Author’s Note: In its current incarnation, Honor is NOT a finite resource, but this essay outlines a number of intriguing possibilities for it, and as such, I wanted to include it in the discussion of game mechanics, as by shifting it away from an open-ended, essentially unlimited resource, we can (and would) radically alter the flavor of the game, and IMO, for the better. Still, it is something that does not have an overly high priority at present.

Here’s something that’s not been touched on to any great degree, but most definately something that warrants more discussion.

First, a bit of background about these components

Honor and Influence are “alternate forms of currency” in the game. They have their specific uses (Honor can protect you from the machinations of Espionage, Influence can be used to buy “intercessions” from the Church), and are stored in a “treasury” for each player, but they are fundamentally different from gold in a number of ways.

Honor – a “finite” resource in Candle’Bre. That is to say that there is a set maximum of 250 “points” of honor in the kingdom. No player may ever have more than 200 points of honor (game ends, victory for that player), but all players may run honor deficits freely.

Honor deficits (Infamy) reduce the total amount of honor available in the kingdom. At game start, there are 250 points of honor available, and each faction begins with 20 points (the rest are held in a “common pool” where initial honor gains are drawn from). If you behave dishonorably, and lose your initial 20 points, they do not transfer into the common pool, but are removed from the game entirely (shrinking the total honor available in-game). Thus, it is within the realm of possibility that dishonorable behavior (resulting in the total loss of 51 points of honor) will render an honor victory impossible.

It is possible for players to temporarily run an honor deficit, and then, through “reformed” behavior, get back into a positive honor situation.

It is also possible that Fate will increase the total honor supply in the kingdom (some fate cards grant an increase in Honor to the drawing player…this honor does not “come from” anywhere…it is generated by the card itself, and is the one way that the total honor pool of Candle’Bre may be increased.

When Honor is gained by a player, a check is made. If there is honor available in the “common pool” then the honor is deducted from that account, and deposited in the honorable player’s account. If there is no honor available in the common pool, then the honorable deed is presented to the reciever in the form of a popup. Accepting it (say, money or troops) from the donating player must be paid for if that player has a positive honor rating. If the player has a negative honor rating, then the gifting player will be informed that there is no honor in the transaction, but may still make it freely.

*Addition – The following marks a slight rules change, and as such, will be posted in the appropriate thread shortly, but there IS NO LOSS OF HONOR when calling on a Church Intercession if the player calling for the Intercession is being attacked by an Infamous player (negative honor). If two honorable players are involved, then the normal honor loss applies.

Influence: Will likely serve as the basis of our magic system in the commercial release of the game. For the time being, however, the only purpose Influence with the Church serves is the act of Intercession.

Where we are now:

For the initial release, here’s the scaled back version of what the three (Honor, Infamy, Influence) will do:

Honor: Represents an alternate win condition. Collect 200 Honor, and that’s the game. You win, by being the most beloved and honorable leader in the Kingdom.

Infamy: Negative honor = Infamy. In the free release, the penalties of infamy are as follows:

a) Research costs are 10% higher

* – Addition b) Any of your troops listed as captured BY AN OPPONENT WITH A POSITIVE HONOR RATING (cos if you’re fighting an infamous opponent, there won’t BE any captures) may be converted into mercenaries by the capturing player after the current battle resolves (such captured units may be placed in any province the capturing owns).

* – Addition c) You gain no further influence with the Church. If you have stockpiled Influence, you may spend it freely, but once it’s gone…it’s gone.

The benefits of infamy are:

a) No captures. If your troops make an attack that would result in a capture, count it as a kill (higher kill rate)

* – Addition b) Looting/Pillaging/Grave Robbing – Any time you kill enemy troops, you gain 1/10th of their value (rounding in force) in gold, added directly to your military coffers (stripping the valuables off of the dead). Also, when an infamous player captures a new territory, if there are any provincial improvements IN that territory, any ONE of them may be ripped down in exchange for 40% of the build cost. This is effective immediately, and is only an option on the turn the province changes hands.

***

A few things of note here, that have changed since the essay was originally written.

First, Influence has obviously expanded to do a great deal more than was originally discussed here. Not a bad thing in the least, but definitely a difference.

Second, a thing which had fallen off the game-scope RADAR for a time is the notion of capturing enemy toops in battle and what to do with them. Honor and Infamy represent a tremendously convenient lever for determining a whole range of possible fates of the captured troops, as briefly touched upon here.

Thirdly, (and another thing that has been off-RADAR for some time) is the notion of expanding the current “pillage” option that’s currently in the game to include “scavaging the dead” (obviously not an honorable activity), which could be a potential source of supplemental income for an Infamous player.

At any rate, MUCH to contemplate in this essay, and I wanted to make it available for review, here on the site.

-=Vel=-

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