Many events can happen before, after and during battles as well as during sieges, so RIS covers that with a few traits that simulate some unexpected, but historical events of the past. They may happen depending on your general traits, such as his military experience or how religious he is.

When conquering a city, it's strongly adviced to avoid enslaving or exterminating cities of the same culture as yours, as this might give your general some very nasty traits.

Admirals, Diplomats, Spies, and Assassins RIS also adds new traits and mechanics to the other characters in the games, making the campaign more interesting!

Currently, there are 4847 traits (counting all the levels) in the game, with over 1500 traits just for Archons, more than 400 City trait descriptions, and over 200 Hate&Fear traits (more than 600 counting the 3 levels per trait). This makes the trait system incredibly complex, with hundreds of triggers and mechanics that make your campaign fun while remaining not too complicated for players who want to ignore it.

This is an ongoing project with daily changes. Even while writing this, some corrections were made to the trait descriptions. So, feel free to provide any feedback or report issues you might encounter. Thanks for your time, and have fun!