NPC States | Regional Politics

Looks like it's better to have another draft.

NPC STATES

---

In GW5, NPC factions have formed their own States that generally reflect the geographical presence they have in-game. This means that the kingdoms of Misthalin and Asgarnia, as well as many others, will be political entities that have lost much of their territory and are working to get it back, though not as aggressively as you're trying to build your empire. Asgarnia's capital, as you'd expect, is Falador; Misthalin's is Varrock, etc. Each NPC State will be working under similar restrictions as the player, in terms of resources, armies, income, Agents, and diplomatic agreements. The real difference is, they may not do something each and every season.

NPC States will start off holding no more than 5 regions, to balance the fact that you'll only start with one.

REGIONAL POLITICS

---

Diplomacy has a more complex effect on regions in GW5. Every region will have a certain amount of significant characters and intrigue, collectively called Politics, based on what type it is.

1. Wild regions are relatively simple, politically. They're controlled by a governor and, if there is a garrison, a Guard Commander.
   
2. Settled regions have 4-6 nobles that each have basic characterization and personalities, in addition to a mayor in charge of the town.
   
3. Advanced regions have 8-12 nobles, similar to those found in Settled regions, and a regent who rules over the city. If the city is a faction's capital, their leader will also reside here.
   

In order to obtain a region by using Politics, you'll have to learn about and manipulate its political entities in your favor. This can be achieved in a number of ways, including Conversion, Espionage, and Reputation (see Diplomacy).

For example: Persuading enough of the nobles in a Settled region can cause them to unite and declare a coup, using their influence to force the mayor to abandon his master and join you instead.

Sometimes, the best path is to convince the mass population of a region to forsake their ruler. This can achieved by a rebellion. If the owning faction has a garrison in the region, the people must fight to be free; if there is no garrison, the rebellion is more like a peaceful secession.

Conversion is one of the most effective ways of swaying the people to rebel and join your faction. You could also try to pay them, perhaps, but large Caravans of Gold are suspicious and tempting. If you pay attention to the political climate of the region, you'll know how to best spark a rebellion; nobles and other personalities can lead rebellions when appropriate, and may increase its chance of success.

I SUMMON THEE, WILLIAM-LORD!

Ugh, hate the glitches of this forum...

Anyway, I was just typing that the personalities aren't necessarily nobles - in fact, it's very rare for all of them to be nobility. Currently there's only one place where the majority of them are nobles, but for example in Varrock only one fourth of them are. Majority is usually other personalities like guard captains, rebels etc.

Oh, and contrary to what we agreed earlier, the npc states start as pretty strong (at least the major ones), but expand even slower. All in all, they're very stagnant. I've tried to counter this by moving player starting locations away from them, but Saradomin and Armadyl are very close. They get the best seats for npc diplomacy, but will also need to be quite careful early on - if they piss the npcs off, they can be and will be attacked, even to the point where npcs might wipe them out.

So I expect the early game to be concentrated on surviving in the midst of the powerful npc states, but later on when you start to gain territories and power, you'll also be able to engage in proper politics. The first and foremost thing in getting people to join up with you is by convincing them you're the right guy to join up with. Tiny, powerless player factions won't be able to do that, not even with religion. You'll need power to begin with.

Alright, I'll fix the Politics section. Are you fine with the number of personalities for each type of region?

I don't mind NPC States being powerful militarily/economically early on, I'd just prefer that they don't start with more than 5 regions. I don't want us being forced to start a war with a powerful NPC State because they basically have us surrounded from the start. Optimally, there will be a few "buffer regions" between NPC States and all starting settlements.

Take a look at the map on the discussions section, it has all the start locations listed.

Very interesting. I like Saradomin starting in Burthorpe, but... is that Zaros up there in the Wildy? Also, who is starting on Karamja - Marimbo!?

Anyways, yeah, those starting locations are good and there's space for everyone to expand. As you said, Armadyl will be very close to Kandarin and Saradomin will eventually meet Asgarnia, but there's definitely room.

I would rename "Nobles" to "Important People, "Major Figures," or possibly even VIPs. I'd also give examples of what a VIP could be, like a Guard Captain, a Noble, a Big-Time Priest, a Local Hero, Rich Douchebag, etc.

What Big-Time Priest? There're no priests in the npc domains.

Sorry, forgot.

I guess VIPs would be the easiest to remember and would be an apt term.